Celebrating Celiac Awareness Month by sharing a guide to dining gluten free at Sandals Bahamian. While the majority of Sandals Resorts offer the same restaurants, the quality and service differ from one Caribbean resort location to another.
This page contains affiliate links. Please see my Privacy Policy page for more info. Travel to Sandals Royal Bahamian occurred during January of 2023.
Traveling to Grenada? Check out my Gluten Free Travel Guide to Sandals Grenada
Gluten Free Sandals Bahamian Review:
- Gluten free menu items we tried at each restaurant.
- Restaurants rated by food quality and sensitivity to gluten concerns.
- Waitstaff and room service.
- Gluten Free snacking.
- Restaurant reservations.
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10 Restaurants + 2 food trucks
Sandals Resort in Nassau, Bahamas, has ten specialty restaurants included in your adults only vacation. Two new food trucks have been added featuring Bahamian fare and coffee and sweets.
As I noted in my Gluten Free Grenada Travel blog, the restaurant menus denote a gluten free icon at the bottom. However, not a single entrée or dessert displays it. The waitstaff has started asking for food allergens during their initial greeting. This is the best time to ask about gluten-free menu items.
1. La Plume – 9/10
We loved La Plume so much we ate breakfast here 80% of our Sandals vacation. It’s a full service, beautifully designed French restaurant offering a breakfast and dinner menu.
Gluten Free Breakfast
For breakfast, we enjoyed the yogurt, fruit plate, lobster tomato cheddar omelets, gluten free pancakes, crispy hash browns and smoothie of the day. Each meal was perfect. No gluten mishaps and the signature dishes tasted wonderful (especially those hash browns! Yes, they are gluten free. We checked. Multiple times!).
Be advised of slow service in the mornings in addition to the opening time of 8:00 AM. Ask for Falicia. She made sure I had almond milk each morning to accompany my Jamaica Blue Mountain Blend coffee.
Gluten Free Dinner and Dessert
This restaurant requires resort evening attire and can be chilly (see my Bahamas Packing List post). Reservations are required and hard to come by. Request a table along the outside edges of the restaurant. We were in the center and were bumped continuously by the waitstaff.
We only had dinner here once and tried the following gluten free appetizer, dinner, and dessert items. Soupe À L’Oignon, caramelized onion, beef broth, melted gruyere cheese and gluten free toast. Amazing! It was unseasonably cold that day and this soup was like a warm blanket. The Salade De La Maison was also a work of art.
For our dinner, we chose the Medallions De Boeue Grille’s. Grilled beef tenderloin medallions, asparagus, mashed potatoes, and peppercorn sauce. The beef was grilled to perfection.
Dessert was a classic crème brulee. These can get a little old as they seem to be the go-to gluten free dessert across most Sandals Resorts.
2. Tesoro – 8/10
Think Italian restaurant that’s open for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner! The reason we gave this restaurant an 8 was due to the inconsistency of the servers. During our first meal the server, Losna, was attentive and helpful. Every experience afterward was hit or miss.
Breakfast
Breakfast is buffet style and there may have been place cards in front of the gluten free items. My memory is fuzzy on that one.
We only ate breakfast here twice out of convenience. They open at 7:30 AM and have outdoor seating. The cats will stop by your table looking for food. One enjoys bacon. Ha ha!
Lunch
Lunch is pizza. The gluten free pizza left something to be desired. It took 45 minutes to an hour to make and tasted like it wasn’t cooked long enough. The pizza is far better at Sandals Grenada.
Dinner
Dinner is first come first serve. It can be quite busy the later you get. There is an antipasto bar where you can serve yourself. Many diners said they could have eaten dinner just from the antipasto bar!
We both thoroughly enjoyed the Fettuccine Alfredo (sans mushrooms). It is served on gluten free pasta. Make sure to try the signature drink. A lemon drop martini. One of my favorite drinks at Sandals Royal Bahamian!
The gluten free dessert was a mango flavored sorbet served on vanilla meringue. A combination worth returning to!
3. CoCo Queen – 7/10
A stationary food truck serving Bahamian cuisine. We ate several lunches here as it was convenient to both pools.
The only gluten free item on the CoCo Queen menu are the fish tacos. They consist of grilled Bahamian snapper fillet, Caribbean slaw, and coconut lime aioli. Additionally, the only gluten free side item is the yellow and black beans.
I highly recommend putting an order in early and enjoying the CoCo Queen as a snack or lunch (heck! Even a late-night munchie stop! The food truck is open until 11:00 PM.) Make sure to let the server AND chef know you are gluten free.
4. Calico Café – 7/10
An open-air, lunch only café right next to the East Bay pool (the “quiet pool”). Favorite gluten free items off the menu are loaded nachos, grilled chicken and pesto panini sandwich, Greek salad, and the Calico burger. If you ask, they will make you gluten free fries.
The food wasn’t anything to gush over. However, we were thankful to have it as an option.
*Sandals Resort travel tip: Order a sandwich to go the day before your flight. Store it in your room fridge. I pack a sandwich bag or two just for this purpose. Right before we leave for the airport, I pack them, and we eat our sandwiches immediately after airport customs.
5. Sweets ‘n’ Tings – 7/10
I am placing Sweets ‘n’ Tings at the fifth spot because this coffee and snack food truck cannot replace a Café de Paris. The Blue Mountain Americanos are fantastic. Arizona serves with a smile every morning at 6:30 AM.
Unfortunately, there are few gluten-free snacks or desserts here. In addition, the portion size is so small it could be considered a single bite (see photo above). Café de Paris, at other Sandals Resort properties, offer an entire row of gluten free bakery items such as cheesecake, cookies, and pastries. Plus, they are full size portions!
6. Butch’s Island Chop House – 5/10
A new addition to Sandals Bahamas. This was a much-needed restaurant renovation. I love how the designers incorporated the original chandelier.
Again, a reservation only, resort evening attire steak house. Quickly booked, this restaurant is highly sought after.
I write this portion with a tear in my eye. What a let down! I’m sounding like a broken record, but Butch’s Steak and Seafood was WAY better at Sandals Grenada.
For starters, the server delivered our salad with a gluten item on it. We ordered the Crispy Goat Cheese Salad. It has warm goat cheese, Bosc pear, radish and aged balsamic drizzle. Unbeknownst to us, the goat cheese is either fried or rolled in an ingredient that contains gluten. Thankfully, I left it to the side and checked. The server was horrified she had missed it (twice.).
Our signature dish of choice was the Classic Steak Diane. Angus New York strip steak with e creamy mushroom-Cognac sauce. I ordered mine without the sauce. The steak was overcooked and dry.
Gluten free dessert option was once again, drumroll please, crème brulee! However, it was a new take on the dessert. Willy Wonka Brulee had a concoction of marshmallows and candied popcorn on top with a strip of chocolate syrup throughout. Ugh! Never again.
7. Kimonos Oriental Cuisine – 4/10
Having your food prepared in front of you is a fun experience you should not miss. It is the only reason we eat at Kimonos every time we are at a Sandals Resort.
The chef will ask everyone around the table for their food allergies. They will change out the soy sauce to a gluten free version.
The food isn’t that great, but we always have loads of fun laughing at the chef and his tricks. Unfortunately, ours was having a rough night that consisted of dropping his tools and missing our plates. Poor guy!
8. Gordon’s On The Pier – 4/10
Years ago, this seafood restaurant charged extra to eat here. We were excited to see it was included with our stay at Sandals Royal Bahamian.
The pier is where everyone goes to watch the sunrise and sunset. It’s a gorgeous spot and perfect for a romantic dinner.
Unfortunately, because this restaurant is on a pier, the staff have limited options for drinks or food substitutions. We enjoyed the house salad, pan-seared swordfish steak and no dessert (there wasn’t a gluten free option).
9. The Queen’s Pearl – 4/10
A pub serving traditional British classics. Eat inside or outside with views of the West Bay Pool. We tried the following gluten free menu items: B.L.A.T. lettuce, bacon, avocado, tomato, sans everything blue cheese. The classic burger was also gluten free.
The food was pretty basic and lackluster. In addition, the server seemed unsure of himself when I talked to him about my food allergy. This didn’t give me confidence in the safety of my meal.
10. Aralia House – 2/10
I would give this restaurant a 1, but seeing as they exist on a tiny offshore island, I’m giving them a bonus point. When visiting the offshore island, Sandals Barefoot Cay, your single restaurant choice is Aralia House. With views of the ocean from almost any seat, it’s a beautiful spot for lunch.
Unfortunately, your gluten free options are slim. We both had burgers and fries (again). By the end of the trip, I was “burgered” out. It was a chilly day out on the private island, and I requested a coffee. The server wasn’t even sure they had any. I’m not sure what I drank, but it wasn’t Arizona’s Americanos from the mainland.
11. and 12. Kanoo and Soy – ?
I can’t rate either of these as we did not eat at them. Our friends said that Kanoo wasn’t that great. However, they enjoyed the breakfast buffet there. The lunch menu is Pan-Caribbean dishes.
We are not huge sushi fans, so we stayed away from Soy. However, if you’re interested they offer Carpaccio, Soups and Salads, Nigiri and Sashimi dishes along with Signature and Traditional Rolls.
Room Service – 0/10
We stayed in a Club Level room in the West Bay Village of Sandals Bahamian. Club level includes room service.
Our room did not have hot water for 24+ hours so we decided to have dinner delivered (no showers for that resort evening attire restaurant!). The menu is similar to the Queen’s Pearl. More pub food. (insert sick tummy feels)
Our meal was delivered slowly and with gluten items. Croutons were on our salads, and we had no idea if the fries had been in a separate frier. So disappointing.
Restaurant Reservations with Food Allergies
In the past, Sandals Resorts has been SO good to us. We normally sit down quietly with a culinary concierge and plan out our entire dining experience (including the non-reservation restaurants). At Sandals South Coast, I even had a head chef who met me at every restaurant and made me custom meals!
At Sandals Royal Bahamian, we were waiting in long lines with everyone else on the property trying to make reservations. It was rushed and stressful. There was no review of menus or discussion of my celiac disease.
Gluten Free Sandals Bahamian Review
In conclusion, the gluten free food and service was hit or miss at the Bahamas resort location. One of the reasons I’ve been a Sandals Select Rewards Member for 12 years is their attention to detail when it comes to my Celiac Disease. I look forward to vacationing at Sandals all-inclusive resorts where I can indulge for a week on special gluten free meals, sweets, and drinks.
If you are deciding which Sandals Resort to visit for your honeymoon, anniversary, birthday, or vacation and have celiac disease or are gluten intolerant, I would recommend Sandals Grenada over Sandals Royal Bahamian. My immune system was compromised at the Bahamas location, and I became ill during and after this trip.
*Sandals Resort Tip: If you decide to book Sandals Royal Bahamian, pack your own gluten free snacks and a dietary supplement in case you are glutened. My go-to is ZGLUTn. I take it with each meal I have concerns with.
Questions regarding the gluten free dining, restaurant reservations, menu items or anything Sandals Resort related, leave a comment. I’ll get back to you within a day or two!
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