Gluten & Dairy Free Galette Crêpes from Heaven! - Fafie’s

As I’m sure everyone in the western world knows, regardless of religious persuasion, tomorrow is Pancake Tuesday (aka Shrove Tuesday)... That wonderful day, which technically marks the last day before lent, where the streets smell of happiness, the shops can’t keep the shelves stocked with lemons, sugar, maple syrup, golden syrup, nutella... That day when even the school cafeterias and office canteens have a special dish of pancakes for breakfast and lunch on offer... Yes, tomorrow is the infamous Pancake Tuesday and what better day than this to review Dublin’s very own Traditional French Crêperie, Fafíe’s, in all its Food Allergy Friendly glory!?

Myself and F. headed to Fafíe’s last Friday night to celebrate a belated birthday with our friend A. My sister and her boyfriend K. joined us too during their flying visit to Dublin which made for an interesting party seeing as my sister and I are both Dairy Free, A. (the birthday girl) is Gluten Free and F. is Vegetarian - only K. was free from Dietary restriction! But, it all turned out trumps and what a celebration it was!

Before Friday I must admit that I was not familiar with ‘Galettes’ and their naturally Gluten Free attributes, but I know all about them now! They are made from Buckwheat (that Gluten Free and Wheat Free gem related to rhubarb) and what better type of Gluten Free product is there than a Naturally Gluten Free recipe hailing from Brittany in the north-west of France!? Unfortunately, galettes and crepes in Fafíe’s are not Vegan friendly as the traditional Brittany recipe calls for eggs, milk and butter along with the buckwheat flour but happily, upon request, Fafie’s will whip up a Dairy Free version for Dairy Free clientele! The only difference A. could taste between the Dairy Free and Dairy Filled Galettes was that the DF were slightly lighter in colour and less crispy but tasted the same so happy days! Note that Fafíe’s is also happy to make Soya based Cafe Lattes too!

The menu is crazy to read with all sorts of Oceanic Goat-related titles which makes for some fun reading and some of the final products are spectacular to see, especially the sweet items which include ice cream (sadly not Dairy Free) or the savoury items which include organic eggs.

Our party had a whole range of galettes and crepes but the main ones that I remember are Smoked Salmon, Pine Nuts, Spinach and Egg; Banana and Canadian Maple Syrup (YUM!!); and Mixed Berries with Ice Cream!

It is important to remember to request your galette and/or crêpe to be made Dairy Free ...or... if you are only Gluten Free to remember to request your sweet crêpe to be made with a galette base instead of a wheat based crêpe. A lot of the menu items have cheese included but Fafie’s was open to customising our order to suit our picky wants and desires. It’s also worthy of mention that if you are allergic to Cow’s milk but can tolerate Goat’s milk that there are numerous Goats Cheese galettes to be enjoyed...note all the crazy goat-related titles!

Wishing you a Happy Galette/Crêpe-filled Pancake Tuesday!!

Fafíe’s
2 Lower Kevin Street
Dublin 8
tel: (01) 476 3888
web: www.fafies.com
Opening Times: Tues-Fri 09:00 - 22:00; Sat 11:00-22:00; Sun 12:00-17:00