La Farfalla Cafe
www.lafarfallacafe.com
Facebook page
Last verified 5/12
Reminder: You must take the responsibility of being vigilant by always reconfirming the GF status of a menu item and addressing cross-contamination issues each and every time.
La Farfalla opened in March 2009. Kimberly Duvall, San Diego's CSA Dining Out co-chairman stated "Terry Meihaus, owner/professional chef has been living gluten-free for the past decade and understands the importance of offering satiating food in a safe setting at a reasonable price."
Most of their menu is already gluten-free, or can be easily adjusted to be gluten-free. On their website they state "We will make almost anything to special order. Add $1 to make any entree gluten free." They bake their own gluten-free bread which is used for any of their sandwiches.
Note: Their menu states "Call ahead even if you're eating in - we make most foods to order and it will speed things up!"
La Farfalla also does catering, as well asperiodic cooking classes.
La Farfalla's hours are:
11:00am - 2:30pm Monday - Friday
5:30pm - 8:00pm Friday nights
155 South Orange Street
Escondido, CA 92025
(760) 741-0835
 |
Terry exhibited at the San Diego Gluten-Free Food Expo in November, 2011. |
8/10 by Roxie J., La Jolla
La Farfalla catered a small engagement dinner at our home recently. Terry Meihaus was wonderful, the price was reasonable, and the food was fabulous! Terry had to do gluten-free for some and dairy free for one. She couldn't have been more careful about cross-contamination issues, so there were no worries. Everyone loved all the food. I highly recommend La Farfalla! Roxie J., 8/10
Reviews on Urbanspoon
Reviews on Yelp.com
3/10 by Roxie J., La Jolla
The owner, Terry, gave a a talk, bread-baking demonstration, and provided lots of wonderful treats for the San Diego Celiac Sprue Association meeting in March. It was very apparent that she completely understands "gluten free" and makes extremely tasty GF food. What a treat!
1/10 by Christine, GF in Victoria BC
"Recommended by a local business owner, we went in to see what GF choices they had. We were both thrilled to see GF lasagna, served with a salad and GF garlic bread on the specials.The serving sizes were large and we took some home, leaving no room for a GF brownie, cookie, chocolate zucchini or carrot cake. Our meal was very good and if we had stayed in the area longer, would have returned.
The owner makes her own GF bread and it is very good! If ordered ahead of time (1 to 2 days) she sells her bread as well. We loved this Cafe!
9/09 by Cindi C., Escondido
"I have a recommendation for a wonderful little restaurant in Escondido. Terry Meihaus opened La Farfalla Café on Orange Street in Escondido about 7 months ago. She serves food that is GF and non-GF and it’s terrific! She bakes GF bread that is light and tastes great! The first time I was there I had the best turkey & havarti sandwich I’ve had in years! She also makes GF pizza and desserts. I’ve had a Panini and her GF tomato soup both of which are fabulous. She has a website (lafarfallacafe.com) and she’s on FB. She’s open weekdays and Friday evenings."
9/09 on the Listserv site, by Sidona:
"I recently ate at a restaurant in Escondido, which is just north of San
Diego. It offers gluten-free sandwiches, gluten-free pasta and gluten-free
desserts. The bread is homemade and is wonderful. I bought a loaf and it
stayed soft for days. The texture is almost like Wonder Bread. The
restaurant is La Farfalla and is located at 155 South Orange Street,
Escondido, CA and the phone number is (760) 741-0835. The hours are limited
for now.
I have no affiliation with this restaurant, just a great experience. The
owner is very friendly and has been gluten-free for 10 years. They also
serve gluten items.
I thought this would be helpful for people that live in the area, but also
for people traveling. They recommend that you call a day ahead of time if
you'll be wanting gluten-free sandwiches."
Debbie Toon, 8/09
Read Debbie's review on her blog "glutenfreinsandiego.blogspot".
From a San Diego CSA "Celiacs Dining Out" event, by Bob Stanley, 8/09:
"Dining out? Good food? Pasta dishes to die for? Homemade bread and rolls as good as grandma made? Must be talking about the food those other people get, you know, the ones that don't have to pay 3 to 7 dollars extra a plate for gluten free food (if you can even find gluten free food). Well let me tell you folks, all that is in the past.
The 20 of us that were lucky enough to attend our Celiacs Dining Out at La Farfalla Cafe got to have all of that plus! It was a fun and friendly night of wonderful food. On a scale of 1 to 10, everyone rated the them a 12.
I had the Lasagna and my wife had the Creamy Chicken Pasta. Both were served with salad and bread. For desert we had carrot cake. All gluten free and at no extra charge. Best of all, the food was fantastic.
Earlier last week, my wife walked into the restaurant for the first time. She ordered an egg salad sandwich on gluten free bread (not toasted). It was wonderful, the bread was soft and moist, the best gluten free sandwich she has ever had. Plus the sandwich was served with a choice of salad or potato salad. The price...$5.95.
Terry, the owner and chef, has been eating gluten free for 11 years. She will do just about anything to make sure you get exactly what you want and love it. Most foods are made to order. Terry also teaches gluten free cooking classes and does custom catering.
The restaurant hours are short, but well worth working into your schedule."
From San Diego CSA member, Dale Phillip, in 7/09:
"...this is a "find" and a huge thank you to the gal who recommended this place at the picnic! I went to lunch there today with two of my GF friends...what a charming and fabulous place! Wow, I just can't say enough about that place..I had called Terry ahead of time and she baked the most incredible "English muffins" for us (they were much better than traditional English muffins, which I am not a fan of)...light, buttery and airy--melt in your mouth...just incredible...plus the salads and sandwiches were delicious."
There are two very positive reviews for this restaurant on the blog "Gluten Free in San Diego", which is created by Debbie Toon. It is reported the restaurant will even do a GF birthday cake when requested! 7/20/09
From Brad & Stephanie on 7/09:
"We had the greatest dining experience since going gluten free in 2009
yesterday at La farfalla in Escondido! It's a small restaurant with a small town feel. Everyone that came in
knew the owner/chef and we all interacted as if we were on the set of
Cheers!
We went for lunch and were greeted by the owner who was so kind she
made us panini sandwiches on gluten free bread that were excellent! We
ended up staying for two hours as she brought out gluten free Irish
soda bread that was amazing, carrot cake with fresh frosting she put
on right in front of us, and she baked gluten free chocolate chip
cookies while we were eating lunch so we could have them fresh from
the oven! All of that was free except for the sandwich and the cookies
(I bought every cookie she made they were soooo good!). Needless to
say we left full and with a new place we will visit often!
The owner said she is doing a series of gluten free cooking classes
and through a google search we found they have a facebook page found
here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Escondido-CA/La-Farfalla-Cafe/59943422259
They have gluten free rice pasta to make all italian dishes gluten
free and the owner makes three salad dressings fresh and gluten free
for all salads. She personally has been gluten free for 15 years and
has a passion for teaching how to cook gluten free simply.
If you know you want a sandwich from La farfalla, Terry, the owner,
said to give her a call at least a day before and she will bake fresh
gluten free bread for you to have a sandwich on.
We highly recommend La farfalla and hope you will all give it a try!
The owner and her son are incredibly kind and went out of their way to
make our meal and our experience great."
