Sebastien Sans Gluten
Posted: August 18, 2022 Updated: May 11, 2024
The first review I came across online for Sebastien Sans Gluten was from a famous Sydney food blogger and cook. That blogger makes a few gluten-free recipes but isn’t full time gluten free.
Turns out they are good friends with the owner. That’s nice and obviously a huge shout out and boost for them. But… Did it help me decide if it was worthwhile visiting? Not really.
Similarly, the Broadsheet article that came out a little while later wasn’t super helpful. However, it’s absolutely awesome for a gluten free bakery to get this much coverage and a huge boost.
GF venues need both GF and non-GF folk visiting to keep them going. I’ve written more about this important topic before.
Anyway! On to the much anticipated and very well loved Sebastien Sans Gluten. My Sydney coeliac and gluten free Facebook groups were buzzing when news came that a new gluten free bakery was joining the inner western suburb of Leichhardt.
Set a little away from the main street of Leichhardt, Sebastien Sans Gluten sits just a few metres away from the MarketPlace shopping centre.
This is French patisserie heaven for coeliacs and regular folk alike. While I was there a steady stream of customers were coming through for takeaway coffee and treats.
On my first visit I ordered a flat white, an apple turnover and a spinach and feta pastry. On my second visit, I got the ham and cheese croissant, a chocolate eclair, carrot cake and tea and coffee.
Coffee and tea
The coffee beans are by Black Market Coffee. My coffee was nice, lightly acidic but strong. Definitely worthy of popping in just for your morning brew on the way to work. This is great news – if regular non-GF folk love the coffee it’ll keep the business going strong.
For non coffee drinkers there’s a selection of premium loose leaf teas available. Flavours include Japanese Sencha, camomile, earl grey, English breakfast and lemongrass and ginger.
Apple turnover
The pastry on the apple turnover is unreal. So super crisp with amazing impossibly thin flakes. It’s rich and buttery, and everything you remember from real pastry.
The filling is an apple purée with a few apple slices. It’s spiced and not too sweet, which is making me feel less guilty about it being my breakfast. It’s a generous filling too, not overflowing but not just a smear. The crunch on this pastry is just so satisfying.
I think the turnover would be much easier to eat with one’s hands but that’s not so easy when you’ve taken public transport to get here.
Chocolate eclair
This is why I came to Sebastien Sans Gluten. Gluten free choux pastry. I didn’t realise it until so late in my gluten-free life that I love choux. It’s my preferred pastry, it’s neatly self-contained and not all buttery and flakey like puff.
This eclair was spot on. On my first bite I actually did an involuntary eye roll of pleasure. My husband was rather amused!
The eclair is filled with a rich dark chocolate custard. The icing on top is more delicate in flavour and not overly sweet, making it a good complement to the centre.
The choux itself is so good. The texture is great overall as well, it’s not chewy but it also doesn’t dissolve instantly. There were no cracks, no soggy parts – just French pastry perfection.
Carrot cake.
The carrot cake is nicely spiced and moist enough to be a little dense without being heavy. Shreds of carrot are visible amongst the densely packed walnut pieces.
The cream cheese icing is delicious, not crazy sweet but just enough to allow a little tang from the cream cheese to come through.
The cake and icing combined is perfect, absolutely delicious. There’s absolutely no reason to suspect this cake is gluten free.
The last time I had carrot cake was the Woolworths Free From version. By comparison the Woolies carrot cake slice is drier (more crumbly), more oily, and much much sweeter – if I recall the icing on top of that was so sugary it was a little sickening.
Lastly, it must be said the serving size is huge. It was easily halved to two perfect serves. One each for my husband and I.
Spinach and feta feuillete
Spinach and feta feuillete, or just the spinach and feta pastry. I cannot pronounce French and I’m not going to try!
The pastry is amazingly with good lamination on top. Generously filled with feta and spinach. Taste wise the filling is well balanced, it’s not too salty and you still get good spinach flavour. The filling goes right to the edges too. Also it’s huge, since I was at home I was able to weigh it. It came in at a whopping 230g! Definitely no gluten free shrinkage.
There is such a satisfying crunch when you bite in. You can certainly eat it with your hands if you’re prepared for a few crumbs. It didn’t even fall apart in that gluten free way.
Ham and cheese croissant
This was absolute heaven. I thought I was getting something like a plain croissant that’s been cut open and filled with ham and mozzarella. But this was something totally different.
Instead the high-quality ham is baked into the pastry with silky smooth bechamel sauce. It’s then topped with sharp cheese.
There was a massive crunch as I bit into the crisp pastry. Annnnd promptly bechamel started oozing out and leaked onto my trousers! But it was so worth it, I just held my takeaway box a little closer.
My husband and I shared this – you could definitely have one all to yourself but I’m not used to this kind of ultra decadent stuff.
Thoughts
The pastries at Sebastien Sans Gluten do not give a gluten free vibe at all. I think the only indication that it’s gluten free would be the price. But having said that, this is a French patisserie so you’re expecting a higher price, right?
The menu is broader on the weekend with more choux pastry and more flavours of savoury croissants. Choux is definitely my favourite so I was a little sad on my first visit but it made a good reason to come back.
They have a few vegetarian items but not much that’s vegan. Though I’ve since heard vegan croissants are now available. I’m not sure if it’s every day so get in touch with them to confirm.
The venue and vibe
The music inside is nice chill and isn’t loud at all. You could quite happily meet here for a coffee and chat.
There’s a long table by the window with five seats and one large communal table seating 6 to 8. There’s no restrooms but there are some across the road in the shopping centre.
The staff at Sebastien Sans Gluten are absolutely lovely. The server I had on my first day was more than happy to patiently walk me through the range and answer my questions on ingredients. When I was eating Sebastien himself popped over to ask how everything was and chatted about his work.
The weekend is very different to the weekday experience. On my weekday visit only one other was dining in and there was no queue. My order was ready in about five minutes.
On the weekend the queue was out the door (about 1030am) and it took maybe 15 minutes for our order to be ready. The seating area was packed on the weekend so we opted for takeaway and enjoyed it in a nearby park.
Looking for a different gluten free bakery in Sydney?
Check out my article on all the best 100% gluten-free bakeries in Sydney. You will not be disappointed by the taste and the variety of what this city has on offer for your coeliac or gluten free needs.