Gluten-free London

[michelleL]

I'd just like to start off by saying, that no matter how hard you try to be gluten-free, it is inevitable you will eat some gluten when eating out at some point. You can only do the best that you can do... That being said, there is gluten-free food to be found in London.

One sure bet to find gluten-free foods for sure is at the Marks and Spenser stores, a food/clothing chain of stores located throughout London and beyond. There is one right across from the Convent Garden tube station, and one kitty corner from St. Paul's as you round the corner from Fleet Street. They have lots of very delicious, pre-packaged foods with very descriptive and detailed ingredients lists. You still have to be a little careful and wary of ingredient labels in the UK right now, since they are only obligated to list the product as gluten-free if it has gluten less than 20% of the ingedients.... This I hear is to change soon with a new ruling. Anyways, I found some really delicious things to eat and made several picnics out of them. I had the Rice, Lentil and Roasted Aubergine (Eggplant) with a garlic Dressing salad, a Salad Nicoise, Feta with roasted Peppers, the Fruity Indian Rice salad was OK... Don't eat anything that just lists "flavoring;" I had a slight reaction to that so it's highly suspect. Also, the Greek Yogurt with Cherry compte for breakfast was delicious, as well as the Marks and Spenser Heather Honey yogurt (has a very delicate flavor). I wouldn't reccommend the other yogurts, because again of the listing of "flavoring" for ingredients... There's also bags of cashew nuts, almonds, dried fruits, etc. in their "eat well" series of foods that sered as tasty snack foods on-the-go. (Made me feel like they use us Americans as models of how not to eat....) All the stores have plastic utensils usually located at thedoor before you exit.

Having been in London two years ago, I was shocked to find that there are very few British wait staff to be found anywhere. Most of our waiters/waitresses were from elsewhere, some of them not speaking English very well, and most of them with poor customer service... The whole time we were there (2 wks.), we only had 1 British waitress. Very strange. But, I mention this because when you eat in a restaurant in London, the wait staff will switch off on you. You'll start off with one wait person, and then anohter one will come to take over from the other person - so it can be litle daunting, especially after you explain your gluten situation to one person, and then another person comes to take care of our orders and more.

We went to P.J.'s, as was reccommended here at this website, located in Convent Garden on 30 Wellington Street. It was really good, with gluten-free options, and yes, the "flourless" chocolate cake is definitely gluten'free, as confirmed by the owner as he was walking by our table as we were dissecting it, and very delicious, however we only went there once. Most restaurants will add in a 12.5% service charge (the minimum for tipping is 10%) in the final bill, and the waitress we had tried to tell us that that was not the tip and we should add on another tip... We didn't think that was very cool.

We found a really good restaurat in the Pimlico neighborhood, called Chimes English restaurant and Cider Bar, on 26 Churton Street. The first time we went there, and I explained to the waitress that my meals has to be gluten-free, the waitress abrubtly left and then returned with a gluten-free menu, much to my surprise. This gluten-free menu is more used as a means/tool to order for both you and the wait staff than an actual menu offering gluten-free foods, also since the English of the wait-staff seems to be a little limited... So,you need to make sure that when you order, you should say exactly how it is listed on the menu, like "guinea fowl WITH NO GRAVY" - make sure you do not leave that part out, about the no gravy.... or "raspberry syllabus with NO BISCUIT." I don't think the wait staff really knows what "gluten-free" means exactly. I had the Cheese, bacon, potato pot - which was very good, the lamb special with no gravy. they also serve up some interesting ciders, elderflower water, and a perry made from pears.

We had some delicious meal at the Real Greek Souvlaki Bar. I had the grilled octopus, and Greek salad, feta cheese - the "chips" (french fries) seemed safe (no reactions). This is a chain of restaurants to be found around town in London. There's one in Convent Garden on Bow Street, and another one along the Thames, near the Globe Theatre.

Tas Pide, which is located right across from the Globe theatre really did an outstanding job in ensuring that my meal was gluten-free. The waitress double-checked with the kitchen, and told me exactly what I can eat and not eat (do not eat the "dip" that comes with the bread, it was bread in it). I had the grilled salmon, and the most delicious desert ever - it gets the best desert in London award, apricot halves topped off with clotted cream and chopped pistacchios - mmmm, so simple and so delicious. They're the only ones who know how to make a real Turkish coffee, by the way. Outstanding.

Diana's Cafe on Endell Street, in the Convent Garden neighborhood, has good breakfasts. I had the Royal Breakfast, which was scrambled eggs with smoked salmon - make sure to order it without toast. The bacon in the UK seems fine to eat. I wouldn't eat the sausages, though. I also didn't want to eat the beans, either, since I cannot read an ingredients label... One block further down is an amazing fish and chip place, if you're travelling with a non gluten-free friend. This one you most definitely cannot eat here, except for maybe their coleslaw, which was very good and creamy.

Lastly, we ventured down Brick Lane to sample the most delicious Indian food ever. I highly reccommend Shampan. As you walk down Brick Lane, if you are taking the tube there and getting off the Aldgate East Stop, you will be harrassed from every single restaurant trying to entice you in. Ingore these annoyances and continue down until you hit Shampan on the left. I didn't bother asking about the gluten-free matter, well I did tell one of the waiters I couldn't eat wheat. I've never had any reactions here whatsoever, so I reccommend it. The food here is the best Indian food ever. We had the Chicken Tikka Masala, the Prawn Sag, the tandoori Mixed Grill, the Tandoori Shrimp - so good, and something Bhana lamb with steamed rice. Stay away from Nan - which is bread. For desert, the kulfis are amazing. Kulfis are Indian ice creams, and they taste very homemade and very good here.

Eating out in London is very expensive, and for the amount of money you pay, the portions get smaller and smaller the more touristy the area is.... I left Chimes, Shampan and tas Pide with a full belly. The others are almost pathetic. I guess the Brits don't eat much???? It was really easy being diabetic here, too. Not only are the portions relatively small, the food, esp. deserts, are not too sweet (which is how I like them, actually). For the high price of food there in te UK, I guess one has to make smart choices in choosing foods that are going to be beneficially good for oneself, rather than on empty calories. There's not a whole lot of junk food to be found there

Travelling on the planes, by the way, was stressful - what with no liquids but I was able to bring some food with me. I was ready to protest about having allergies, etc. but they didn't even question the food - only my tiny bottle of saline solution for my contact lens....

[Aussie Peg]

Thanks so much for this info michelleL! i'm heading there at the end of the year and have been worried about where and what to eat. I shall print this out and take it with me! :)

[gfp]

I'd just like to start off by saying, that no matter how hard you try to be gluten-free, it is inevitable you will eat some gluten when eating out at some point. You can only do the best that you can do... That being said, there is gluten-free food to be found in London.

Having been in London two years ago, I was shocked to find that there are very few British wait staff to be found anywhere. Most of our waiters/waitresses were from elsewhere, some of them not speaking English very well, and most of them with poor customer service... The whole time we were there (2 wks.), we only had 1 British waitress. Very strange. But, I mention this because when you eat in a restaurant in London, the wait staff will switch off on you. You'll start off with one wait person, and then anohter one will come to take over from the other person - so it can be litle daunting, especially after you explain your gluten situation to one person, and then another person comes to take care of our orders and more.

We went to P.J.'s, as was reccommended here at this website, located in Convent Garden on 30 Wellington Street. It was really good, with gluten-free options, and yes, the "flourless" chocolate cake is definitely gluten'free, as confirmed by the owner as he was walking by our table as we were dissecting it, and very delicious, however we only went there once. Most restaurants will add in a 12.5% service charge (the minimum for tipping is 10%) in the final bill, and the waitress we had tried to tell us that that was not the tip and we should add on another tip... We didn't think that was very cool.

There is a reason for this. Waiting tables is not very well paid, the UK has no minimum wage.

If the resto lists 12.5% for tips it is doing this to avoid paying tax on that 12.5% the waiting staff will not see any of it.

Most of the waiting staff will not be able to meet there rent on what they are paid, they rely on the tips on top of the 12.5% the resto creams off. Better resto's pay less because the wait staff are told they can make extra from tips.

Eating out in London is very expensive, and for the amount of money you pay, the portions get smaller and smaller the more touristy the area is.... I left Chimes, Shampan and tas Pide with a full belly. The others are almost pathetic. I guess the Brits don't eat much????

[nikki-uk]

UK has no minimum wage

Actually it has.It's the princely sum of £5.05 an hour!!

It can be pretty hit and miss eating out in London.

About the only chain I know of that does G.F options on it's menu is Outback Steakhouse

Supermarkets are getting much better with all the big chains having a 'free from' section (except Marks and

Spencer who's G.F food is distributed throughout the store marked Gluten Free on the packaging.

Tesco's ,Asda's,Sainsbury's,and Morrison's all have a free from aisle.

Indian food is a pretty good bet too (my husband often has Chicken Tikka with plain boiled rice if he can't be bothered to cook!)

[gfp]

Actually it has.It's the princely sum of £5.05 an hour!!

i must have missed that... I bet the waiters are all breathing a sigh of relief

It can be pretty hit and miss eating out in London.

About the only chain I know of that does G.F options on it's menu is Outback Steakhouse

Supermarkets are getting much better with all the big chains having a 'free from' section (except Marks and

Spencer who's G.F food is distributed throughout the store marked Gluten Free on the packaging.

Tesco's ,Asda's,Sainsbury's,and Morrison's all have a free from aisle.

Indian food is a pretty good bet too (my husband often has Chicken Tikka with plain boiled rice if he can't be bothered to cook!)

There is a tapas chain called La Tasca... a few outside London but the Covent garden one is pretty good.

You can't get all the items like the paella is only gluten-free in the mini (tapas sized) versions (which are prepared outside) but I usually take that as a good sign....

[michelleL]

Hi there,

I appreciate that food is not wasted overseas; I think it is great. I think food over here in the US is sold/"manufactured" too cheaply with inferior ingredients. It was really refreshing and joyful to find simple foods in the UK that were very tasty and good for you. However, $11 for a tiny bowl of grilled octopus with no side veggies or potatoes or even bread, even though I wouldn't eat it, is much too much expensive and not very filling even - and that's only 1/3 of the meal. Granted, this was at the Real Greek which seem to be located in extremly touristy areas. I would reccommend staying away from touristy areas altogether. (Convent Garden was too touristy to me...) Chimes is located a little further awy from the bustle, and their main courses came with a plate of steamed carrots/peas, suateed cabbage and boiled new potatoes. We did not leave hungry from there.

I heard on the BBC on TV over there that the minimum wage over there is about $10/hr. They were discussing the huge wave of immigration that has hit the UK in the past few years....

I forgot to add that the cafe located in the National Potrait Gallery serves a gluten-free black forest cake that is out-of-this-world delicious (The National Potrait Gallery is well worth a trip. There's a lot to see - we only manged to see the top floor, too tired to see the rest on the first floor....)

The Tate Britain has a "flourless" chocolate cake. I asked one of the servers if it was gluten-free, too, which she went back out into the kitchen to come back to tell me that is was - however then I overheard her tell her co-worker that gluten-free means the same as wheat-free - so I decided not to eat it.... (another good museum to visit)

And so long as we're on the topic of miseum cafes, the cafeteria in the Natioanl Gallery of Art is pretty bad. I could only have tea, and even that was not very good....

[michelleL]

And another thing, before I forget again - do not eat the sushi at Marks and Spenser. My husband did and was sick for 3 terrible days. Luckily, we were home by then.