Wednesday 25 July 2012

Your Olympics guide to gluten free London: Part 1

With everyone rolling into town for the Olympics, I thought it would be a good time to share a quick London eating on the go guide for you all.

Fellow Londoners will no doubt already know the places that are friendly for us when we are on the go looking to grab a bite to eat. I don't usually write about chain restaurants, but there are quite a few that are trying to make great gluten free strides forward, and in times of desperation can seem like gleaming beacons on the horizon, saving us all from a hungry stomach and having to make do with a packet of crisps and a chocolate bar (man how much do those moments suck?)

Without further ado, the London chain restaurant cheat sheet:

Leon 


A firm lunch time favourite. A wide range of "healthy fast food", organic and locally sourced and more importantly, damned tasty. Everything is labeled on the menu with "GF" so it's easy to see what's gluten free. They have a wide range of items to choose from.

They have 11 London outlets all over the city - find them here: http://www.leonrestaurants.co.uk/restaurants/

Go for: a healthy lunchtime treat

Top dishes: Sweet potato falafel, Chicken superfood salad, Pecan pie!

Carluccios


I've posted about them before, but they deserve mentioning again as they deserve praise for all of the hard work they have put in to train their staff to understand gluten, making them a chain where you don't have to worry. Great, fresh and delicious Italian food. A gluten free menu is available.

There are 18 branches London wide, so you should never be far away: http://www.carluccios.com/restaurants

Go for: a long lunch or an informal dinner

Top dishes: Any of the gluten free pasta dishes!


Wagamamas



Wagamamas is a japanese asin fusion noodle bar, essentially. They have a sheet detailing what is gluten free. The options are somewhat limited but all delicious. The chicken itame is a coconut based noodle soup with thick flat rice noodles. Tasty every time. It's a casual dining environment; you share long bench like tables and the dishes are delivered whenever they are ready.

There are 10 London branches: http://wagamama.com/locations/search/

Go for: a quick lunch or dinner pit stop.

Top dishes: I love the chicken itame!


That's it for this post, more to come tomorrow. 

6 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for your blog that has saved my daughter and I from living on salad leaves whilst in London. We found your blog and have enjoyed all your suggestions especially Wagammamas. The staff are extremely helpful and the food delicious with no side effects. Such a pleasure. Also the sandwiches from M & S at Westfields for taking into the Olympic park. Certainly no gluten free food within the Olympic park and exorbitant prices for a salad!! We have really appreciated all your helpful suggestions - it has made our stay in London enjoyable.
    Linda and Kelsey Glynn, South Africa

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  2. The Natural History Museum has a restuarant that serves gluten free pasta and pizza. Very tasty and the staff understand what gluten free means. Lovely to have a place to eat when you are there for the day.

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  3. Last week eaten at Leon and Carluccio, very tasteful! Carluccio has a big menu, especially for GF, great mushroom soup and pasta. Unfortunately I was too satisfied to have a dessert. Very good service at all.
    Leon has a new menu, nice steamed salmon and nice vegetables. Good ambiance.

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  4. They also have a substitutions folder at Wagamamas, they tell you what other dishes you can have if you just swap the noodles for the rice ones :)
    One of my favourites!

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