Nopi: Ottolenghi I'm in love!

Having recently experienced the seasonal deli delights of Ottolenghi's in Islington, I was very excited to hear about the opening of his more formal restaurant, though they call it a brassiere, Nopi.

What a beautiful place. It reminded me of a greek toga. All white with little gold trimmings. So peaceful, calming and luxurious, this would come pretty close to what a brasserie in heaven would look like.

I was presented with a gluten free menu (white with a touch of gold, naturally), with that day's menu on. The menu changes with some frequency, as the the food is fresh seasonal fare. It's fantastic that somewhere that changes their menu regularly makes the effort to have a gluten free one that is up to date.

We had a delicious Gruner to drink from Austria, don't knock Austrian Wine, the gruner is an excellent alternative to a sauvigon blanc, crisy and citrusy.

I pretty much wanted to order every single thing on the menu.

When you are bored with all of the french and modern european fare, Nopi is a breath of fresh air. Totally inspired food. Asian and middle eastern influences, with fantastic ingredients and ingenious combinations. The silver mullet could not have been happier than beside a salad of green papaya, mint, mango and peanuts.

The Presa iberica carpaccio with manouri and pine nuts was so pretty and colourful, and didn't need to be chewed, it melted in your mouth that easily. Clean and simple.

Seared prawns with fennel, white oregano and feta blew my mind - hearty yet delicate, such an exciting and addictive mix of flavours I could have licked the pan they were served in.

I'm not a big dessert fan but was tempted by my companion to share a palate cleansing sorbet - Melon and Elderflower. It positively sang and danced in my mouth making me shriek a little in delight. Totally my sort of dessert. Like all the food at Nopi, it was all about clear interesting flavours at their best.

I am now totally addicted and in love, and am plotting on how I can eat Ottolenghi's delights weekly without going broke. If you fancy taking me out to dinner there, let me know. That is, if I ever find my way out of the marvelous mirrored bathroom.

L'Autre Pied: Note perfect and immensely pleasurable

Oh, what to do in all of this lovely summery weather except to pop down to L'Autre Pied for a spot of lunch outside?

Well, actually, I missed out on my London Restaurant Week booking and was desperate to try it, having heard great things about this michelin starred restaurant, I looked into menus and times - turns out the very reasonably priced two course lunch menu at £18.95 is available on Saturdays, so I went ahead and booked(It is also available for pre-theatre dinner Monday- Friday).

Then when the reservation rolled around, low and behold, the sunshine was upon us, so my companion and I took an outdoor table where we could watch the world of Marylebone go by. I did pop my head inside, and it looked very modern, sleek and chic, but I wasn't going to pass up a rare opportunity to dine al fresco.

The set menu prompted a little bit of a sigh for a coeliac to begin with - pastas and pastry featured in all of the dishes. Not to worry, the manager was at hand who had a full grasp on the gluten free situation and explained what could be modified. When she realised the mains couldn't be modified she popped inside to consult the chef and said that if I still wished to have a set menu price I could have pork belly as a main. Yes, and yes thank you!

As we tucked into a delightful bottle of chilled Viogner (nothing like drinking at lunchtime to make one feel that it's the weekend), they brought out bread for my friend and some gluten free crackers for me. I recognized them as the Tru Free High Fiber crackers, which I like, so it was fine with me. I was a bit surprised they did have gluten free bread though, crackers with butter being quite a different thing to bread and butter. People don't describe the core of their business as their "crackers and butter" now do they?

Then came the food. An unexpected amuse bouche. And boy was my bouche amused! It was a ode to the parsnip, singing it's praises to the heavens; Parsnip puree, concentrated caramelized parsnip drizzle, topped with parsnip crisps. The world drifted away and we were silent closing our eyes when eating this divine creation. Creamy, deep, rich, sweet, crispy. Never has a parsnip reached such heights.

The next course, our starters, were scallops (originally with a thin film of ravioli, but not for me) and spring onions with marinated spring vegetables, in a lemongrass and ginger consommé. Isn't it just the prettiest thing you've ever seen in a bowl? Don't let it's beautiful and simple appearance fool you, the asian flavours were surprisingly and pleasingly intricate; sweet, salty and fragrant. Who knew that consommé kicks the ass of it's weedy cousin, broth? Broth, you are done sir, I am a consommé girl from now on.

Now I have to tell you, I don't like pork belly. I am always amazed the same animal that brings us the irresistible delights of bacon, prosciutto and chorizo, also delivers the dreary direness that is "pork chop". Don't ever try to feed me a pork chop. Next to pork chop in my head was pork belly. People go mad for it - at events they started popping up on all the canape menus. I've tried it, say, four times, each time with someone who is a huge fan. Even at a favourite restaurant of mine Polpo, it was a no. I'm not going to start getting fussy about set menu gluten free exchange offerings though - and you know, fifth time lucky.

What can I say. I love L'Autre Pied pork belly. It was exquisite. I ate the whole thing, savouring each mouthful. My friend had a bite and came down with a severe case of food jealously. There wasn't a nasty layer of chewy fat between the crackling and the meat, as there so often is with pork belly. It jumped from tender melting juicy meat straight to crispy salty crackling. The combination was too much to resist. I dare you to try it and not fall in love. The purees and pink grapefruit sauce gave just the perfect amount of acidity to complement the pork. Even the broccoli was faultless. And again, could that be a more perfect rectangle? My friend's veal lasagne was equally pretty and precise.

Continuing in the excellent service of the very well trained staff, we were offered desert (three courses £22.50), and they let me know what I could have gluten free without me asking. Alas, we were perfectly full. With a little sparkle in the eye and spring in our step from the wine, we took inspiration from the people of Marylebone and trotted down the road to Selfridges. It was all very ladies who lunch I can tell you. And what a lunch. I will be back. The spring tasting menu is calling me, and who am I to refuse a call from such a fine suitor?

Gluten Free Knowledge: ★★★★
Gluten Free Range: ★★★★
Taste: ★★★★★ (can I give it six? What do you mean it's the sunshine and wine talking? oh, go on then)★
Atmosphere: ★★★★★

Verdict: Exquisite, memorable and very delicious fine dining.

Hakkasan: Stunning GF modern Chinese cuisine

I'm not sure about you, but I've avoided Chinese food completely since becoming gluten free. There's always the fear of soy sauce lurking around every corner, and indeed, in every dish.

A solution - and an absolutely fabulous, Michelin-starred solution at that - the exquisite, delicious, and gluten-free friendly Hakkasan.

Yes, this is not one for a weekly visit, it's very pricey, but oh my oh my is it worth it for a special occasion.

The staff are so knowledgeable that the fear of being poisoned, the need to ask annoying questions and to be on guard at all times completely disappears and I was happy to be coddled in their safe GF arms.

They have a separate gluten free menu which neatly outlines what you can have (and to keep as many options as possible some are with slight modifications - e.g. "without sauce". Which in my opinion is the best way to do it. There's nothing more frustrating than no one considering that yes, you can have that salad, just without the breadstick? Duh? )

I went for fried. Golden fried soft shell crab with red chilli and curry leaf, to be precise. I mean, we all know that the opportunities for us to get our gluten free mitts on something fried are few and far between, and I thoroughly intended on taking full advantage of the situation. Not least because it was my birthday, and my dear sister was treating me. Ahem.

Needless to say, it was utterly stunning and my jaw near dropped to the floor, before moving back up again to hastily munch down the rest of the dish. It was full of flavour and overall simply divine.

At this point the lovely waitress put down three sauces and kindly pointed out which ones were gluten free, and which ones off limits. Also worth a mention, for my sister who is vegetarian, the waitress pointed out that one sauce had a small amount of shrimp paste in so wouldn't be suitable for her. Thoughtful, no?

My main course was the spicy prawn with lily bulb and almond (never tried lily bulb before! It's somewhere between a water chestnut and a bamboo shoot. Tasty). Hubbada hubbada. Giant juicy butterflied prawns on an almost curry like sauce. With some simple rice and baby pak choi, it was heavenly. Sweet, tangy and rich all at the same time. Drool.

Oh, and apologies for not setting the scene earlier - the dining room is stunning with its carved black partitions and perfectly dim lighting and soft air conditioning with some sort of delicious smell wafting from somewhere at all times. Tranquil and elegant.

With all of this being washed down with a Saketini or two, well I must say, I was a thoroughly happy, stuffed, birthday girl.

UPDATE: There are now two branches of Hakkasan. I went to the Hanway Place restaurant. I have heard bad things about the Mayfair restaurant, see comments below. I have been to Hanway place three times and had a consistently good service. Please do call before you go to make sure they have the extensive gluten free menu (also posted in the comments). I do not recommend Mayfair!

Tierra Brindisi: Attentive GF Tapas

There is something about Tierra Brindisi I just really like. A combination of the atmosphere, helpful staff, great central location, and the decor just appeals.

Tapas as we know is a generally gf friendly cuisine anyway, but I liked the extra attention the staff here paid to my needs, so I thought it was worth a post.

When I ordered the Chorizo in cider, the manager came over afterwards just to check the type of cider they were using didn't have any barley malt in it (which it didn't). It showed knowledge and thoughtfulness, and he didn't make me feel uncomfortable in the least.

The quality of the tapas was excellent. The octopus was simply delicious, as was the complimentary chicken liver pate at the start (which, yes, I ate on it's own with my fork!). The Spanish omelette was one of the best I've had, in or outside of Spain, being moist and moorish.

So if you are stranded in Soho, and fancy some above-average tapas, in a wonderfully gf friendly and chic restaurant, look no further than Tierra Brindisa.