Quick Gluten free cheat sheet for London - if you are also dairy, egg and soy free!

I just had an email from a lovely gluten free American lady who is coming to visit London with her daughter. Unfortunately for them they also have to avoid dairy, eggs and soy!

I wrote them a quick cheat sheet email back, and I thought I'd post it up here in case any of you share the affliction.

It shouldn't be too tricky, if you go to the right kinds of places. Places where the food is fresh, clean and simple, where they wouldn't use pre-made sauces or soy. There are plenty of these around London nowadays. 

For convenience while on the go for lunch I would recommend Leon, as everything is labeled for gf, dairy free etc. It's a chain and there are a few of them about. Similarly Pod is good for lunch food, and there are several locations also. 

Also certain cuisines are going to work well for you. For example indian food - curries don't have flour in the sauce and wouldn't contain egg or soy. You would have to ask for it to be made without ghee (indian butter), but apart from that it should be dairy free. I love a place called Dishoom, they have a gf menu there also to help things.

Vietnamese food also works well, as they don't often (or shouldn't really) use soy, and there's almost no dairy or wheat. I love CayTre, in Soho. Most of the menu at Pho is gf and df, so worth a look there too.

Thai also works, as the curries are made with coconut milk. Just check they haven't added soy (again, if authentic, they shouldn't) - there are lots of good thai curries around. I like Busaba Eathai. A sure fire dish and a place, if you are out and about, is Wagamama - there are loads of locations, and the chicken Itame (with rice noodles) is tasty and gf, df and egg free.

The supermarkets here in the UK all have sections called "Freefrom" where you will have allergen friendly foods. You will have to go to the slightly larger locations, but there are loads. Best is Waitrose and Sainsbury's, tesco's will do if it's the only one! 

In terms of escaping the tourist areas, Hampstead is a beautiful place to visit (easy to reach on the tube), and I love the fresh seasonal British food (such as roasts, fresh fish etc) at The Horseshoes, and at The Old White Bear. 

Oh, and if you fancy great food and you want a beer - try The Truscott Arms in Maida Vale (Warwick Ave tube), where you'll find 3 bottled GF beers, and plenty of food options.

Flat Iron: 99% gluten free menu, 100% carniverous delight

Soho's Flat Iron serves one thing: Flat iron steak.

This is great if you like steak. If you don't, go elsewhere, because it only serves steak (see above). And what is magnificent for us gluten free folks? The limited menu means that there isn't any gluten in this place (apart from one dish but let's pretend it doesn't exist for the sake of that sentence).

The menu (hanging on the wall, of course)

I've been speaking about the trend for restaurants that only serve one or two things (See: Burger and Lobster) and how helpful they can be for gluten free diets. The limited range of menu items means that normal cross contamination issues such as shared friers and flour in the kitchen disappear.

I had a good chat with the chef at Flat Iron. They have unintentionally created an almost entirely gluten free restaurant. Only one dish on the menu - the aubergine side - has gluten in it. And that is from a pre-bought bechamel sauce which is poured on the top, which isn't made in their kitchen and goes straight from packet onto the aubergines and nowhere else. Hence, this is a kitchen where you don't have to worry about cross contamination. In fact the chef told me that when they first opened (just a couple of months ago) they had a bag of flour in the kitchen along with other pantry staples. They just assumed they would need it at some point. They soon realised that they weren't using it for anything so it went in the bin.

Now that the boring bit is out of the way, let's talk about the food.

Steak - awesome. Soft like a filet, cooked just the way you like it, perfect every time (I've been four times now, you know, just to check for consistency and stuff for you guys. The hardships I go through for you readers... ) It's served on a wooden board with an inlaid piece of warm iron that keeps the steak at a good temperature the whole time you take to eat it. It's served with a dainty little salad on the side.

Fries - homemade, fried in beef dripping. Naughty, but oh so nice.

Sauces - all gluten free and homemade, I am a horseradish fan so the freshly grated horseradish cream was the winner for me. The béarnaise and peppercorn I have yet to try, but I eavesdropped on the people next to me and they seemed very happy with theirs. Fred's sauce - also yet to try this but one of you can do the honours, right?

Sides - creamed spinach, yum. Market greens, moorish with just the right teasing of butter and salt. The Sophie's salad sounds great too - blue cheese, candied pecans and lemon dressing.

Perfect medium rare for me

The venue itself is stripped-back minimalist-loft cool. Is that a thing? Let's go with it, it's a fairly accurate description. Wine is in carafes and is poured into beakers. Free beef dripping popcorn is served when you arrive with a metal jug of tap water. The miniature steak-axe (did I make that up too? Okay, fine I guess it is a cleaver. So boring. I'm sticking with steak-axe) is ace, though you don't really need it, as the steak is pre-cut.

Steak-axe 

It's another Soho no-reservations place so get ready for a little queuing or to eat like an early bird or a night owl. It's worth it though. If you can't be bothered with queuing but really want to try it I would suggest Sunday lunchtime - there's no queue as all the Londoners are near their houses having a roast and the tourists don't know about it.

Oh, and I forgot to mention one thing. How much will this amazing steak set you back? £10. Yup, that's right, £10. Now you see why I keep going back?

Happy steak munching everyone.

Gluten Free Knowledge: ★★★★
Gluten Free Range: ★★★★★
Taste: ★★★★★
Atmosphere: ★★★★

Verdict: a perfect steak in a gf restaurant? For £10? The only place to be getting a steak right now. 

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. 

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.

Otto: Deliciously different gluten free pizza

Well I am beginning to feel the tide is changing, can you feel it too? First are we blessed with the awesome gluten free Hell Pizza chain, and now the fabulous Otto Pizza too!

Otto Pizza is a funky, smartly furnished yet laid back pizzeria in Notting Hill. They exclusively serve cornmeal crust pizzas - something they discovered whilst on a road trip in the States. And although their usual recipe is a non-gf combination base, they have now made a gluten free version just for us!

It's not like your typical pizza, nor is it trying to be - you can taste the cornmeal in the crust, which is the intention, and it is delicious. You get an almost sourdough taste to it. It's quite dense, and when loaded with the tons of very high quality (and often homemade) ingredients it's almost like a topless pie. A true pizza pie I guess you could say. I had a pizza loving non-gluten-free friend (side note - what are we calling these people, in the sense of "muggles"? Wheat eaters? NGF's? You let me know please) try it and he thought it was superb, a definite thumbs up.

I went for the pepperoni; mozzarella and fontina cheeses, pepperoni, mushrooms and tomato, to be more precise. The quality of the ingredients really does make all the difference. They were excellent -fresh and very high quality (I hate to say anything bad about Cotto's as so many of you have a fondness for it, in the sense of it being a gluten free oasis in a bleak wheat filled desert, but the ingredients are very low quality and I didn't enjoy the pizza there at all for that reason, and wouldn't go back unless there was nowhere else to go. I wouldn't go if I was non-gf, I'm not going to go there now just cause I am. Please though, no pitchforks!).

The range at Otto is great also - I can't wait to go back to try the homemade (and gf) fennel sausage pizza with caramelized onions and marinated green peppers. How good does that sound? Or indeed the Pesto and Ricotta. There are several vegetarian options, and even a vegan Cashew and "Cheese" option, for anyone insane or unfortunate enough to be both gluten free and vegan.

The online menu hasn't yet got the gluten free base option on it - it's steep at £12 for the gf half-pizza ( they only do gf pizza by the half). That would be my only complaint. However, the ingredients are top notch, and it's so filling that you could feasibly split that between two. Or be greedy and take some home for later as I did.

So well done to Otto, and it's conveniently located, being more central than Hell pizza. Both are great - Hell for a more traditional pizza, and Otto for something deliciously different, but still gooesy cheesey tomatoey pizza-y goodness.

And, pssst, keep it quiet but I've heard on the grapevine some Bella Itallia restaurants are starting to gluten free pizza also. I'll check it out and be sure to let you know.

Gluten Free Knowledge: ★★★★★

Gluten Free Range: ★★★★★

Taste: ★★★★

Atmosphere: ★★★★

Verdict: Different but delicious pizza pies

GFF in Lanzarote: "Are you a celiac?"

I was getting fed up of the recent freezing weather and hopped a bit of an impromptu flight to the Canary Islands for some weekend sun.

I thought it was worth a mention from the gluten free side of things in case any of you were making a trip there, or were clawing at the snowy London walls wanting to escape. Plus Lanzarote is not at all like you would think - no high rises, beautiful scenery, lovely beaches, very quiet and no yobs.

The fact that Spanish food is relatively GF friendly aside, I was very pleasantly surprised at the awareness of celiac disease on the island.

My hotel - the lovely NH Hesperia Lanzarote - provided gluten free bread at the breakfasts - I only requested it once, after that they noted down my room number so that each morning when I came in they would go and get it for me. It wasn't the softest, but who on earth is complaining when you can smother it with nutella and honey. It felt very naughty. I loved the fresh spanish omelettes and large array of high quality cured meats - serrrano ham with my eggs: yum. That and loads of fresh fruit, ahem. And free champagne. Which is always gluten free! (The picture of the champagne with breakfast is all I took - not too relevant. But note the sun!)

I didn't stay there for dinner - but check it out on the dining bit of their website - they mention the gluten free food they provide. I like!

We took a trip to the nearby Puerto del Carmen for dinner, picking Puerto Bahia in the old town harbour area on the basis that it had the nicest views and a black ink paella on the menu.

When I asked if the scampi on top of the paella had any flour on it the waiter said "Are you a celiac?". I nearly missed it - it was my companion that heard him say it - me being so unused to hearing such a thing. He came back and said that it was gluten free, and asked if I would like some gluten free bread. It was soft and warm and fantastic. I may have eaten a bit too much of it before receiving the massive, freshly prepared and scrumptious squid and scampi paella, but what the hey, it's so rare!

The next night we found a great mexican restaurant, Las Margaritas in Puerto Calero, owned and run by a mexican, who managed to find some gf corn tortillas for my fajitas.

I'm not sure if I was just having some super gluten free holiday luck, but I'd say definitely worth the trip. I will be going back for sure ( *starts looking up flights*).

GFF goes to Edinburgh: Deliciously different fun at 21212

The Gluten Free Foodie took a little trip up to Edinburgh to catch the end of the Fringe festival. I thought while I was there I might indulge in some fine dining; notably the stunning 21212.

The concept of 21212 revolves around the idea that you have two choices for starters, one amuse bouche, two choices for main, one cheese plate, then two choices for desert. See: 21212, simple! For the gluten-free diner this type of set menu always rings alarm bells. Well, between the moment I booked on the phone and they asked if I had any dietary requirements, to the moment that they greeted me with basil oil infused gluten free bread, I knew that they were going to be accommodating.

And accommodating they were, alerting me to all of my options and helpfully pointing out that anything could be amended for me. And all with smiles on their faces. Even better, all the staff were made aware, not just one, so it didn't matter who came to the table, there were no mistakes. I must say, and my guest noted this too, that it was the best service I have had, perhaps ever. Even more surprising, the bill came without a pre-added service charge, almost non-existent in London, especially at a high calibre restaurant such as this.

The overall experience is one of FUN. That was the predominant feeling afterwards. Such a fun meal! Each plate was playful and interesting, and well, it was all just such fun!

The dining room is magnificent, a single large room with butterflies on the carpet, and wonderful table settings. My starter was a scallop with an amazing assortment of ingredients, some of which seemed a little out of place, but hey, that was part of the fun of it. Nothing, nothing, in the meal was boring.

The next "1" course was a fabulous layered soup with deep deep flavour. Delicious.

Then for the mains, I went with a deconstructed lamb hot pot - with perfectly cooked pink lamb. Good measured portion sizes also - allowing you to eat all five courses without feeling over stuffed.

Cheese was next, four yummy varieties which we tried with a cheeky port on the side. It's cheese, so why not! Especially as we were sitting on a chaise longue next to each other at the far corner of the room, so could fully relax and engage in a spot of private banter and people watching.


The pre-cleanse before the dessert was a refreshing berry infused milk, served in an excellent porcelain cow jug. That was followed by dessert served on an upside down porcelain duck, with a duck-footed egg cup sat on it, filled with a zingy orange rice pudding with some sort of flavoured foam on top. And as I was limited with the other gluten free option, they made me a fabulous creme brulee. I don't care what anyone says, you cannot beat a perfectly made creme brulee. Other desserts can just go away with their heads hung in shame as far as I am concerned.

So overall a sumptuous and witty meal, full of surprises of the good kind! The menu for all five courses was £65 which I found to be more than fair for this Michelin-starred delight.

So, Gluten free foodies - get thee to Edinburgh quick!

Gluten Free Knowledge: ★★★★★

Gluten Free Range: ★★★★

Taste: ★★★★

Atmosphere: ★★★★