Whether you’re coeliac, gluten intolerant, or just trying to cut down on the stuff that makes your body tired, you’ll be familiar with the dish sponge texture of bad gluten free bread, the mushroom risotto option on the menu, and the eye roll when you ask for a substitute. Finding good gluten-free food can feel a lot like Christmas morning, and we’ve put together this list of 10 great restaurants in London so you can that feeling everyday!
Words by Stefanie Packard
MORE: 5 GLUTEN-FREE RECIPES YOU NEED TO KNOW
1 Nama Foods, Notting Hill
As London’s only artisanal raw food restaurant, the menu at Nama is 100% gluten free. It’s available all day and has a lot of choices that won’t make you feel like you’re missing out. You’ll find the likes of lasagne made from zucchini ‘pasta’ strips and nut, seed and yellow pepper cheese, and desserts like the fermented blueberry cheesecake or mint chocolate truffles. Nama Foods is all about health and well-being through nutrition, and offers cleanse programmes and raw food workshops and courses. On top of being completely gluten free, it also skips out meat, dairy and sugar and is completely organic and unprocessed. It’s like doing something good for the world, as well as your body.
110 Talbot Road, London W11 1JR; namafoods.com
2 Honest Burgers, various
From two young guys just running a burger tent at festivals, to nine stores around London, Honest Burgers has made its way doing exactly that – making quality, honest burgers from good British produce. The menu is simple, classic and exactly what you want when you get that insatiable burger craving. The reason it makes this list is also simple – it offers gluten-free buns as well as gluten-free beer, meaning you can get the full burger experience.
Unit 12, Brixton Village, London SW9 8PR
189 Portobello Road, London W11 2ED
72 Tooting High Street, London SW17 0RN
75 Venn Street, London SW4 0BD
3 The Truscott Arms, Maida Vale
Run by a family with several coeliacs in it, the team at The Truscott Arms have made a quality dining and drinking experience to appeal to everyone…with as many items as possible gluten-free by default. The vast majority of dishes are automatically gluten-free, with most of the others having options to make them so. It’s got gluten-free beers, desserts, and all its fries are cooked in a dedicated gluten-free fryer, so there’s no danger of contamination. There’s an excellent range of gluten-free bar snacks too, which features the famous beef shin chips – slow roasted beef coated in gluten-free flour and polenta and then fried. It all almost seems too good to be true!
55 Shirland Road, London W9 2JD; thetruscottarms.com
4 Nomnom, Hampstead
This gluten, dairy and egg free family-run bakery specialises in those too-pretty-to-eat cupcakes you drool over in shop windows and an amazing range of cakes, pies and tarts. The team makes everything to order and invites you to check out the pictures on the website, then simply send them a text to place your order. After that they’ll either deliver the goodies or have them ready for pick-up. It’s almost too easy.
5 Pure Taste, Notting Hill
Pure Taste is an oasis for anyone with dietary requirements. Not only is everything on the menu gluten and dairy free, it also caters to even the most obscure diets – low FODMAP, Weston A. Price, SCD/GAPS… You name it, it’s got a dish for you. With all those dietary requirements taken care of on the one menu you’d think the choices would be between lettuce and lettuce, but there are options are more like duck with spiced clementine and cranberry sauce, and desserts like a gin pannacotta with tropical snow, juniper and borage. Regardless of the diet you follow (or even if you don’t follow one at all) eating here is doing yourself a favour.
115 Westbourne Grove, London W2 4UP; puretasterestaurant.com
6 Cookies and Scream, Camden
What started out as a vegan cookie stall in Camden Lock has grown into Cookies and Scream – a permanent cookie bar inside the market where you can get pies, cakes and donuts too. It avoids dairy and gluten by using ingredients like fruit puree, coconut oil, rice flour and flaxseed. Cookies range from the classic chocolate chip types to things like the hot Mexican cookie, which has cinnamon and chilli in the recipe. Everything is baked onsite, so you can eat these delicious treats straight from the oven.
The Market Hall, Camden Lock Place, London NW1 8AF; cookiesandscream.com
7 inSpiral, Camden
Located in Camden, inSpiral serves up a wide range of gluten-free and vegan food with an all-day breakfast menu, bar snacks, mains and plenty of gluten free desserts. There are choices between hot and raw foods, with options like the gluten-free crepe with curried butternut and pumpkin seed – filling served with saag tofu and inca berry and beetroot chutney for a cooked meal, and the cashew cheese tart with cauliflower, mint and courgette for those opting for a raw diet. It has a long list of organic wines, beers, ciders and cocktails, and also does juices and smoothies, heavily featuring the latest superfoods.
250 Camden High Street, London NW1 8QS; inspiral.co
8 Beyond Bread, Fitzrovia
Open since mid January, Beyond Bread boasts that “gluten free is the new black”. Its bakery has a minimalist, modern design to go along with this trendy catch phrase, and a wide range of 100% gluten-free delights. From baguettes and sandwiches to cinnamon swirls, brioche, jam danishes, quiches and banana bread, the range goes a lot further than the usual gluten-free options.
1sb, 2 Charlotte Place, London W1T 1SB; beyondbread.co.uk
9 Angie’s Little Food Shop, Chiswick
Angie’s Little Food Shop joined the ranks of Chiswick’s foodie high street at the end of 2014. Having done her time with Gordon Ramsay, owner Angie decided to go her own way. And we’re thrilled she did. The light and airy cafe has been impeccably designed and the thought and attention that Angie puts into her work shines through in the food too. Its counter groans under the weight of Ottolenghi-style salads that change regularly, and she stocks one of our favourite gluten-free bakers Pearl & Groove, which makes cheeky cakes in seasonal and original flavours, like Nutella and peanut butter brownies or coconut, rum and lime cake.
114 Chiswick High Road, London, W4 1PU; angieslittlefoodshop.com
10 Romeo’s Gluten Free Bakery, Islington
After realising that not everyone could eat at their regular bakery, Chez le Boulanger, the team at Romeo’s decided to open a dedicated gluten-free bakery to give those people great tasting food without the pesky gluten. They worked with artisan bakers and pastry chefs, using new ingredients to create a range of 100% gluten free breads, pastries and other treats. Open from breakfast to dinner, everything is baked daily and caters to sugar, dairy and egg free diets too.
167 Upper Street, Islington, London, N1 1USE; romeosglutenfreebakery.co.uk
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