We are traveling next week to London and Bath. I wonder how GF friendly England is. Staying in Hyde Park area for three nights and in Bath for two nights. I am sensitive but not diagnosed coeliac, so I'm not usually concerned about slight cross contamination. Does anyone here have experience with eating GF there or can recommend good places for GF meals in these places?
Thank you in advance!
extremely easy to find - well labelled and advertised. GF does tend to be a little more expensive.
GF is very popular. Almost compulsory.
Restaurants are legally obliged to ask if you have any food allergies, and there’s almost always a GF option on the menu. Just explain your situation to the servers and they’ll support you.
You won't have too many problems finding gluten free products. Sometimes you do have to ask, but they probably have it.
Just, as stated above, be prepared to pay a little more.
Thank you everyone! That is very good to hear. I hope France is just as nice about it, we will be there the following week. I will ask in that forum. :-)
I hope France is just as nice about it, we will be there the following week. I will ask in that forum. :-)
Gluten intolerance isn't unique to the US and UK. GF foods are just as easily found in most European countries - even Italy where pasta is on every menu.
We are GF and were in London and Paris for a few weeks a couple years ago. We had very little issue, London was easier overall, but Paris wasn't bad. Pretty much everywhere knew what gluten was and had an option or two that was safe (frequently a salad or a basic meat dish). I was traveling with a GF child, so we hunted harder trying to find more original GF options as offering him only a salad does not go over well.
If you need a quick meal, Tesco has meal deals, and they had GF sandwich options. We did GF afternoon tea at the Ampersand Hotel, had GF fish and chips at Hobson's Fish and Chips, and ice cream at Milk Train.
I'm gluten free and was in London for 2 weeks this summer. First off, awareness is way higher than it is in the US. Every meal started with the wait staff asking about food allergies. I rarely felt left out like I do sometimes as home, lots of options at most places.
A few of my favorites, keeping in mind that we mostly add convenience food that was nearby:
Fish and chips from Hobsons or from Fishoria. I liked Fishoria just a little better but their menus are very similar, so I'd go to whichever is more convenient. They also both had gf sticky toffee pudding. Ordered it at Fishoria and thought it was a little too sweet but I was glad I had the chance to try it.
Chicken nuggets from LEON. Sounds funny but it's hard to find gluten free chicken nuggets from a restaurant in the US so I made sure to seek these out on our trip. And I was glad I did. They're a bit pricey, like most food in London, but they were so good that I got them twice.
Look for GF sandwiches as part of the meal deal at grocery stores. My favorite was a simple tomato and cheese sandwich on gf bread from M&S Simply Food in the train stations.
We made the mistake of going to Pizza Express. They have gf crusts. The most mediocre pizza I've ever had. Wanted to try Pizza Pilgrim but didn't get a chance.
Thank you!
I am glad to hear awareness is high. Interesting that it is way higher than it is in the US, but not surprising. Food quality seems to be more important in Europe in general. In Canada too, I was in Vancouver this summer and found so many tasty options for GF and lactose free in the grocery stores there. Much more reasonably priced and higher quality baked goods and LF yogurts than I can find in my So Cal town.
