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Eating Gluten Free in Scotland- is it possible?

I have a celiac daughter who will be traveling with my mom this coming spring to Scotland. Do we need to pack food for her? Any other celiacs done a tour through scotland? How GF friendly/knowledgeable were the restaurants?

Thanks!

Posted by
11294 posts

I can only speak to Glasgow (I did not go to other parts of Scotland on my recent trip), but there almost every restaurant menu had information about gluten, allergies, vegetarian and vegan options, etc. The level of awareness, at least as gauged by menus, was higher than in New York City. I commented on this to one server, and she was very blasé about it, as if to say, "doesn't every restaurant everywhere do this?" So, it's not just some new fad, or something only certain places know about.

In addition, you can easily find gluten-free products in supermarkets. They're often in a special "Free" section, along with products that are nut-free, wheat-free, etc. If you don't see it, ask for gluten free products; the store will definitely know what you want. I'm referring to regular grocery store chains, by the way (Waitrose, M&S Simply Food, Sainsbury's, and Tesco - in descending order of fancy). If you go to an organic or specialty market, you'll find even more options.

An example of what I mean: at Waitrose, I saw bags of spelt flour for sale. On the front of the bag it specifically says, "not suitable for coeliacs." (Yes, "coeliac" is the British spelling.) So, if you have any concerns, read all the labels carefully (you may have trouble understanding some of the accents, but the labels should be clear).

Posted by
2639 posts

under EU regulations all restaurants or places providing food for sale must be able to produce a list of alergens. Scotland is well geared up to provide the info fir you,also all major supermarkets will have large sections of gluten fre product often coming under a Free From banner