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Gluten-free in London (and Beyond)
This post comes a little later than I had originally planned, but here it is, none the less. Better late than never. An account of my favorite gluten-free eats from my fall trip to London (and a few from Leeds, too).
I have to say, having traveled to London about 15 years ago, I had a slight amount of trepidation around the food scene there. From my previous travels, I recall lots of traditional pub food, meat and potatoes, lots of beer and cider but not a whole lots that really knocked my socks off. Could be I was a broke 20-something that didn’t have a clue how to find good food or possibly that London was a tad late to the foodie game. I was also slightly concerned about the level of awareness and accommodation for gluten-free eaters.
I have NEVER ever visited a city more gluten-free accommodating and aware than London. Even the smallest of restaurants and cafes in the middle of nowhere not only had an extreme awareness and concern for gluten-free eaters, but every single place stocked locally baked gluten-free breads that impressed the shit of out of this 12-year strong gluten-free eater. Beyond the gluten-free awareness and options, I was also just incredibly impressed by how much London had stepped up it’s culinary game since my previous visit. I still dream of many of these meals and in fact have been experimenting with recreating some of my most favorites so I can continue to enjoy them without the 10 hour flight.
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Chicken Ruby Murray (Chicken Curry from Dishoom)
Our trip to London in October was one I certainly will never forget. Traveling halfway around the world with my love, without any major plans beyond knowing where to stay, a list of restaurants as dishes I had to have and a few sights that were “musts” and not much more. Such a wonderful way to travel.
Staying in the Shoreditch neighborhood in London was the perfect place for us. The grit of a big city matched with the deeply rooted history of London, it was the perfect edgy urban vibe that we love! The streets of “The Ditch”, as locals call it, are lined with charming cafes, coffee shops and restaurants, beautiful street art tucked into the most unsuspecting corners – it’s got that cutting edge vibe that juxtaposes the proper bits of London, just so perfectly.Being in London I was able to safely eat gluten-free easier than probably any other city I have ever visited and the food was incredible – I was stunned, not at all what I had expected nor remembered from my trip to the UK over 15 years ago. I plan to write up a post sharing some of my personal favorites from the Trip, but in the meantime I wanted to share my single most-favorite dish from all of my UK travels, shoot maybe all of my European travels, even.
