I am gluten and wheat intolerant and my husband Ray is intolerant to dairy products. Yes, we don’t get invited to dinner very often! The reality is that it is difficult for us to eat out. We always wonder “Will there be anything we can eat?” Some restaurants and cafes offer special allergen menus or include ‘free from’ symbols on their menus, but these are few and far between.
We always research the restaurant beforehand and contact them in advance to check that they will be able to cater for our allergies. We also use the website canieatthere.co.uk, where you can search for a restaurant by allergen, type of cuisine, rating, whether vegetarian or vegan and whether it has won any Allergy Awards such as the Free From Eating Out Awards (freefromeatingoutawards.co.uk).
As always, make sure you alert the restaurant in advance of your visit about your allergies and ask them if there is a special menu. Here is a list of my top ten ‘free from’ restaurants in Surrey...
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Photographer Paul Winch-Furness
Bill's
Friendly, informal restaurant with two special menus - a gluten-free and special allergen menu, which lists all the dishes and what allergens they contain, whether it’s milk, peanuts, mustard or celery.
There’s a section which lists dairy-free meals – for example, chicken skewers with guacamole (no tzatziki) or South Indian fish curry.
On the main menu, there are symbols such as ‘GF’ meaning low gluten, ‘VE’ for vegan. I was impressed with the choice of ‘GF’ desserts – Blackberry and Apple Eton Mess and Sticky Toffee Pudding.
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Carluccio’s
This restaurant serves excellent gluten free pasta so I always order it, usually accompanied by one of their delicious sauces. You can also buy the pasta in the shop (which I always do) - a member of staff told me you must cook it for at least 12 minutes.
There’s a separate gluten-free menu with dishes such as Risotto Al Funghi (mushroom risotto), as well as vegan and dairy free menus. Ray normally orders Chicken Milanese – the breadcrumbs contain parmesan cheese, so he asks for it plain.
For desserts, we could have an ice cream or sorbet (in Ray’s case), but we’re normally too full.
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The Willow
This newly opened restaurant is fantastic for people with allergies or intolerances because the menu has symbols for every dish, so it’s easy to see at a glance what you can or can’t eat.
There are symbols for various dietary requirements such as gluten-free, vegan, low sugar and protein-rich, with allergens such as nuts and sesame marked against every dish.
The smoky kale crisps as a starter are a must. There’s a good selection of main courses, both dairy free and gluten free such as Fusion Salmon ‘n Salsa.
The choice of desserts is impressive – Willow carrot and courgette cake or rosemary infused pear sorbet, both of which are gluten free and dairy free. It also has the largest selection of gluten-free beers on draught.
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Pizza Express
The joy of visiting this restaurant is indulging in a gluten-free pizza. For years I could only order a salad while watching friends enjoy their pizzas. The menu has ‘gf’ symbol which refers to gluten-free dishes while ‘n’ means contains nuts or nut oils.
Gluten-free dough balls are available, as well as gluten-free desserts such as chocolate brownie with ice cream.
Ray, who is dairy free, asks the staff to ‘tailor’ his pizza accordingly – so instead of mozzarella, he asks for mushrooms and so on.
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Riverside Vegetaria
This award-winning vegetarian restaurant offers gluten free and dairy free options. Its web site has a chart so you can see in advance what allergens are contained in each dish.
An extensive range of delicious veggie food such as Green Lentil and Vegetable Curry or Sweet Potato and Parsnip Hotpot (both dairy free and gluten free).The menu has symbols including V for Vegan and WF – wheat and gluten free.
Fabulous selection of desserts such as Vanilla flavoured baked cheesecake (gluten-free) and Almond and Apricot Cake (vegan).
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The Queen's Head – Weybridge
This is a comfortable, welcoming restaurant, which has special menus for gluten-free and dairy-free. An extensive menu including dishes such as Steak Frites, Roast Hake, Gammon Steak and Seared Breast of corn-fed Chicken. Daily specials.
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Bronte's
Coffee shops are always a hit and miss affair – will there really be something I can eat? I’ve discovered gluten-free wraps at Costa and Starbucks, but there’s usually nothing much for Ray (who’s dairy free).
So we were delighted to discover Bronte’s which offers not only soya milk (which is mainstream in the coffee shop chains) but also oat and almond milk. Ray enjoyed almond butter on toast with banana and blueberries (peanut butter is another option).
The café has a wide range of dairy-free and gluten-free cakes such as the delicious gluten-free Bronte’s Seedy Crunch and Banana Loaf.
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Zizzi's
Zizzi's has three special menus – gluten free, dairy free and vegan. The advantage here is that dishes can be tailored according to your needs. For example, the Vegan Lentil Ragu could be made with gluten-free fusilli pasta, making it also gluten-free.
I wanted to try a pizza with Mozzarisella – cheese made with rice, which doesn’t contain milk or lactose as an alternative to mozzarella. So I ordered the Non-Gluten Vegan Margherita pizza – the mozzarisella tasted delicious.
The chain has long offered gluten-free pizza bases, but have now expanded their gluten free range to include dishes such as Italian Beef Short Rib.
A fabulous choice of desserts such as the dairy-free Vegan Dessert Calzone – dough filled with banana, pecans and blueberries, served with coconut and chocolate ripple gelato. Yum!
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JD Wetherspoon
The pub offers three separate menus – gluten-free, non-dairy and vegan. In addition, the standard menu has symbols against certain dishes – gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan and 5% or less fat. You order food at the bar giving your table number.
Gluten-free beers are available such as Estrella Galicia. Ray ordered the freshly battered fish and chips from the non-dairy menu, no milk in the batter, while I chose the gluten-free sweet potato, chickpea and spinach curry with rice and poppadums. As I’m gluten-free, instead of naan bread which I can’t eat, I was given additional poppadums – great stuff!
For dessert, we ordered the gluten-free and dairy-free apple crumble – delicious. We couldn’t believe this was both gluten and dairy free; normally we have different desserts.
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Cote Brasserie
When I booked online, under “additional notes” I added that one diner was gluten-free and the other was dairy free. When we arrived, I was given a gluten free menu and a member of staff had annotated another menu showing whether there was dairy in any of the dishes.
This meant Ray could see at a glance what he could eat and additionally, several dishes could be adapted to make them dairy free. For example, Ray could order the French Onion Soup without cheese and Steak Frites without garlic butter.
The gluten free menu is extensive with a good choice of main courses and grills such as Half Chargrilled ‘Breton’ Chicken with gluten-free Provençale Sauce (cherry tomato, basil, garlic caramelised onions and black onions). For the gluten-free diner, there is a good choice of desserts ranging from Chocolate Mousse to Crème Brule.
Jackie Mitchell is a 'free from' blogger. Check out her blog www.eatingoutwithfoodallergies.co.uk
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