Thursday 9 August 2007

Vegan, vegetarian - and gluten-free!

Having just started working in Soho, after a lengthy spell of lunchtime-option nothingness in Queen's Park, I have been like a child in a (gluten-free) sweet shop - running around trying all the different options on my lunch hour. I did some Googling to see what came up and found a review for Beatroot - a tiny cafe practically opposite my new office. It has a range of hot and cold options to choose from and three different-sized containers to put them in - ranging from £3.70 - £5.70.
The staff are really friendly and knowledgeable about what's in the food and there are loads of gluten-free options - they even use gluten-free soy sauce in their stir-fries. It's all vegetarian and I think they do lots of vegan things too - including nut/dried fruit cakes etc.
The food I had (dal, rice and some tofu stir-fry) was all really good, simple and nutritious - if I had one complaint it would be that it was slightly bland as not much salt - however, that's good for me so I shouldn't really make an issue out of it...!
Definitely somewhere I'll be returning too - especially as summer dissolves into the cooler months and warming food is on the agenda...

5 comments:

Mark said...

Lizzie
Very helpful and appreciated from a fellow London what-can-I-eat-for-lunch-aaarrgghhh! coeliac. I am in the City so not too close for Beatroot nor Imli, unfortunately. Wagamama is near me and their Itame dishes are good and gluten-free. Pret have formulaic salads but their web-site is quite useful although I have caught them out on more than one occasion. Best of luck and hope to read more!

Nutritious and Delicious said...

Mark - so glad you found it useful... I used to work near Liverpool St - are you anywhere near there? There is a Leon in Spitalfields which has great gluten-free, hot and delicious meals which you can eat in or take away (see previous posts). I guess you may be too far from there but some Starbucks do do gluten-free sandwiches (usually egg mayo) which are a nice option sometimes - if your nearest branch doesn't stock them, their customer services people told me you can get them ordered in - with a week's notice...! The one in the bottom of Liv St station does have them sometimes... Let me know if you find any good places near you and I'll endeavour to visit them and add them to here!
Lizzie

Mark said...

Lizzie
I have eaten my body-weight in egg-mayo g-f sandwiches from Starbucks and I did write to them saying that they needed to expand their range otherwise I do not think many coeliacs will queue for the same, one item. I will try Leon in Spitalfields and if you get the chance, try Tiffin Bites on Liverpool St. It is a sit-in / taleaway curry place and the food is good but they are vague on their product g-f status. I got referred to some warehouse in North London. ... Thanks, Mark.

Nutritious and Delicious said...

Yes - there are supposed to be three other flavours I think - I remember one being smoked salmon, but I've never seen them...! Have heard of Tiffin Bites - will give it a go...!

Hannah Derbyshire said...

Hello; I just came across this blog through Google. I too can't eat gluten and am getting sick of the few Pret soups I can eat! I'm glad to know that there are people in the same situation.

I'm going to try Leon on Ludgate Circus today for lunch to see what they have. Not sure if either of you are near, but Nusa Kitchen (www.nusakitchen.co.uk) is really great. There is one on Old Street, and one by Liverpool Street. They're really knowledgeable about what goes into their soups (i.e. they don't use stock), everything is labelled specifically as 'gluten free' if it is, and they make all of their noodle salads / soups with rice noodles.

I'm around the Farringdon area - any suggestions?