Despite having uploaded the pics to my earlier post, I suddenly realised that I didn't actually ever post about what the fish and chips were like when I visited The Mermaids Tail! (Don't ask me why there's no apostrophe)
The gluten-free option is on the menu and all the staff seem to just know immediately what you want when you ask for it - no, "Sorry - what was that? What-free?", they just took the order and it arrived. The batter was really light and crispy and I actually preferred it to my memories of what 'normal' batter was like. I didn't feel overly stuffed after eating it and it wasn't too greasy.
The Mermaids Tail itself looks like a massively touristy 'does everything' restaurant - the signs blaze out a message of 'Surf and Turf!' 'Ribs!' etc etc, but inside there are nice (plastic) red and white checked table cloths and there are lots of different areas to sit in. It's pretty massive inside but once you're seated you don't feel like you're in a huge, open space because of all the different nooks and crannies.
DEFINITELY worth a visit as the g-f fish and chips are really good and provide yet another chance to eat 'normal' food with friends!
7 comments:
Hi Lizzie, thank you so much for your blog! I am a celiac from the US, studying abroad in Copenhagen, and traveling by myself to London in a few weeks for three nights. I can't wait to try some of your suggestions for gluten-free foods! Would you like to meet for a meal? I don't know many other celiacs, or anyone else in London, and would love to chat with you. My email is larson.martha@gmail.com. Thanks again for the blog!
I've also eaten at The Mermaids Tail, for some reason (it was mid-feb) they didn't have the g-f option on the menu. I asked for it and they said that they did do g-f batter (I don't understand why it's not on the menu though). Anyway, it was very good, my husband had 'normal' fish and chips and really enjoyed his meal too. Two points - 1. in response to a previous question, I checked and they cook their g-f fish and chips in different oil to their normal fish. 2. Someone said they had mushy peas - when I asked I was told that these contained gluten so not sure where we stand with those.
I haven't tried it yet but there is a bakery in hampstead called 'bake-a-boo', I've made some enquiries and, if you book 48h in advance, they can do a full g-f high tea (although they said that they have g-f cakes on a daily basis so you can just pop in). The person that I spoke to said that they have special g-f areas and equipment. Let me know if anyone has tried it!
Thanks for your brilliant blog.
For those that would like to try their own g-f baking I've bought a book called 'Healthy Gluten-free Eating' by Darina Allen and Rosemary Kearney, recipes like their sweet pastry and scones are really good, I made some sweet treats with the pastry for my family, everyone loved them and then, when I took one for myself, my Dad look very confused and asked why I was eating it - he hadn't realised that they were g-f!!
hi visted the mermaids tail to night the manager was at the door very friendly ensured me fish and chips was gluten free my daughter absolutely loved it,waitress s new exactly what we were ordering and when the food came out it looked really nice many thanks
Hi Andy,
Great news! Thanks for posting!
Lizzie
Thank you so much for this information!! We ate at the Mermaids Tail twice during our recent trip to London and I was so happy to be able to eat fish & chips. They were fantastic, just like I remembered.
They're still not on the menu that I saw, but both times the server knew exactly what I was talking about, and when the food runner brought it out he said "gluten free haddock" (in case you ever worry, as I do, that the food runners are out of the loop).
The first visit, I got some tartar sauce, but the second time, I didn't. I asked the server about it and she said that the tartar sauce was not gluten free. I'm not sensitive enough to small amounts of gluten, and I had no reaction, but just wanted to put that out there as something for people to check into.
Thank you again for posting this -- the fish & chips really made my trip!
Hello all!
Just wanted to let you all know that I went to The Mermaid's Tail, Leicester Square, London (26th July 2010) today in the hope of trying some of the "famous" gluten free fish and chips everyone has been raving about on here! However, I was most disappointed to discover that they apparently no longer seem to do gluten free batter; when I asked the waitress whether they had run out of gluten free batter, or whether they did it only on a certain day, I was told that the Chef said he didn't do it - and the waitress didn't know when or if they would be offering this anymore.
However, If you still wanted to try your luck, perhaps it is worth phoning up before your visit. You never know, it might have changed again by the time you go!
Another thing, the price is different to the one shown on the website sample menu. When we got there, a cod and chips will set you back £15.95, just so you all know!
Such a shame, as I was really looking forward to trying gluten free fish and chips!
Thanks for your informative blog though - it's full of lots of useful information! :-)
Dawn.
Hi,
my girlfriend is celiac and she's just taken her mum to the Mermaid's tail for a g-f fish and chips and...bad news! Their supplier of g-f batter has gone bust, apparently, so non more g-f fish and chips, at least for a while. They still seem well aware of what they can and cannot offer to g-f customers, though.
Keep up with the good recommendations!
Alessandro
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