***Update Jan 2025 – no longer fully GF but they do have options on the menu***

For my son’s fifteenth birthday we recently went to The Angel in Holmesfield. We haven’t been since it has changed ownership and become completely gluten free. We had some of our wider family with us as well and out of eight of us, three are coeliac, including the birthday boy, so definitely worth the drive out and not having to worry how much choice we’d have on the menu.

For my starter, I had onion bhajis – you can see from the picture they were quite spectacular and they tasted great – quite a rare treat. My younger son had the halloumi bites, husband had pork belly bites and my older boy had the arancini balls, which were a generous size with a perfectly crispy outside.

For mains, I fancied trying something a bit different so I had a lentil dosa, which consists of layers of lentil and sweet potato pancake with potato and spinach, pickled carrot salad and a drizzle of cashew cream. I ordered it with crispy chicken strips, which were great and indeed very crispy and crunchy, but there was quite enough on the plate without them. The birthday boy ordered a surf and turf of steak and prawns with chips and mushrooms, which went down very well – it was a huge portion and we couldn’t believe he polished it off. Other meals round the table were lamb shank, steak pie and chowder. All big portions and very much enjoyed.

We couldn’t resist the dessert. I was really quite full so I went for a mini-dessert, which was chocolate icecream served with a shot of Baileys – very nice. But between us, we also had a chocolate pudding and a sticky toffee pudding (nice custard pouring action shot!) and the birthday boy got a selection of desserts on a big plate. I have no idea how he fitted them in after the massive main course! I did try a scoop of the chocolate pudding and it was really lovely and soft.

All in all, we had a lovely time. It was, of course, delightful knowing we could eat absolutely anything on the menu, and being able to share a taste of what other people were eating was a bonus. Great food, nice setting, lovely evening.

The Angel
Main Road Holmesfield, S18 7WT