Steeliac

Tag: eating out gluten free

  • Gluten free waffles at Coffee and…? on Abbeydale Road

    Gluten free waffles at Coffee and…? on Abbeydale Road

    We enjoyed a trip to the rather excellent new cafe, Coffee and…? on Abbeydale Road last weekend. I started to hear great things about the gluten free waffles here on the Sheffield Gluten Free Facebook Group, and I am a big fan of waffles, so this was prioritised.

    As with lots of our trips out these days, this started with a dog walk (the cafe is dog friendly as well – bonus) in Ecclesall Woods and then popped through Millhouses park to avoid spending too much time on the main road.

    Picture of the outside of Coffee and...? on Abbeydale Road. It's got pale pink paint and lots of greenery, with a big crocheted sign int he window. There is a set of mosaic table and chairs outside
    Wooden A frame sign advertising the cafe is open for drinks, cakes and food, to eat in or take away

    I’d already emailed the owner in advance to check out the gluten free credentials. They have a separate waffle maker for gluten free waffles, which is essential. They did, of course, warn about flour and bread being present in the kitchen, but they do take reasonable precautions to minimise cross contamination risk – clean bowls & utensils etc. (As my own kitchen isn’t even fully gluten free, I’m usually happy to give places a go if they sound like they know what they’re doing.)

    We arrived about 12.30 and the place was packed, but we didn’t have to wait too long for a table and we were soon enjoying teas and coffees.

    A cup of brewing tea in an double walled glass cup/mug. Sitting on top is a glass saucer and on top of that is a jug of milk, which is also double walled glass. I can't imagine if you can make sense of this but it looks pretty cool
    This is a decaf flat white coffee in a double walled glass mug, sitting on a white table with a tea in the background

    Also on the menu were some classic breakfasts (gf options available), salads and interesting brunches like Turkish eggs and mushroom Florentine, but I was here for the waffles, so let’s focus on those.

    There are three savoury and three sweet options. For the savoury, a choice of smoked salmon (avo, poached eggs, hollondaise etc), chicken (avo, pickled pink onions, poached eggs, sweet chilli) and mushroom (creamy garlic sauce, spinach, poached eggs). I went for the chicken one but I’m not a massive fan of poached eggs, so I had halloumi instead from the extras.

    I’m sure you’ll agree, this was a rather fine waffle: a really decent portion and generously loaded.

    Loaded gluten free round waffle on a ceramic plate. Piled up with halloumi, avocado, salad leaves, pink pickled onions and a drizzle of pale sauce

    But what you can’t tell from the photo was how good the actual waffle was. I have a waffle maker which I use regularly so I know how heavy a gluten free waffle can be. But the texture of this was very light and airy. I very rarely say this, but you would not know this was gluten free. The owner said the first few attempts at a gluten free waffle had been terrible, but they persevered to improve the recipe, and they have completely nailed it.

    There are three sweet options, which were pistachio and raspberry, nutella and banana, and berries and cream with meringue. My son had the banana one (not the gluten free version) and I was going to upload a picture, but I only took a video of it, so I guess I’ll just have to go back.

    I was way too full for any kind of dessert but we decided to treat ourselves to a little something from the cake counter to take home. There were a few gluten free options including Lamington cake and chocolate and banana bread (stored in the display above all the gluten containing ones). I bought the last piece of GF egg custard, which I enjoyed very much later on with a nice cup of tea.

    Glass cake counter with blue writing on the front. Inside is a gluten free Lamington cake at the top (the writing says so) and a gluten free chocolate banana bread
    White plate with a rather lovely looking slice of gluten free egg custard, accompanied by a single, decorative physalis. In the background sit a hand crafted ceramic mug and an open, brown, cardboard cake box

    Coffee and…? is a small cafe that doesn’t take bookings so either get there early or be prepared to wait a little while – the waffles are worth it.

    Coffee and…?
    984 Abbeydale Road, Millhouses, Sheffield S7 2QF

  • Gillson’s Brasserie on Eccy Road

    Gillson’s Brasserie on Eccy Road

    We recently went out to have a send off for a family friend who’s off to study and play rugby in the States.

    We decided to try Gillson’s Brasserie on Ecclesall Road, which has replaced Patoo Thai.

    I was intrigued when I found out about this new brasserie because it’s owned by the same people who have Gill’s & Co wine bar further down the road, where we had a lovely meal (not to mention a few too many glasses of wine) and they were great with the coeliac precautions.

    They also own a cocktail bar called The Gilmont so they are developing a bit of a monopoly on Eccy Road.

    Whilst the menu had gluten free items marked on already, my very thoughtful friend had phoned ahead to check they could cater for me.

    For my starter, I ordered the crispy fried ham hock terrine with minted pea puree and pickled radish. As you can see, it was incredibly vibrant, with two chunky croquettes and the contrasting puree and pickle. I loved it – a fantastic starter. Accompanied by a rather wonderful dry rose wine, which we shared.

    A white plate with a green rim, sitting on a white table cloth, with a knife and fork either side. In the middle the plate are two crispy, breaded croquettes of ham hock terrine, sitting on a minted pea puree, with a few scattered peas and a couple of quarters of pink pickled radish.

    Other options were a crab and prawn cocktail, or a sun-dried tomato, basil and butterbean pate – which unfortunately wasn’t available.

    Most people went for Sunday lunch for mains – they had belly pork, beef sirloin, supreme of chicken or a nut roast. These were generous portions with giant Yorkshire puddings that obviously don’t come with the GF version, but apparently their stuffing is gluten free, so it’s only the Yorkie that’s missing for coeliacs, which makes it a pretty good option. I can see that’s potentially an inflammatory statement here in Yorkshire, but we have to take what we can get, don’t we?

    I opted for the lighter sea bass with samphire, peas, mussels and a white wine sauce, and I shared some tenderstem broccoli with my friend. Lots of greens! A generous portion of fish too, cooked to perfection, I’d say, with a wonderfully crispy skin. No complaints on this either.

    A close up of a white plate. Two crispy skin-on white fillets of seabass are nestled on top of a pile of peas and samphire. All of which sits in a puddle of creamy sauce.

    I like to squeeze in a dessert for the purpose of the blog – very selfless of me, I know. There was only one GF on offer and it was a mango and coconut creme brulee, so I had that and it was very nice. You never get quite the same texture with vegan ingredients so it wasn’t quite as silky as a dairy based one, but it had the flavour and the caramelised sugar crunch nailed.

    A close up of a white bowl of creme brulee with a green rim. It's almost completely covered in slivers of mango, and on top of that are arranged three pieces of crunchy, sugary, oaty biscuit.

    Price-wise, it wasn’t bad at all for the quality of the food. The roasts ranged from £19-£25. My sea bass was a little pricier at £28 but the portion justified it. Caesar salad was the cheapest GF main option at £19 or you could push the boat out on fillet steak for £39.

    The potato selection is also strong here, with fries, mash, truffled Dauphinoise (yes please) and buttery news all GF.

    All in all, it was an excellent meal worthy of our celebration.

    Gillson’s Brasserie
    607-609 Ecclesall Rd, Sheffield S11 8PT

  • Groke – Coffee and brunch at Kelham Island

    Groke – Coffee and brunch at Kelham Island

    Groke is a very rare gem for coeliac dining – a brunch cafe that specialises in gluten free. I normally avoid brunch out completely, as there are so few places I’ve found I can enjoy it – partly because of the cross contamination risk from a hundred bread products, and partly because it’s one of those meals where you generally end up with something inferior. But not here…

    In owner Tom’s words, “Groke has a brunch menu where coeliacs aren’t an afterthought.” A recently diagnosed coeliac himself, safe gluten free dining has been a priority since the beginning.

    The opportunity for a visit came up a couple of weekends ago, when the weather was lovely and both of my teenagers were away. We decided to take the dog for a walk up the Five Weirs Walk and enjoy a quiet brunch out.

    The cafe’s menu is relatively subtle with its references to gluten free (understandably not wanting to put gluten eaters off), saying all dishes can be gluten free – but all they do is switch the bread out, as all the other ingredients are already GF. I’m told by Tom that the kitchen is mostly gluten free, with a special area for bread with gluten in. As we know, it’s usually the other way round.

    Inside the cafe, the gluten free credentials are a little bolder, with this fabulous selection of home bakes, all of which are gluten free.

    A busy counter top in a cafe. On top of a wooden counter sits a tiered glass display containing a variety of tray bakes, all gluten free. On top of the display unit are a variety of bottled and canned drinks. A couple of plants are in the foreground.

    The weather was lovely, as it’s been for weeks now, so we sat outside on the terrace overlooking the river and ordered a coffee whilst we perused the menu. There are all day breakfasts, brunch dishes, burgers and toasties, which can be served with beer, wine, cider and cocktails as well as coffee – nice.

    Taken at a slightly jaunty angle, this shows a raised decking, with a few steps at the right hand side. On the decking are chairs and tables under some big, black square umbrellas. A man is preparing to take a seat at one of the tables.
    A view inside a cafe, In the background is a patio door with chairs and tables in front. In the foreground, a wooden servery is on the left and a shelf with brightly coloured items for sale. There are plants hanging from the ceiling, on the counter and on the sheles.

    The all day breakfasts are as you’d expect – a meat, veggie and vegan option. Brunch dishes include eggs Florentine, ham hock Benedict, Turkish eggs, hummous toast and bircher muesli. I made a slightly shameful order of huevos rancheros but with the titular eggs substituted for bacon and asparagus. Perhaps another reason I don’t eat brunch out is that I’m not a fan of poached and fried eggs – I can do a scramble as long as it’s got some other flavour with it – but I am a fan of refried beans, smoked tomatoes, coriander, sour cream and chilli oil on sourdough, and these were wonderfully accompanied by my bacon and asparagus. It was all rather divine – once I’d got over the slight embarrassment of ordering it. Perhaps I should come up with a name for it.

    A small wooden tray on a darker wooden table. On it sits a glass of coffee on the left, with a frothy top and a heart shaped decoration in the foam. On the right a black cup of coffee with a swirly plant decoration in the foam two teaspoons sit in between the coffees.
    A white bowl on a wooden table containing lots of refried beans, and on top of that several spears of asparagus some streaky bacon and some small, cooked tomatoes. two pieces of thick, white bloomer toast sit perched on the left of the dish.

    We were full after our brunches and a couple of coffees, so off we went for our walk. On the way back, we called in for a takeaway bake to have in the garden at home. We bought a caramel slice (aka millionaire’s shortbread) and a piece of apricot and pistachio flapjack and had half each.

    A white plate containing two slices of traybakes. On the left a fruity flapjack with raisins and, pumpkin seeds visible in the mix, and a dried apricot on top. On the right is a slice of millionaire's shortbread, although we can only really see the top, which is milk chocolate with a swirly white chocolate pattern. In front, also on the plate, is a sharp, serrated knife

    I’m looking forward to going back here – brunch out seemed particularly decadent for me, and I could definitely get used to it. Or maybe we could go a bit later in the day and try a burger. The halloumi and red pepper stack with slaw, pickles and smoky baharat sauce sounds wonderful. Veggies and vegans are very well catered for here, as Tom is also vegetarian.

    And in case you’re wondering how to pronounce Groke, as I was, it’s phonic and rhymes with broke (rather than broker, which I thought it might be, expecting it to be a Scandinavian word). It’s a word I’d never come across before, an old Scots word meaning to stare at someone’s plate hoping they will share their food. I won’t be sharing any of mine, so you’ll have to order your own!

    Groke
    1a Kelham Square,Kelham Island, Sheffield S3 8RY

  • Silversmiths, a decade later

    Silversmiths, a decade later

    It’s been 11 years since we last went to Silversmiths on Arundel Street in what’s known as Sheffields “Cultural Industries Quarter”. Back in 2015, it was brilliant for gluten free, but it subsequently went through a series of ownership changes and different chefs and for a while lost its gluten free offering altogether.

    The most recent revamp retains their focus on locally sourced ingredients and refined cooking but the menu is more gastro-pub / a-la-carte than fine dining and small plates. Happily, it now has a great selection of gluten free dishes on the menu again, so it was time to give it another visit.

    The summer menu was fairly limited, but I don’t mean that in a bad way at all as sometimes long menus can be a bit overwhelming. This one contained five starters, six mains and six desserts to choose from and just over half of those were marked gluten free, as well as most of the sides (including the beef fat chips). Price-wise, it was quite reasonable, with £7-12 for the starters and £20-25 for mains.

    For a starter, I ordered Korean beef jerky, which came with a pickled slaw and fried shallots. I was absolutely delighted when the waiter came out to say our food would take a little longer than normal so they could be extra careful on the cross contamination. That’s exactly the kind of reassurance I like. And we didn’t even have to wait that long really.

    A pile of beef jerky sitting atop a purple slaw on a grey plate. Sprinkled with bits of crispy onion

    The flavour of the beef was brilliant, with a warming blend of spices that contrasted well with the pickles, although I will say it was maybe a touch too dried; it certainly wasn’t easy to stab – but I still enjoyed it. If ordering again, I’d probably opt for the curried scallop or the braised fennel with goat’s cheese, which I’d struggled to choose between.

    My main course was red mullet, which was cooked beautifully and served with lemon herb potatoes, samphire and a pineapple and red onion salsa. The dish tated excellent, with the fish cooked perfectly, lovely, salty samphire, and the tangy salsa was absolutely delightful. The only problem was that the fish was a bit on the small side – in the picture, those potatoes were not massive.

    A textured plate containing a piece of seared red mullet fillet, some new potatoes that slightly dwarf the fish, samphire and a pineapple salsa
    A white plate with two hunks of steak, one lovely and pink. Sitting alongside two large, crispy cubes of potato, some long thin carrots complete with greenery, a few mushrooms and a creamy Bernaise sauce

    My husband chose the steak, which was also gluten free, and a much more generous portion as you can see in the photo. That came served pink with carrots, mushrooms, potato cubes (not the technical term!) and a Bearnaise sauce.

    I wasn’t planning to say anything about the dinky fish, but my friend took it upon herself to mention it to the staff and they did acknowledge it was a bit on the small side. To make up for this later, they said my dessert would be on the house, which was a nice touch, and much appreciated.

    Here is said dessert – a very rare thing indeed, a gluten free lemon meringue pie, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It was a very decent slice, with freshly blow-torched soft meringue on the top. It went down very nicely with my Bakewell tart cocktail to round off the meal and a lovely night out.

    In the foreground, a luscious slice of lemon meringue pie is hiding behind a very beautiful quenelle of pink hibiscus sorbet. Behind the plate is a pink, foamy cocktail in a tall glass and in the background, someone else's pudding is out of focus.

    So a very different experience to last time, but I would recommend it. Great-tasting food, plenty of gluten free options and what felt like a very reasonable price.

    Silversmiths
    111 Arundel Street, S1 2NT

  • Iberico

    Iberico

    Iberico is a small, authentic Spanish tapas restaurant hidden away in Dyson Place (just off Sharrow Vale Road in the Ecclesall Road area of town). It has replaced the small plates restaurant Tonco, which sadly closed down in 2024.

    Iberico’s focus is on high quality, home-made food, using imported Spanish ingredients for authenticity. When we arrive, there’s a buzz about the place, with a busy, open kitchen including a barbecue for their ‘fire cooked’ brasa dishes.

    The menu includes small bites or pintxos (pronounced pinchos) at £5 each, hot and cold tapas (£7-13), charcuterie platters (£17-20) and fire cooked dishes, ranging in price up to £22. The vast majority, apart from the obvious bready bits, are gluten free, and the team seemed very clued up on cross contamination.

    To start with, we ordered some olives, Manchego cheese with quince paste, and a wood-fired roasted Galician beef Picanha. This was supposed to come with a micro leaf salad but it came with a regular-looking curly lettuce, and I wasn’t a massive fan of the goat cheese sauce. That’s a personal preference though – my husband liked it. The beef was delightful though – wonderfully soft.

    A plate containing 4 triangular slices of Manchego cheese and 4 small cubes of quince paste. In the background, a small terracotta pot is filled with green olives
    A plate containing very thin slices of barely cooked beef with some lettuce and a yellow goat cheese sauce

    We then had some crunchy belly pork, which was one of the pintxos. Now, this may have been the best belly pork I’ve ever had; I’m not always a fan but I think it had been deep fried and the fat was beautifully rendered down and perfectly crispy. The fish in a sauce with garlic was, I believe, one of the daily specials, and the other two dishes were from the Brasa or BBQ. The mixed grilled vegetables were brilliant and incredibly flavoursome. Unusually, I experienced a second ‘best ever’ moment, and unexpectedly, it was the carrots in this dish: sweet, soft and perfectly seasoned – can I get a wood fired brasa installed in my kitchen please?

    A white plate with three very crispy pieces of belly pork sitting on top of two lemon slices
    A terracotta pot containing a piece of white fish in a buttery, yellow sauce, with slices of crispy garlic scattered on top
    A selection of roasted vegetables (carrot, pepper, aubergine) on a rectangular white platter with a blue pattern
    Slices of barbequed pork on top of some small roasted potatoes with a Padron pepper, on a cream coloured, rectangular plate

    The final savoury dish was the Iberico pork steak, which was perfectly cooked and succulent, and came with some mini roast potatoes.

    We were pretty full after all that and could have happily gone without a dessert, but the menu had two gluten free puds that were crying out to be tried. So we shared an almond based Santiago cake and a burnt Basque cheesecake and had no problems putting them away. Both were delicious.

    Two desserts on separate blue and white plates. In the foreground, a slice of burnt Basque cheesecake and behind, a slice of almond cake with icing sugar on the top

    We really enjoyed this meal. There’s something so sociable about sharing small dishes rather than just tucking into an individual large plate of food, so was a very enjoyable experience, and we’re now plotting who we can take with us next time.

    Iberico
    2 Dyson Place, Sharrow S11 8XX

  • How to be a Coeliac – eating out

    How to be a Coeliac – eating out

    Once you’ve got the hang of eating at home, it can take time to build up confidence to eat away from home. You’ve learned all about how important it is to check the ingredients of everything and to avoid cross contamination. But how can you be sure other people would be as careful as you? How can you even begin to trust anybody else to cook for you? Where do you start?

    In this post, I’ll talk about what I’ve discovered about eating out in cafes and restaurants, and also eating at friends’ and family members’ homes.

    Eating out in restaurants and cafes:

    • The good news is, Coeliac UK have an accreditation scheme that a variety of restaurants have signed up to. Accredited restaurants work with Coeliac UK to make sure they are meeting strict gluten free standards including training staff how to take orders, cook and serve gluten free food safely. I just did a search for accredited restaurants in Sheffield and it returned 26 results. Don’t get over excited as lots of these are chains with multiple venues: Browns and Pho in the city centre, eleven branches of Dominos, seven Pizza Huts, four Pizza Expresses and two Miller and Carters. Not all of their food is gluten free (although at Pho, it’s the vast majority) but they will all have a good selection.
    • Very occasionally you’ll come across a fully GF restaurant or cafe. These tend to pop up where the owner/chef or a close relative is coeliac. There have been a couple of these in Sheffield that have come and gone, and only place I know of in Sheffield at the moment is the Sardinian restaurant Akentannos on Sharrow Vale Road. The owners also run a gluten free delicatessen on the same road called Nue (the arancini are amazing!). There’s also Darnton Coffee House in Barnsley, which isn’t a million miles away (but I’ve still not been). Obviously, you can totally relax in these places, as there is zero risk of cross contamination.
    • There are quite a few cafes and restaurants that have a separate gluten free menu or have dishes that are gluten free marked on the menu. Some places do gluten free really well, e.g. at Wagamama, they only allow managers to take orders from gluten free customers and your food will be cooked by the head chef. Even so, they still have a disclaimer on their website saying they can’t guarantee 100% gluten free because of other ingredients present. So this is where you have to use your judgement. Personally, I’m satisfied that in this case they are taking adequate precautions (I also have gluten present in my own kitchen) and I’ve never had a problem eating there.
    • But what if you’re not sure? Before you book, have a good look at menus online so you can get an idea of the menu options. When you arrive, it’s worth asking some questions to check how well they understand gluten free food. You can ask things like whether they have a separate preparation space for gluten free food? Or can they wipe down an area and use clean cooking utensils. An important question to ask for any fried food like chips is whether they have a dedicated fryer for chips or do they just bung them in with all the breaded items? Don’t make assumptions when it comes to chips – I’ve definitely been in places where they didn’t understand this.
    • In cafes and restaurants where they have cakes on display, this often gives you an idea of how good they are at managing allergens. If they have all the gluten free items at the top of the display or in a separate cloche, and they have dedicated tongs to pick them up, that’s a good sign. If the gluten free cakes are sitting right next to regular cakes, I’d exercise extreme caution. It’s definitely worth asking if the gluten free items were prepared and stored separately and if they have any that haven’t been put out on the counter.
    Lovely, gluten free mini Victoria sponges and mini carrot cakes protected by glass cloches
    Gluten free chocolatey goodies under a protective cloche

    Food on the go:

    • Food from street markets is very rarely ok for gluten free, in my experience, so food on the go tends to be more expensive because you can’t generally just grab a burger or sausage roll. You’re more likely to need to find a cafe or a supermarket where they have pre-packed sandwiches (M&S is usally reliable for a sandwich or wrap). Baked potato places are probably a good bet.
    • Some of the supermarkets and coffee chains have pre-packed gluten free options, but these have decreased unfortunately, as the focus has shifted onto vegan food.
    • In coffee shops, if you have a hot drink with steamed milk, ask them to wipe down the milk steamer because they tend to use the same one to heat oat milk, which generally contains gluten, so there is a cross contamination risk. Chain coffee shops usually have some pre-packaged cakes or flapjacks on the counter but you’re less likely to find savoury food, although I quite like the little egg bites in Starbucks for something a bit different.
    • Takeaways can be tricky, although as we’ve seen from the Coeliac UK accreditation, there are quite a few pizza options. Gluten free Chinese options are fairly rare, although people do recommend Simply Chinese in Dronfield, if you’re over that way. Fish & chip shops sometimes serve GF, often on the day they change the oil in their fryers. Occasionally, you’ll find a chippy that has a dedicated fryer like Neptune’s on Ecclesall Road that calls itself a gluten free specialist. Again, it’s about researching in advance.
    • Indian restaurants and takeaways generally have a few options, as they tend to use gram flour (from chickpeas) rather than wheat flour. You still need to ask some questions about cross contamination though, as all the breads and chapatis will contain gluten so they will probably still need to take extra care with preparing GF food. Poppadoms can be ok, but they generally need to be cooked in fresh oil so you do need to check.
    • Some reliable resources for looking for places to eat are: Coeliac UK, local gluten free groups on Facebook, local gluten free bloggers. I don’t tend to find TripAdvisor that useful, as people tend to over use the keywords. You do need to check the dates on any reviews or recommendations though, as so many places change hands.
    • For a more thorough search, I usually use Google maps to look for any cafes, pubs or restaurants then click through to their websites to look for menus – anywhere that has an online menu with a reasonable number GF items marked on makes it onto the shortlist.

    Here are a few tips from a more personal point of view:

    • I’ve found sometimes I just have to manage my expectations, especially if I’m not in charge of deciding where to eat (e.g. you’re out with work). Generally, you’ll be able to find something, it might just be a bit more plain that you’d like and there might be a choice of only a couple of things. The ubiquitous chocolate brownie is your friend…
    • Brunch and Sunday roasts out are disappointing in my opinion. Brunches tend to be a gluten fest and with Sunday roasts, you miss out on the best bits like stuffing, Yorkies and cauliflower cheese. We tend to eat lunch or evening meals out instead.
    • It’s not that easy to be spontaneous – you generally need to put in some research when eating out, and especially if you’re away from home.
    • Eating out does become less stressful, but you never get far away from having to talk about gluten. Get used to talking about it – a lot.
    Gluten free brownies over the years - 1 of 3, with a white chocolate drizzle, a scoop of ice cream, and a strawberry
    Gluten free brownies over the years - 2 of 3, with a caramel drizzle, pieces of cinder toffee and a scoop of vanilla ice cream
    Gluten free brownies over the years - 3 of 3 - naked, as it comes, on a a paper bag

    Friends & family

    • It’s important to make sure close family who you’ll be eating with understand about cross contamination, especially if you have a mixed kitchen or if you are eating at someone else’s house. It might take a while for people to get used to having different utensils for gluten free food and keeping crumbs out of the butter and jam. You’ll probably need to keep a close eye to begin with.
    • I found some of my friends really rose to the challenge and made a lot of effort to accommodate me with food, keeping the odd gluten free snack in, checking ingredients and being careful about contamination. However, a few people were just worried about making me ill and didn’t feel comfortable inviting me round for food anymore – social invites definitely tailed off a bit. Don’t be offended if this happens.
    • If you are eating at a buffet (e.g. a work function or a wedding), I recommend shamelessly getting to the front of the queue so you can serve yourself before people contaminate the gluten free options by waving bread rolls around and mixing up serving tongs.
    • One thing I’ve found useful is reusable toaster bags – you can pop a slice of GF bread in and use your friend’s toaster that isn’t gluten free. These are very useful for self catering holidays as well.
    • I often find if I’ve been to someone’s house, I end up leaving with a goodie bag of open packets of GF food, especially bread, biscuits or crackers, which I always find quite sweet. I’m unsure if it’s because I’ll get the benefit of it or they just don’t want to eat it – probably both!

    I hope this series of articles is useful for people who are new to the Coeliac game. If you’ve found this one first, here are links to my other recent articles:
    How to be a Coeliac – getting started
    How to be a Coeliac – eating at home
    How to be a Coeliac – food shopping

    Would love to hear any other top tips – please feel free to add into the comments

  • Cosy Club

    Cosy Club

    I have eaten at Cosy Club in other cities so I was really pleased to hear one has opened up in Sheffield. They cater really well for allergens and vegans, so I’ve ended up there on work awaydays a couple of times. Plus, I really like their decor that strikes a balance between opulent and kitsch, which makes a nice change from the stripped-back, industrial style of many modern bars and food halls.

    We were out for a pre-cinema meal on our wedding anniversary, so this was a bit of a treat. So, a celebration called for a glass of fizz, which, for the first time ever, came with an allergy sticker on it! I’ve had this on food before, but never on a drink. It certainly gave the impression they are all over it with the allergens. They also have a separate gluten free menu, which is another good sign.

    A glass of prosecco on a wooden table with an allergy sticker on it. Behind is a glass of beer and to the side a lit tealight in a holder

    We decided to share a couple of small plates for starters – Nocellara olives (really big ones!), burrata cheese and smoked piquillo pesto, and chermoula tenderstem broccoli with caramelised butter and pickled red chilli – and they all came with their little allergen flags! There is an excellent choice of gluten free options, including a few to try next time (tempura vegetables and N’duja glazed butterbeans). The broccoli was my favourite, absolutely packed with flavour.

    Three white serving bowls on a wooden table, containing olives, burrata cheese and tenderstem broccoli
    A side plate containing olives, burrata cheese and tenderstem broccoli

    For main course, I had a Massaman cauliflower curry, which also included sweet potato, sugar snap peas and butterbeans, and a side of spring onion rice. This was also really flavoursome, with just enough bite to the cauliflower.

    A bowl containing cauliflower Massaman curry with a red allergen flag in it
    A bowl containing cauliflower Massaman curry and some rice

    There are plenty of meat options to choose from as well, with Spanish chicken, steamed seabass, and various burgers and steaks. Sides include truffle and parmesan fries, twice cooked potato skins and pan fried green beans.

    I hope this place survives as it’s really quite reliable for coeliacs. Granted, it was a Tuesday in September, but it did seem very quiet for somewhere in the middle of the city. I also noticed they have a private dining room upstairs, which looked rather fun.

    We didn’t have time for dessert, as we were off to a show (Jodie Comer in the National Theatre Live showing of her one-woman play Prima Facie in the cinema, which was astonishingly good – highly recommend) so we had a Magnum ice cream and a glass of wine in the cinema instead!

    1 Holly Street, Sheffield City Centre, Sheffield S1 4AW

  • Pellizco

    Pellizco

    Pellizco is a Mexican tapas bar in Dyson Place, Sharrow. It’s a graduate of the Cutlery Works food hall, where they had a concession, having built up a reputation as a street food vendor. It seems Pellizco has gone from strength to strength over the last few years, and having been conceived during lockdown, they have put themselves in a good position to weather the challenges being thrown at the food industry over the last few years. It was great to see that the place was buzzing when we arrived.

    It was a Friday night after a loooong week, so cocktails and snacks were ordered immediately. We had a bowl of giant corn kernels and some Totopos which are home made tortilla chips with a choice of two salsas (I think we chose salsa roja and spring onion crema). These started the meal of with a good, salty crunch to complement our cocktails. Mine was a watermelon and rosemary margarita, one of several margaritas in their extensive menu, which also includes a well-thought-out selection of mocktails.

    Two cocktails and a bowl of crunchy corn kernels on a wooden table
    A bowl of crunchy taco pieces and two dips

    You might think looking at the pictures of the mains below that there were quite a few people present, but there were only two of us! They are small plates, but generous none the less, and many of them came with more crunchy tortillas (so in hindsight, we didn’t need the starter ones). The vast majority of the menu is gluten free, clearly marked on the menu, so it was a pleasure to have so much to choose from, and the staff seemed clued-up about cross contamination.

    From left to right, on the top we have Queso fundido (baked cheese with chorizo), tilapia ceviche and tenderstem broccoli with confit tomatoes. On the bottom, it’s soy and sesame cauliflower taco with pickled carrots, Oaxacan style stewed pinto beans with crumbled feta, and a fish (tilapia) taco with chipotle mayonnaise.

    A skillet of melted cheese with radishes and chorizo on top, and crunchy tacos on the side
    A dish with tilapia ceviche hiding under some sliced radishes, and even more crunchy tacos on the side
    A dish with tender stem broccoli and baby tomatoes
    Two soft tacos, each with a crunchy deep fried cauliflower and a hat of pickled carrot, with one lime wedge
    A rectangular pot with pinto beans in a sauce, with crumbled feta cheese and herbs on the top
    Two fish tacos with chipotle mayonnaise, a few radish slices and a lime wedge

    These were all absolutely crammed with flavour and texture: sweet confit tomatoes, tart, limey ceviche, unctuous melted cheese, crunchy tacos and tangy pickled carrots. What a fabulous combination of food. My overall favourite was the ceviche, in a sour and spicy watermelon and hibiscus marinade, but the tacos were also fantastic and the whole assortment was delightful.

    We clearly didn’t need a dessert, but I was already committed to ordering a portion of gluten free churros, which I’ve never come across anywhere else, so room had to be made. I steeled myself and prepared for it by enjoying a cocktail off the specials menu, which was, wait for it, a piña colada-rita. What a combination – it was marvellous, bringing together the sweetness of piña colada with the tang of a margarita in a flamboyant, coconut-encrusted glass.

    Is this really a picture of gluten free churros - yes it is! with a bowl of chocolate dip
    A rather flamboyant cocktail in a tumbler with a rim of desiccated coconut and a slice of lime. Also a few more crunchy tacos and a bottle of beer

    The churros were a feast for the eyes – you really wouldn’t know you were looking at a gluten free version (you could say the same for the rest of the meal, as well). They came fresh from the fryer and had a hot, crunchy exterior, with a melty middle, and were very tasty.

    We will be bringing more people back here – definitely a new favourite.

    Pellizco
    8 Dyson Place, Sheffield S11 8XX

  • No Name Bistro

    No Name Bistro

    I’d been wanting to try this Bistro in Crookes for ages, having heard good things about it from a coeliac friend. No Name is a tiny restaurant in an end terrace with about seven or eight tables crammed in, with a creative vibe from the rather eclectic interior design – lots of paintings, photos, musical instruments and even a stuffed seagull flying off with an ice cream cone. The decor in the ladies’ loo was something else – somebody had fun designing this place.

    The short menu changes frequently and is written up on a large chalk board on the wall (there is an example menu on their website). Allergens aren’t indicated, but there were a few things to choose from following a chat with the staff. The kitchen is tiny so it would be difficult to say there was no cross contamination risk, but the staff were very clear about what I could and couldn’t have and I had confidence in their understanding of cross contamination.

    We nibbled some black olives with a glass of wine (they run a BYO policy), and then for starter, I had curry-cured salmon with minted yoghurt, coriander shoots and mango chutney - the fish is hiding beneath the cucumber in the picture below. The flavours in this really packed a punch – a miniature curry with some crunchy seeds for texture.

    A bowl of black olives with two bamboo skewers
    A starter portion of curry cured salmon hiding underneath some cucumber, drizzled with mint sauce and mango chutney

    For main course I had market fish with parsley butter, tender stem broccoli and tartare potatoes. I can’t recall what the white fish was, unfortunately – halibut? haddock? But I do remember it was beautifully cooked and the vibrant parsley butter tasted as good as it looks. I wasn’t sure what to expect of the potatoes, but I am a fan of tartare sauce so the little pieces of gherkin and capers tied the spuds in nicely with the fish and broccoli.

    A piece of white fish underneath some long stem broccoli, drenched in a green parsley and butter sauce
    Small bowl of three potatoes with wrinkly skins and sprinkled with capers and chopped up gherkin
    A piece of white fish underneath some long stem broccoli, drenched in a green parsley and butter sauce - with two potatoes

    My dessert was a slightly modified version of the menu’s warm chocolate mousse with malted milk ice cream, honeycomb and caramel. Mine came with vanilla ice cream instead of the malted milk. The ice cream was almost immersed in a big bath of silky, warm chocolate mousse, underneath some generous chunks of honeycomb. An absolutely lovely way to round off the meal.

    A small dish almost full to the brim with chocolate mousse and vanilla ice cream, covered with pieces of honeycomb

    Price-wise, No Name is on the expensive side, at £8-9 per starter and £19-25 per main courses, but these are really high quality dishes, expertly put together. And of course, you’re not paying for alcoholic drinks, so the bill at the end doesn’t seem too high. It’s open Wednesday to Saturday with two sittings and you definitely need to book, and somewhat unusually, it’s cash only. You do need to let them know about any allergens to avoid when booking. As the menu is limited it would be difficult for them to accommodate with no notice.

    No Name
    253 Crookes, Sheffield, S10 1TF

  • Bank House

    Bank House

    Having been to The Dore fairly recently, I decided to have a look online at the menu for its older sister restaurant in Hathersage, the Bank House. The Bank House is situated in the imposing former NatWest bank on the main road. I was delighted and somewhat astonished to find a gluten free bao bun starter on the menu! So we decided, although the menu was a little similar to the Dore, to book in for our next meal out.

    Spoiler: I found out pretty quickly when I expressed my excitement about the bao bun that it’s incorrectly marked on the menu, so we started off with some inevitable disappointment. Whilst somewhat concerning/infuriating (they really need to update the menu or just put a line through the GF) the waiter clearly knew his stuff and was able to advise. I consoled myself with a locally made gin from Hathersage, called Shivering Mountain, which was very palatable.

    The restaurant is upstairs and we passed through a fairly bustling, swish bar area to get to it. This isn’t your typical Peak District village pub – it’s got much more of an upmarket feel with glamorous decor and playful fittings with trees and birds giving a nod to nature and the Peak District setting, perhaps.

    We settled on having a few of the “small plates” to share rather than starters and mains. The menu is quite versatile in that the small plates can be starters or tapas, and there are also salads, sharing boards, main courses and sides. Plenty of dishes are marked GF or GFO (modifiable) so there was lots to choose from. It’s quite an eclectic offering, with European classics such as steak, risotto and patatas bravas alongside Asian dishes like Korean fried chicken and those (blasted) bao buns.

    Enough about those though… we decided to go for bavette steak with a salsa verde and a peppercorn sauce, halloumi fries with sweet chilli dip, the Korean fried chicken, vegan fried cauliflower, smoky patatas bravas and mixed greens from the side options.

    Bavette steak, pink in the middle, with peppercorn sauce in a small jug
    Some vegetable side dishes - halloumi fries, patatas bravas, Korean fried chicken and cauliflower
    Three dishes - Korean fried chicken, green veg and bavette steak

    Everything came out relatively closely together, even though I was advised it might take longer due to having only one gluten free fryer, and it all tasted great. The Korean sauces were just the right level of spice for me and the steak nicely pink. We perhaps shouldn’t have had so many deep fried dishes, but the richness didn’t stop us polishing it all off.

    We managed to find space to squeeze in a dessert, and although only sorbet is marked on the menu as gluten free, the waiter advised several of the dishes could be modified. We ended up both choosing the same thing, so below are pictures of the ‘rhubarb and custard’ in its full glory (right) and the gluten free version (left). Mine was missing the rhubarb cake (understandable) but also the creme patissiere, which is a shame as that would be very easy to make GF. However, the rhubarb and strawberry mouse was lovely, and there seemed to be extras of sherbert and fruity emulsions to make up for the missing items. It was a perfectly satisfying and light dessert.

    A rhubarb and strawberry pudding without gluten
    A rhubarb and custard pudding, with gluten

    The moral of the story is undoubtedly if something on a menu looks too good to be true, check it out.

    Bank House
    Main Road, Hathersage, Hope Valley S32 1BB