Gluten-free London: Niche restaurant review

Gluten-free London: Niche restaurant review

Niche is London’s first Coeliac UK accredited 100% gluten free restaurant. You know what that means? No need to cross-examine the waiting staff countless times, no need to conduct a risk assessment on every dish on the menu and certainly no need to spend half the meal paranoid.

Just a short walk away from Angel Tube Station in Islington, the cosy venue is easy to reach when you’re on the hunt for gluten free food in London. Do book a table before you go – the restaurant was full when we arrived. It’s a cosy, intimate space that sits 34 diners, delicately lit with interesting local photography/art on the walls.

On the menu? Proper British comfort food with a modern twist.

16833533_1814691142112961_616794885_o

I booked a table for this place a full week before my weekend away. Mainly due to a photo of a gluten free pie I’d seen on the website. Easily swayed, right? Show me a solid pie and nothing but my lizard brain will respond – all rational out the window. This time, my primal instinct was totally right. Get a load of this:

16880841_1814691135446295_732359230_o

This is Niche’s signature chicken and wild mushroom pie, made in the restaurant’s kitchen from scratch. I resolutely declared ‘this is the best pie I’ve ever had’ multiple times throughout the meal – and I meant it. Inside was a sumptuously sexy medley of free-range chicken, wild mushrooms, garlic, onions and leeks in a white wine and cream sauce. I drizzled the mouth-wateringly rich onion gravy and took the first bite with some beautifully creamed mash and could not stop smiling.

16864197_1200203893410345_3052215264166175083_n

And, AND! I also had beer-battered onion rings for the first time since they played their part in my original diagnosis of coeliac disease years ago. It was worth the wait.

16910707_1814691122112963_1117912553_o

My boyfriend (who is non-coeliac) ordered the 8oz beef burger with smoked streaky bacon, skinny fries and coleslaw. After sampling what we could only describe as an in-flight meal at the Handmade Burger Co (the GF buns come vacuum-packed – perfect for cross-contamination but not-so-perfect for a guy wanting a big juicy burger) this was just what we’d hoped would arrive. I think his faith in gluten free burgers was restored there and then. Look at dat gherkin.

16833613_1814691128779629_146571726_o

16833319_1814691125446296_49180637_o

This is the kind of dinner that makes you smile when you think about it afterwards. It was absolutely perfect in every way and would be even if you didn’t have coeliac disease. You couldn’t tell the difference.

We didn’t have any sweet because I was gloriously up to my neck in pie. But the dessert menu was pretty damn tempting. I do think I’d have gone for the white chocolate & peanut butter Blondie or the blueberry cheesecake if I had room. What about you?

16910801_1814691118779630_342555704_o

Check out the rest of the menu (which also has dairy free and vegan dishes) and, if you’re looking for gluten free places to eat in London, definitely book a table on the Niche website.



Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.