Veganuary part 1: Eating out Gluten free & Vegan

Happy New Year! We are back round to that time of the year where everyone is trying to stick to their New Year’s resolutions and this year instead of making any resolutions myself, I’ve decided to take part in ‘Veganuary’. If you’ve not heard of Veganuary (I’m sure most of you have!), its basically a whole month of eating a vegan diet, no meat, dairy, eggs or fish. I’ve wanted to eat a more plant based diet for a long time now, but have always worried because of my other dietary requirements, not being able to eat gluten being the main one! This month I’ve set myself a challenge to see how realistic it really is to eat a gluten free and vegan diet, and wanted to share my experience of it as I go along. I wanted to post my first blog about eating out gluten free and vegan, because as I mentioned earlier, I’ve been trying to eat more plant based foods for a few months now, so already have quite a lot of delicious recommendations. Here are some of my favourite restaurants with gluten free & vegan choices!

Honest Burger

I’m possibly starting with my favourite place, in the world, Honest Burger – an amazing burger chain located in London, Reading and Bristol that caters amazingly for Coeliacs. Every burger on their menu can be made gluten free as well as their chips and onion rings! They recently released a new Plant burger using Beyond Meat patty’s (You can now buy these in Tesco) and is filled with an amazing vegan gouda cheese, chipotle mayo, mustard, red onion, pickles and lettuce – it’s all gluten free just ask for a gluten free bun! I can’t even explain how delicious this burger is, and how you would never know it was vegan. In fact, it was only meant to be released as a temporary monthly special at the Kings Cross branch in London but it was so popular they decided to launch it permanently in every chain!

Las Iguanas

Another restaurant which I love going to is Las Iguanas, and although there aren’t lots of options that are both gluten free and vegan, the options they have are very tasty, and it’s a great chain restaurant if you are struggling to find somewhere to cater for your dietary needs! I usually go for the veggie chilli which is made with sweet potatoes, butternut squash & chickpeas with a spring onion rice and mini gluten free tortillas (Make sure to ask for the gluten free version). I also love the ‘Holy Guacamole’ bowl too which comes with gluten free corn chips!

Pizza Express

Another great chain restaurant that you can always count on for a yummy gluten free and vegan meal is Pizza Express, they offer both gluten free pizza bases and vegan cheese. I tend to opt for their ‘Gluten free and vegan Giardiniera’ pizza which is topped with artichoke, mushrooms, red onion, black olives and vegan mozzarella. They’ve also just released another delicious option called the ‘Gluten free vegan Puttanesca’ which is topped with pulled jackfruit. We are lucky enough to live in the Deliveroo area for Pizza Express so regularly get them delivered, and it feels great to be able to finally eat a takeaway!

Zizzi’s

There’s definitely a theme with this blog post, and it involves a lot of Italian restaurants! It seems that Italian restaurants such as Zizzi’s and Pizza Express are very clued up on allergens and catering for a vegan and gluten free diet. Options at Zizzi’s include gluten free vegan pasta dishes with tomatoes and lentils as well as their delicious pizzas. I normally go for the gluten free and vegan ‘Zucca’ pizza which is topped with vegan cheese, butternut squash, mushrooms and spinach. The best part about Zizzi’s is their amazing chocolate torte with coconut ice cream dessert which is totally gluten free & vegan!

Lounges

The Lounges are a chain of restaurants across the UK, my closest being Desco Lounge in Solihull. They offer amazing gluten free and vegan menus for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner and are always a good choice when looking for a tasty meal! My favourite option is the vegan Mexican super bowl which is black beans, guacamole, roasted sweet potato, and butternut squash with lime & coriander rice, wild rocket and a tomato salsa.

The Cosy Club

The Cosy Club is another chain restaurant with both gluten free and vegan menus which I went to for my work Christmas do a few weeks ago. I ordered a 3 course gluten free and vegan menu which included a tapas starter, a parsnip, carrot and beetroot pie for mains and a chocolate orange torte for pudding. It was all absolutely delicious and I couldn’t believe it was gluten free and vegan! Although Christmas is over they still have the delicious chocolate orange torte and plenty of other gluten free & vegan options!

Nibsy’s, Reading

Nibsy’s is an entirely gluten free cafe located in Reading town centre which is always my ‘go to’ place when I’m staying in the area! As well as gluten free options they also offer some vegan ones too including cinnamon sugar doughnuts, toasted sandwiches which are filled with vegan cheese, hummus and salad and their vegan pizza! A great option if you are in Reading!

The Stable

The pizza theme continues with this delicious gluten free and vegan pizza from The Stable. The Stable is another chain dotted around the UK which again, offer gluten free pizza bases with vegan cheese. My favourite is ‘The Good Life’ pizza which is topped with roasted courgette, chilli flakes, aubergine, red & yellow peppers, onions, vegan mozzarella and fresh basil.

So there you have it, my gluten free and vegan restaurant (and street food!) recommendations, I’m hoping that by the end of this month I will have some more to share with you! I’ll be posting regularly throughout this month with updates of how my Veganuary is going, let me know if you are also joining in!

Alice x