Great Gluten Free Tea Rooms

Details of the excellent Tea Rooms we've found that can cater for Coeliacs by providing Gluten Free options.

On our travels around the country to visit seasides and play minigolf we're always keen to find new places to eat out at. This can often be a problem as I am a Coeliac so must only eat Gluten Free food. However, we have found some excellent restaurants, cafes, takeaways and tea rooms on our journeys.

The latest great Tea Room we visited was the Post Office Tea Rooms in St Leonards, East Sussex. The food, service and prices are great. We were visiting the area for three days and we ate at the Tea Room on each of them as there was so much variety on offer.

On my first lunchtime visit I opted for a dish from the Breakfast menu (served all day), this was the Scotch woodcock. I'd never heard of it before, but it was delicious. It consists of scrambled eggs on toast topped with anchovies and capers. It's a must try meal. I finished off with a dessert of the Lemon Sponge Cake.

On our second visit I tried one of the special, the Lamb Hot Pot with Vegetables. My wife chose the Bubble & Squeak as we had seen a fellow diner order this the day before. The Hot Pot was a big portion full of lamb and potatoes and was very filling and very tasty.

On our third visit I opted for the Bubble & Squeak, which comes topped with two fried eggs. Again it's a big portion of very tasty food, well prepared and at a great price. My wife chose the Cream Tea which looked very good. I also found out that GF Cheese Scones are always stocked so I'll be trying those next time too.

The team at the Post Office Tea Rooms offer so many great dishes and events and are very keen that customers are well catered for. The Post Office Tea Rooms is not only a great example of a Tea Room from a bygone era, but is also a blueprint of how Coeliacs/Gluten Free can be catered for. I can't wait to go back again!

Emily and a Lamb Hotpot

 

Me and my Scotch Woodcock at the Post Office Tea Room!

 

Crabtree & Evelyn, Stratford-upon-Avon - When in Stratford-upon-Avon I always make a visit to the excellent Tea Room at Crabtree & Evelyn. They have some great Gluten Free cakes, which I normally buy two of! They also have savoury dishes on offer that can be Gluten free too.

Oaks Tea Room in Felixstowe, Suffolk - The Oaks Tea Room has a great range of Gluten Free options. On our visit I chose the Chicken Liver Pate, which came served with new potatoes, salad and GF toast. it was a very tasty and filling meal. The staff at the Oaks Tea Room also delivered excellent service and make a variety of specials, many of which are Gluten Free. A must-visit if you're in Felixstowe.

Merrivale in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk - Model Village, Crazy Golf, Gluten Free Food and an Old Arcade Museum! - The menu itself shows lots of items marked 'GF' and when ordering we found out that other dishes could be adapted if necessary. The cakes, pies and pastries etc. were home made, and all of the cooking was done in separate cookers/fryers, meaning I was able to have Fish & Chips (which was also served with a good side-salad and lots of peas), it was a very big portion indeed. As there were so many GF options available I was greedy and also ordered the Mushroom, Potato, Tomato and Onion Pasty, which was very well made and very very tasty. After our food had settled we headed off for a paddle in the sea and a wander around the Pleasure Beach and then went back to Merrivale for a Cake. The choice again was huge and I opted for the Chocolate Cake.

Cooks Collection, Ampthill, Beds - The Tea Room at the Cooks Collection cookware shop serves Gluten Free options. On my flying visit I had a chat with the staff who showed me the Gluten Free Cupcakes, Cookies and Cake. They also have Gluten Free Rolls, and the soup was GF too. The Tea Room is open seven days a week too. I had a Cupcake which was very tasty indeed.

 

Charlies Cafe Bar, Worcester, Worcestershire - While travelling to Wales we stopped off in Worcester and spotted that Charlies Cafe Bar served Gluten Free options. We didn't have a full meal, but instead bought a couple of cakes. I managed to get the last piece of Marble Cake and upon eating it could see why it had sold out.

 

Other tea Rooms that we've spotted that offer Gluten Free options, but haven't had time (or hunger) to eat at include:

- Bonnets in Felixstowe, Suffolk

- Otto Cafe Regent, Cambridge

- Love Cafe, St Leonards, East Sussex

- Smith's Real Food, St Leonards, East Sussex

You can also get a "Nice Cup of Tea" at 5js Cafe at Lodmoor Country Park in Weymouth, Dorset.

We're also big fans of Fish & Chips and have also found a number of Fish & Chip Shops catering to the Gluten Free market. You can check out a blog post on some of our top finds at - "Gluten Free Fish & Chips that we've found on our travels"

I also regularly contribute reviews of places that we find that are able to cater for Coeliacs at the Travel Gluten Free website.

Link:

- Coeliac UK - The charity working for people with coeliac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis (DH).