Here is a list of pub and bar chains/brands that I’ve found in multiple cities in UK, that (often) have gluten free lagers/beer options.

Every high street in any decent sized town has a ‘spoons’. They have a beer (lager) in a bottle that is gluten free.

You probably know where your local Wetherspoons is, but if not 

All bar ones are very popular in London. They have Gluten Free Pieroni small bottles

If you are in London you won’t be too far from a All Bar One. 

Not sure if this is a London only chain, but there are quite a few down in London. They have Daura Damm gluten free lagers.

A popular chain in UK of fancy pubs (some have dance floors/loud music) - they have gluten free Pieroni (small bottles)

Here is a list of pub and bar chains/brands that I’ve found in multiple cities in UK, that (often) have gluten free lagers/beer options.



Best UK pub chains with gluten free beer options

Here is a list of restaurant chains that seem to know and understand about coeliac disease

They also have good vegetarian and vegan options on the menu.

Zizzi is a popular italian chain, found in most high streets.

Their staff are knowlegable about coeliac disease and gluten free.

You can find Zizzi on most high streets - check out 

This is a chain of vietnamese restaurants. Almost everything on the menu is gluten free (one of the main ones which are not gluten free are spring rolls). Lots of vegan options. Their staff understand coeliac.

Pho cafe are all over London, and in many other cities in the UK. 

Another Italian restaurant chain, found on many high streets. Very knowledgeable about gluten free food, and they have many options available.

You can find Ask Italian in most large towns. 

Pizza express is a really nice chain, again found on many high streets. They, would you belive it, specalise in pizzas. Lots of gluten free options.

Pizza Express are in most towns - find one near you via 

Here is a list of restaurant chains that seem to know and understand about coeliac disease



Best UK restaurant chains for coeliac disease (gluten free)

London is a huge and very multicultural city, with tons of resaurants. And if you are coeliac or have a gluten free diet luckily there are quite a lot of options out there.

Note: Please double check with the restaurants / waiters - the info on this page may get out of date and may be inaccurate.

best restaurant chains (which you can find in almost all high streets) that cater to a vegan and gluten free menu, check out my guide here

Niche gluten free dining (100% gluten free) in Islington

They have a range of meat, vegetarian, and vegan options. They also have a low fodmap menu available. It is a little bit expensive here but really tasty.

Niche is an independent casual dining restaurant serving seasonally-inspired crowd pleasers with a modern twist. Based in Islington, London. Our ‘niche’ is a 100% gluten, nut and sesame-free menu where everything is prepared and cooked on site, making use of local suppliers and seasonal ingredients. We are open every day with our own take on British and European classics, tempting desserts and loads of dairy-free, vegetarian and vegan dishes!

Paladar is a vibrant Latin American restaurant in the heart of London’s SE1 district.

They serve fresh, creative 100% gluten-free food and innovative cocktails inspired by the ingredients and flavours of Central and South America.

Apres is a gluten free restaurant in Clerkenwell. They are open for lunch & dinner Monday - Friday and Brunch on Saturdays, and have a wide range of vegetarian and vegan options.

Another gluten free restaurat - Indigo at One Aldwych is a great place with fine food and great wine selection.

Guide to restaurants that cater to coeliac disease in uk

Best Gluten Free Restaurants in London UK

One argument that vegans often hear is that it is hard to get enough nutrients, or enough protein being vegan.

When you combine that with living a gluten free life (which is required if you have coeliac disease for example), the initial impression might be that a good nutritious meal plan for working out or bodybuilding would be hard.

But really, once you get used to being gluten free you realise it isn’t that much different than any other vegan bodybuilding/gym diet plan.

This is obvious for anyone living a vegan and/or gluten free life, but the main things to avoid:

this list is not comprehensive and is written only to give you a starting point!

Meat/milk/cheese/eggs/honey - for the vegan side (this is quite easy!)

Wheat, barley, Rye, Oats (except when they’re gluten free)

Also have to avoid ‘vegan meats’ such as seitan, and some soy based meats, as they are not gluten free.

A lot of sauces and flavourings can contain wheat, which means it has gluten in.

Most weight training or body building diet plans will often include lots of pasta, maybe bread etc. But this is all off limits.

But there are some great gluten free (and vegan) alternatives to these.

Foods you can eat on a gluten free & vegan diet

always check the ingredients and allergy warnings

Rice (some have traces of gluten - check packet)

For meat substitutes, you can get vegan gluten free options such as Beyond Meat Burgers, Impossible Burgers and some of the Quorn range. Tofu is also almost always gluten free (but sometimes not if it has flavourings)

You can find some supplements which are both vegan and gluten free. Creatine is normally fine. However a GF + vegan protein powder is harder to find and can be more expensive, but it exists.

Further resources on bodybuilding gluten free diets

Intro to diet plans for those on a gluten free diet.

Body building gluten free vegan diet plan

So, what exactly is Coeliac disease? The NHS describes Coeliac as “a condition where your immune system attacks your tissues when you eat gluten.”

Therefore, when a person with the disease eats certain foods (like wheat, rye and barley) that contain a protein called gluten, the body reacts immediately and mounts an immune response that starts attacking various organs, especially the small intestine.

It produces antibodies after mistaking healthy cells for harmful ones. So in the case of coeliac disease, one of the substances contained in gluten known as gliadin is mistakenly considered a threat to the body.

Antibodies have then produced that attack the small intestine. In the small intestine, tiny finger-like projections promote nutrient absorption.

These are damaged when the immune response kicks in, leading to the inability of nutrients to get adequately absorbed into the system.

Coeliac disease is a hereditary disease making it a disease that can be passed on within families. Coeliac disease can develop at any age, and if you have coeliac disease you can feel unwell when you eat foods with gluten in it. Even medicines that contain gluten can cause symptoms!

Coeliac disease may not be life-threatening but can lead to more severe and potentially life-threatening conditions such as coronary artery disease or cancer in the small bowel.

In addition, other disorders like multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, anaemia, epilepsy, migraines, and miscarriages could arise from the non-treatment of coeliac disease.

Coeliac is a word that is derived from a Greek word meaning abdominal. So coeliac disease is an illness that is related to the abdomen.

It was first reported in the second century when a Greek medic named Aretaeus recorded an occurrence of a patient who had stomach pains and was wasting away.

The patient looked pale and feeble and was incapable of work, and experienced chronic diarrhoea that manifested in loose stool that was white. The disease was hard to deal with and kept recurring. However, it was not until the 19th century that the western medical field identified this condition as Coeliac.

What are the symptoms that one could be suffering from coeliac disease?

The NHS website says that doctors sometimes detect coeliac disease while testing for another condition.

However, for others who have more severe cases, diarrhoea caused by the body not absorbing nutrients would be the most common symptom. Other symptoms may include abdominal pain, bloating, frequent passing of wind (the average would be between 5 to 15 times a day), indigestion, constipation, and vomiting in the case of children.

tingling and numbness of the hands and feet

swelling of the hands and feet caused by fluid build-up in those organs.

And because the body is not getting the nutrients needed from the food one eats, there is the likelihood of suffering from malnutrition.

Children with coeliac disease tend to have a slow growth rate affecting their height and weight and even delaying puberty.

According to the NHS, a slightly rarer symptom is a skin disorder called dermatitis herpetiformis.

It is an itchy rash that causes blisters that burst when scratched and usually occur on the elbows, knees and buttocks.

While not directly a symptom of coeliac disease, this symptom can also be amongst people with an autoimmune response to gluten.

A person needs to be correctly diagnosed with coeliac disease. This is normally initially with blood tests, then if that is indicating you have coeliac then they stick a camera down your throat and do a biopsy.

Of course, for the antibodies (in the blood test) to be present, you must have eaten something with gluten so that the body reacts to it.

The biopsy is a more complex procedure done by a gastroenterologist (a medical practitioner specialising in treating the stomach and intestines) who will insert an endoscope in the mouth to the small intestine. The endoscope is a flexible tube with a light and a camera at the end.

Then the gastroenterologist will use a biopsy tool passed through the endoscope to get samples from the small intestine.

The biopsy samples will then be examined microscopically for signs of the disease. Further tests may need to be done by the doctors to establish the extent of the effect of coeliac disease on the body.

What treatment is available once a patient has been diagnosed with coeliac disease?

The only and most effective treatment for coeliac disease is strictly following a gluten-free diet.

As mentioned earlier, gluten is contained mainly in grains, especially barley, wheat and rye.

Hence, people with coeliac disease should avoid food products that may have been contaminated with wheat gluten during processing.

For one with the disease, what that means is that they MUST avoid gluten for the rest of their lives. As noted above, gluten, even in small quantities for a person living with coeliac disease, could damage the small intestine.

So one must be very careful and be very keen to ask, especially when eating out, which gluten-free food is on the menu. The good thing is 

most restaurants, including fast-food restaurants, now offer gluten-free dining

A guide to what coeliac disease is and how it affects people and their diets.

Welcome to Vegan Gluten Free.co.uk

My most popular posts/guides

About this site