10 Restaurants with Great Gluten-Free Food in Newcastle
We select a handful of great restaurants that cater to folk avoiding gluten
Not too long ago it could be quite difficult dining out for those following a gluten-free diet, but thankfully things have changed.
Whether you're gluten-intolerant, coeliac or cutting out gluten for health reasons, Newcastle has plenty of restaurants offering great gluten-free fare and we've picked a few of the best.
Pizza Punks, Grey Street
Challenging the norm from the heart of Grey Street, dough-slinging anarchists Pizza Punks can make any of their tasty pizzas with a gluten-free base for just a £2 surcharge, which means pies the Cubano, Cheeseburger and Buffalo can be yours without any worries. There are always offers available too, like Cheap Date Mondays (two pizzas and two drinks for just £26), in case you weren’t already tempted and they have gluten-free beer to wash their pies down with.
City Tavern, Northumberland Road
Popular pub and restaurant City Tavern has a reputation for great, unfussy food in friendly surroundings and a love for dogs. It also offers quite a few gluten-free dishes across its several menus so you can enjoy everything from chargrill chicken or prawn skewers, beef or veggie chilli, various loaded fries and potato skins, and a full range of massive Sunday roasts (as long as you skip the Yorkshire puddings).
Blackfriars, Friars Street
It’s almost traditional that we refer to Blackfriars as one of the city’s best-loved restaurants, because it just is. You can’t go wrong with excellent food – in this case, tasty spins on traditional British fare – in atmospheric surroundings. And as you’d expect, they cater wonderfully for people avoiding gluten. Around half of their meals are marked as gluten free, dishes like slow-cooked ham shank terrine, curried cauliflower fritters and sirloin or ribeye steak, and all their Sunday roasts can be served gluten free on request. There’s even a handy allergen chart on the website detailing every meal’s potential allergen.
Fat Hippo, Shakespeare Street
One of the city’s most popular burger joints, Fat Hippo has a fine menu full of humungous burgers and all the starters and sides you could want. The menu is helpfully flagged to indicate gluten or any other allergens and the bulk of their offerings can be made gluten free on request, from beef burgers like the Wild Bill and the Swiss Tony to veggie options like the Harlem Fake and Kula Faker.
Cote Brasserie, Grainger Street
Popular and traditional, the Grainger Street branch of Cote Brasserie has a fine menu of authentic bistro fare, including lots of steaks, and they’re more than happy to accommodate people looking for gluten-free options with a handful of very appealing dishes. There’s a cheese souffle starter and mains such as confit pork belly, sea bream Nantais, moules frites and of course the steaks (all the accompanying sauces are GF too). Lots to choose from when it comes to sides and desserts too, so nobody needs to miss out on a tasty Gallic feast.
Mantra Thai, Forth Banks
An impressive restaurant on a grand scale with a serious menu of inventive Thai food, offering familiar favourites and plenty that’s more unusual. The menu is clearly marked for allergens, including gluten free, and there’s plenty to choose from. There’s chicken satay, crispy pork with chill and basil, Thai-style beef in oyster sauce and Thai fish cakes, just to pick out a handful at random from a very appealing menu that’s going to make you happy whatever your dietary needs.
El Coto, Leazes Park Road
El Coto has been serving great tapas and Spanish dishes to the good people of Newcaste for two decades and has a reputation for a warm, friendly atmosphere and some really great food. Tapas and various paellas dominate the menu and there’s an extensive range of dishes for the gluten free, from cold tapas such as queso manchego and boquerones con tomate aliñado to cured meats such as jamon serrano and jamón de pata negra to hot tapas including puntas de solomillo al queso azul and gambas al ajillo. And all of the paellas are gluten free too – the paella de pescado y marisco looks unbeatable!
Miller & Carter, Mosley Street
The Newcastle branch of Miller & Carter is, as with all their restaurants, obsessed with steak: with its provenance and aging, its preparation and serving. And the good news is, being gluten free doesn’t mean missing out on one of their magnificent cuts of beef. The majority of their mains are gluten free – not just the steaks, but the seafood and veggie options too – and there’s a detailed chart here breaking down exactly what on the menu is suitable for what sort of diner.
Umai Mi, Eldon Square
The Umai Mi USP is a lively mixture of the traditional and the contemporary from a variety of South-East Asian cuisines, from Korea to Japan and all points in between. They offer full meals, small plates and snacks and usefully have a separate and comprehensive GF menu. There’s lots of sushi – nigiri, maki and temaki rolls and the rest, a host of soup noodle dishes (the king prawn tom yum is delicious) and plenty of stir-fried noodle and rice dishes too. Their popular afternoon tea with an Asian twist offers a gluten-free option too.
Zizzi, Grey Street
Another popular chain, Italian this time, and a high street favourite for its Italian menu with a difference. Their menu helpfully lists the gluten-free dishes separately to keep things simple, and there’s plenty of choice. There’s around a dozen gluten free pizzas, such as Mezzo Manzo and Pure Pepperoni, and pasta dishes like Polla Picante, Truffle & Pancetta Carbonara and Pesto Rosso.
Even five years ago, having to avoid gluten could seriously limit your options when it came to eating out, but the restaurants here in Newcastle have responded well to the increased demand and now people avoiding gluten are well-catered in most places, with specialised or clearly marked menus taking away all the stressful guesswork. So go forth and feast, gluten-avoiders!
