There are loads in London, they've even been written up in the Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/sep/29/best-london-supper-clubs

I've been to one here http://marmitelover.blogspot.co.uk/ and have been meaning to go to this gluten free one, they just book up so quickly: http://www.anniesupperclub.co.uk/word...

There are also quite a few pop up dining locations these days, which I tend to hear more about - easier to review I guess.

That's disappointing, what your favourite picks for in and around Knutsford (I'm periodically in the area for work so some hints would be good).
Thanks,

The hummingbird bakery also has red velvet cakes and cupcakes, there are a few of those around but think Lily Vanili is a better bakery.

If you see Red Velvet at all it is typically a cupcake.

@Harters - it's a sponge cake with an entire bottle of red food coloring and a couple of dashes of cocoa powder in the batter. These days it is often frosted with cream cheese frosting, though growing up it was always boiled frosting.

Obika which is in the glass atrium between the tube and Heron Quay is wonderful, they serve Italian small plates but is billed as a mozzarella bar. I hear there is excellent and there is a new tapas place, Iberica which is near the DLR Canary Wharf stop and is supposed to be good. Camino on the river is good too.

Rice from the shops in the UK needs to be rinsed before you use it. I never had to rinse it in the US unless I bought it from the farmers market or ethnic stores, but I always have to in the UK.

So does your sister live in the UK? The water type may also affect it, but not sure about that one.

My sister-in-law has been recently diagnosed as having Type 1 diabetes and though she has recently been to see a nutritionist she's looking for more ideas about what she can/can't eat. She's a vegetarian who will eat some fish.

She has struggled to eat breakfast in the past and would drink a lot of fruit juice and smoothies in lieu of breakfast or snacks, so the biggest change for her is eating morning meals and 4 to 5 times a day.

Also, any recommendations for cookbook or blogs would be great.

And while there, eat some Thai food while you're at it. Thai restaurants in the ATL are so much better than they are in London...

Yes, I live in central London. 3 mins to a smaller shop where I can get a bit more than the basics, 5 to 10 to a veg stall seller (though I pass him on the way home from work). It's 15 to 20 minute walk or 5 minute bus to a butcher, an award-winning fish monger and two large supermarkets.

That said, I tend to get most of our food and other stuff delivered using Ocado (from Waitrose) and Farm Direct (a co-op of 'local'-ish farmers, fisherman, cheese makers that have a depot nearby in Islington).

We're quite fortunate food and delivery wise here; I need to remember that next time I pay rent...

Pretty good part of town for gluten free noshing:

- Taqueria's menu is mostly gluten free, the staff are also generally highly knowledgeable about gluten (though the odd one may have to go talk to the manager). They are on westbourne Grove

- E&O which is pan-asian has a gluten free menu (it's closer to Ladbroke Grove tube); I haven't tried it yet but sounds promising (no gf menu online unfortunately tho)

- The hummingbird bakery on Portobello has gluten free cupcakes, though oddly the vanilla gf ones are better than their red velvet cupcakes. (though in my pre-diagnosis days I never thought their rv cupcakes were all that anyway)

-Otto pizza just off Westbourne (not far from Taqueria) has gluten free pizza. I haven't had it yet as their warnings put me off initially, but I hear it is good and they make all the efforts they should they are just honest about it

I've also had good gf dining experiences at The Electric Brasserie, but I choose something that was likely gf anyway and had to do the whole song and dance about possible cross-contamination. People tend to have mixed impressions of this place, but it is always better mid-week.

I also think their is a vegan deli place that has some gluten free food, but I think it may be more of a lunch counter than a place that you could sit and eat. The vegan place is on Portobello nearly under the overpass.

I think that's about it, as far as I'm aware of...

It'll be fine. There wasn't any special coating on any of my LC cookware, esp one that could cause taste or adverse health issues.

Are you sure? I've always heard that the organic stamp on all food is based on the standards where the product is produced. Organic garlic from China, may be deemed organic in China but may or may not if it were grown in another country; however it is still imported as organic garlic.

Haven't been to the King's X location, but have eaten at some of the Eat Street stalls when they were in SouthBank. The Annie Mae's shredded pork was good, but no one I know understands the fuss abt her mac n cheese (I'm a southerner too and that style is Southern, but not worth the £5 charged for it). The Buen Provencho tacos were great too. Haven't tried the rib man yet though, I hear it is yum.

Goodness Direct is a good UK online retailer to try, I have Coeliac's disease and have ordered a great deal from them. http://www.goodnessdirect.co.uk

Never seen Almond flour in the UK, you can try substituting Ground Almonds or Almond meal, but don't think they are ground as finely as flour (like the diff between Corn meal and corn flour) so may not turn out as expected.

I've seen Coconut flour at health food stores around london (Planet Organic and Whole Foods), but not at the large grocery stores. It's also avail on goodness direct.

Spelt Flour can be found in any large supermarket (Sainsburys, Waitrose, etc) but it isn't with the normal flours, it is the 'free from' or food allergy/intolerance section.

What cookbook are you using?

http://www.runawaysquirrels.com/2011/...

Not only is the Ledbury a starred dining experience, the staff will be your body guards too! I've been meaning to eat there for ages, but am even more impressed after reading this blog post.

"Around the fourth dish of the tasting course, there were loud bangs outside. The restaurant staff was yelling at us to get away from the windows. Before I knew it, the front door, a solid piece of glass shattered and people came crashing in with hoodies, masks, and random weapons."

-----
Ledbury
127 Ledbury Rd, Kensington, England W2 5, GB

I have a colleague who has quite severe allergies and appears to be an intelligent and reasonable person. I have Coeliac's disease and even I sometimes find such severe food allergies incomprehensible, but based on my experiences and some of the shared side effects that she and I have (severe stomach swelling) I believe it can be possible to be made ill by multiple allergies. What is behind the multi-allergies is beyond my understanding, but I think it is possible and serious. then again due to my Coeliac's disease I may be more sympathetic.

Though I think gluten is more straight forward then soy allergies or some other types of allergies, intolerances, etc describing what I can or can't eat can seem convoluted (it isn't if you're more aware of what is in both 'from scratch' recipes and in processed recipes) and I can see how it seems strange. If I've recently eaten something with gluten or am around people I don't know very well I can get panicky about what is in food and it may sound more shrill, but it is just because it makes me so ill and maybe that is why the person that sent you the note seems so hysterical. I just don't think she's expressed herself very well.

For example, with my Coeliac's disase:
If I eat something with just a bit of gluten (equiv to bread crumbs in butter OR ice cream that isn't high quality and contains a wheat based binding agent) then my stomach will start to swell in about 30 minutes and within an hour I go from having a reasonable flat stomach to looking like I am 4 to 6 months pregnant. So much so that my trousers have even unzipped themselves repeatedly or if wearing a skirt I have to pull the waistband up to my rib cage to give my stomach room.

As long as I go to good restaurants (independent or mid-range places tend to know what is in the food and how it is prepared), I can eat out without issue. Chain places are harder as are picnics and potlucks. The big issue with these three occasions is these are times when food is often processed and made with commercially produced sauces, ice creams, salad dressing, etc that are made with wheat-based binding agents.

While in Skye, book in dinner at the Sconser Lodge (which is near the Kinloch Lodge); it is very good. They also have an small adjacent bar area which is homey and gets a local or two.

We had good luck just stopping at the random cottages with signs outside advertising coffee, tea, and scones. However, didn't have such a great experience in either restaurant we visited Portree.

Glasgow is only 30 minute train ride from Edinburgh and you can't visit Edinburgh for as long as you'll be in Scotland without atleast a day trip to Glasgow. Be sure to eat the delicious south indian cuisine at Dakhin (casual but vibrant restaurant).

I was there last summer and had a delicious meal mid-week for lunch. The room was virtually empty, but the meal was delicious. I keep meaning to return, but have yet to do so.

Try the Hummingbird Bakery's online ordering http://hummingbirdbakery.com/basket/ Their cakes are consistently popular and you can personalise the order in the online form to say Happy Birthday or whatever you want.

As long as you have a visa or mastercard to order online with, I don't think it would be an issue that you are ordering from India for a UK delivery.

Great suggestions here, the only places I see that are missing are:
- Wodka (Fab Polish restaurant just down the street from Launceston Place)
- Bumpkin (Mod British cuisine - I hear mixed things about it for jumping on the bandwagon of British Farm Foodieness, but the food is really good, great wine list, etc and I can't think of any other place in the area that serves anything similar.
- Noor Jahan: Though Star of India is good, I think it is really expensive for only being good not great, go to Noor Jahan (just around the corner from Star of India) instead. The walk through the residential streets to get to Noor Jahan from GR is a lovely walk (when GR ends turn right and Noor Jahan is at the end of the next street on your left), be sure to stroll the neighborhood to walk off your full belly.
- I usually avoid pubs nearest the tube station, but The Stanhope Arms pours a good pint. Also one of the few places in the area that can't be accused of being poncy. Mixed crowd, quite a few tourists though but the people watching is priceless. I haven't eaten there (can't eat gluten and their menu is gluten rich), but it is apparently better than most for standard pub far. This isn't a gastropub though, it is just a boozer that serves food.

http://www.wodka.co.uk/
http://www.bumpkinuk.com/great-country-food/restaurants/
http://www.noorjahanrestaurants.co.uk/

Looks delicious. The witchery has been on my to eat list for a while now. Maybe when it gets a wee bit warmer, we'll head up there again.

What dish was your favorite?

I've been wanting to go there! And that all just looks so gorgeous and delicious.

Give us some details.

It's been ages since I was there, but we just asked around and got good recommendations from the locals. Many of the pubs that brew one of the ales or beer in-house may be your best bets though.

They also sell it Tortilla (the burrito chain; various locations around London, but have seen it in the Fitzrovia and Canary Wharf locations).

I'm going to be in Toulouse for two days before traveling onto Gers. Any recommendations for restaurants in Tolouse, Gers, or Ariege?

I have Coeliac's disease so cannot eat gluten (proten in wheat, barley, rye, spelt, etc), so would like any information on restaurants that are both fabulous and are sympathetic to specific dietary needs.

Also, one of my friends meeting us there is a vegetarian, so any good vegetarian restaurant recommendations for her will be also be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

1. I rarely ate chips (i.e. crisps in Brit speak) in the US, but here I eat them all the time. Kettle chips and the basic Walkers types are my favorite.

2. Though everyone raves about French cheese being better and I will champion it as being good too, I love all the variety of cheddar one finds here.

3. Rocket and parmesan shaved salads. Arugula in the US when I have found it, just isn't the same + it's often in a mixed field greens sort of salad there, I like the pure peppery rocket parmesan combo that one often finds here on the menu.

4. Kedgeree. Though a Scottish favorite, it can be found around the British Isles esp on breakfast/brunch menus.

That looks promising, thanks for the link!

The Borough Market is always a fav of mine, but don't often get there to the weekend Jubilee line closures!!

Shame about Hibiscus it gets high marks, but I had a similar experience at the two-starred The Square in February. My courses were good, but hardly 2 star and two of the others dining at my table had very disappointing mains. The deserts were nothing to write home about either.

Been meaning to try Hix, thanks for putting it at the top of my list again.

H

I'm a big fan of Byron burgers, however I think the Gloucester Road location is better than the Canary Wharf location. Also a fan of the Cholula hot sauce on the table, perfect for burgers + onion rings.

I'm not overly impressed with GBK, I think there burgers are over cooked and can be greasy, but there are so many GBKs around that it will vary hugely location to location.

Our meal at The Square in February was very uneven. There were 4 of us, two had a good experience (esp with fish dishes), but two thought it was pretty awful. My husband didn't even finish his main as the meat was fatty and tough.
The service was very good. There seems to be a member of staff for each chair in the restaurant, but it is very formal.

I really enjoyed Arbutus; great food + vibrant atmosphere which can be hard to pull off at such a restaurant. Have you tried Wild Honey? That place is great and my favorite of the foodie havens in that area.

I meet someone recently that was raving about Santos on the Ladbrok Grove side of Notting Hill, so have been meaning to check it out: http://www.santovillage.com/ However, having checked out the reviews, I think I'll pass.
The mexican/cal-mex/tex-mex blends on food are quite a different style for many Londoners, so I think if the quality of the ingredients are decent with the flavours being "new" people will rave about something that really isn't that great because it is different.