If any of you live in or around the Reading, Berkshire area I just wanted to let you know of the Bella Italia resaurant on the Oracle Riverside area.
My husband and I were looking for somewhere to eat in Reading and we at first tried Nando's on the Riverside area as I had heard they do GF food. Here the GF menu was limited to chicken, chicken and oh, more chicken! (Actually not STRICTLY true, there were a couple of steaks and salads). The manager and staff were brilliant and tried to suggest ways round this but the fact of the matter was, there was poor GF choices on the menu.
We decided to leave Nando's and tried a couple of other nearby resaurants and upon enquiring "do you do GF food?". We were met with blank stares and one offered the ubiquitous salad.
I was beginning to despair. Until we tried BELLA ITALIA (in capitals because I want to shout about it!).
"GF food?". We tentatively asked. "Of course!" came the cheery reply. We dared to hope it was more than salad!
We were astounded to be given a FULL GF menu!!! Heaven! The food was brilliant, the service was excellent and prices were exactly the same as the "normal" menu.
We WILL be back. Up to now it's my fave place to eat.
I'm aware some of you may know BI do GF food but I didn't!
Anyway, I've provided a link below to their website and the GF menu if anyone is interested.
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11 Replies
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Hi, I eat at Nandos loads. They all have a folder with all allergens in it. We can have unseasoned chips/ spicy rice/ peas/ salads/ Portuguese potatoes and some other stuff..in fact most of their side dishes, so I don't know what's happening in your branch. It could be worth emailing the company because they will reply and are extremely helpful.
When we tried Nando's they brought out their allergen folder and we're very helpful in that resect.
We looked through it but as I said before, there wasn't much choice (as a main course) besides mostly chicken! Therefore I don't think there would be much point in emailing the company because of this.
To be honest I really don't want to eat "sides" as a main meal either.
Nandos is just a chicken restaurant.....lol Hve you tried Zizzis or carluccios? Both do a GF menu and good food. Loch Fyne is another but not sure if you have one
Great to know as I too live in Reading. I also wanted to let you know that I ate at TGI's in High Wycombe a couple of weeks ago and was astounded to find out that they have a gluten free menu and dairy free menu which was great. I was so over the moon I ordered probably far more than I would normally and the food was fab! I'm assuming that this applies to all of their restaurants so will happily go along to TGI's in Reading to check!
Hi, Have you tried checking out the Gluten Free Living 'eating out' map .. I think you may need to register if you are not already a member to have full access to check properly ..
it's useful to know about Bella Italia. I live in Tonbridge, Kent, and there's a wonderful independent restaurant called the Olive Room. When I cheekily asked about the burger and chips I was quickly told the burger was gf and they had gf buns! I rarely have burgers these days and it was fantastic, didn't need the bun! And the chips were some of the best that my sister and I have had in ages. Would thoroughly recommend it if you're ever in Kent!
Just a reminder that our companion page 'Coeliac in the City' have a Pinterest page which lists recommended chains offering gluten free and independent restaurants around the UK. If you find something you want to share then feel free to notify facebook.com/coeliacinthecity . Here's the link to the Pinterest boards pinterest.com/coeliacin/ . Certainly worth a look if you're planning a trip or just want to know what chains are now offering gluten free.
! Don't forget to still question the staff to satisfy yourself that they are managing any cross contamination risks. The chains take their instructions from HO but we have found that sometimes they adapt procedures at local level and this can mean that you get breaded products cooking in same oil as the gf items and gluten free pasta in water used for wheat pasta.
We have a Jamie's Italian restaurant here, and when checking there, was told they make their own GF pasta, and offered many GF dishes. Have not yet tried them, but will be happy to try soon. A warning- we went into Giraffe- another restaurant where staff had no idea what GF food was!!
Rhia, Giraffe have an allergy menu/table that identifies items that are gluten free. However you need to ensure that they are not taking short cuts and cross contaminating. Did you speak to the Manager when the staff appeared clueless? With chains its well worth letting the HO know when one of their branches is falling short. Here's a link to menu items that Giraffe should be making available for Coeliacs
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