A few weeks ago I went for a short trip to Manchester to visit a friend. This meant that I had to eat out a lot. Luckily I had my Coeliac UK app handy and using the venue app it quickly located a number of restaurants offering GF options. I was surprised by the number of restaurants that turned up all within walking distance! I was spoilt for choice. Now that’s nice for a change. The restaurants I tried during my trip were La Tasca and Pizza Express. Here’s their reviews.
La Tasca Restaurant Review
Cuisine: Spanish
Cost: £10-£15 for a main dish
La Tasca is a Spanish tapas restaurant which offers a variety of GF options which are clearly marked on the menu. Some tapas are FODMAP friendly as they do not contain any onion or garlic for example the grilled langoustines. They also cook some dishes in chili and garlic oil so you may ask to have your food cooked with the oils instead of onions and garlic. Our waitress was friendly and willing to ask the chef to make substitutions to dishes. The dessert menu includes GF options such a chocolate fondue cake and a chocolate tart. These however are not dairy free. They offer lemon and strawberry sorbets which are low FODMAP.
Pizza Express Review
Cuisine: Italian/pizza
Cost: approx £8-£10 for a pizza
Pizza Express is an Italian pizza chain restaurant which can be found all over the UK. They have now introduced GF options on the menu which are clearly labelled and all pizzas can be made on a GF base. While I really used to enjoy their pizza before I had to follow a Low FODMAP diet it took me a while to go try the GF version. The GF pizza here was delicious. This is by far the best GF pizza I have tried so far. The dough was slightly crispy and resembled their romana pizza base. I loved it and will definitely be returning soon! The pizzas here are topped with small amounts of mozzarella cheese making it low in lactose and FODMAP friendly. The low amount of cheese also means it’s lower in fat ideal for those whom fat is a trigger. They also have chili and garlic oils available. They also offer a GF brownie and sorbet for dessert. So if you’re a fan of Italian thin crust pizzas think no further and head to Pizza Express!
Here’s a shot of my GF Pomodoro Pesto pizza which was divine!
I’m going to Pizza Express tonight and worried about what I can order that’s low FODMAP as I assume onion and garlic will be in everything! What would you recommend? Should I ask they use garlic and onion oil then? x
You can try calling them up and say you’re allergic to onion and garlic and ask them what options would be ok. I had a gf pizza and was ok afterwards. If you react to small amounts check that the sauce doesn’t contain onion or garlic in it and ask if they could make one without.
And yes you can ask them to use the oils or just ask for them at the table and you can add them to the food yourself 🙂 hope this helps and that you enjoy your meal and are symptom free
Thank you – I went for the same one as you in the end!
How did it go? Hope all was well afterwards 🙂
I did actually have a few tummy pains in the morning but I don’t know it was the pizza, I’m new to FODMAP and keep making lots of mistakes!
How come you can have a GF brownie that’s low FODMAP – don’t they have lots of sugar in them?
Hi Sarah. I am not sure I understand your question but I hope the following answers your query. I follow a low FODMAP diet to control my Irritable bowel syndrome symptoms. Sugar (sucrose) is low FODMAP and is easily digested and absorbed. Health wise yes we should all aim to reduce our intake of free sugars to 30g/day or less. I try to minimise my sugar intake but threat myself occasionally 😊