Prezzo introduce GF pizza
One thing that coeliacs and people on a gluten free diet always seem to crave is a good old pizza. I was happy to read this week that the Prezzo chain now have gluten free pizza available in all of their UK restaurants. I was even happier to discover that tucked away in Royal William Yard we actually have a Prezzo in Plymouth. I see that Coeliac UK have commented on the story linked above, so hopefully Prezzo have done their homework with regards cross contamination issues. Has anybody tried the Prezzo GF pizza yet? Please comment below with your verdict if you have.
Le Bistrot Pierre to open
There is also news of another bistro opening at Royal William Yard in the form of Le Bistrot Pierre. The restaurant will offer French dishes, and more importantly seem to take gluten free extremely seriously. There is an impressive gluten free page on their website, and the food sounds delicious with a good range of gluten free choices. I’m looking forward to trying this one when it opens in Februrary 2013. Again good to see they have been working closely with Coeliac UK. Royal William Yard is fast becoming a gluten free hot spot. Le Bistrot Pierre will join the River Cottage Canteen and the soon to open Las Iguanas as offering great gluten free options at RWY. Combined with the Prezzo news above I think I’d quite like to move there!
La Tasca closes
Not all good news on the Plymouth gluten free eating out front unfortunately. News recently that La Tasca has now closed with the loss of thirteen jobs. Offering Spanish Tapas with clearly marked gluten free options on the menu and even gluten free beer, this was on my to do list but I never made it to try. There are many other branches throughout the country though, and it’s always good to be aware of gluten free friendly chains when eating away in strange places.
Plymouth Greengrocer adds more lines
Julie and Mark at Plymouth Greengrocer are continuing their amazing work supporting the gluten free community in Plymouth. They seem to be adding more gluten free products weekly now and if you are living gluten free in Plymouth I highly recommend you pay them a visit. Recently announced new products from the Foodamentalists are now in store, and the shelves are now brimming with the coeliac community’s favourite Pom Bear crisps. This week has seen the addition of delicious GF cupcakes from a Piece of Cake Bakery, products from the Warburtons gluten free range and gluten free sausages and sausage meet from the local Paul Bray & Son Butchers. Also recently added are gluten free brownies from Peck & Strong, and I am pleased to hear that hot chocolate stirrers from my friends at Sweet Devotion are soon to arrive on the shelves. A fantastic range of gluten free products now available so make sure you stop by and take the chance to support many local businesses.
Gluten Free By The Sea 
you are a gem Kevin all this lovely info for Plymouth ..Thank you your work is appreciated even from us northerners, knowing one day in the near future there is somewhere we can eat safe and stay for a while
Thank you for the kind words Hazel! 🙂
I’ve recently tried the gluten free pizza at Prezzo. The first time I had a good old margherita to be entirely on the safe side. Gluten free wise it was fine, but to me it lacked in taste (and also sauce/toppings although my sister had a regular pizza and whilst it had thicker toppings than mine, the base was still pretty sparse (a restaurant thing?))
I was then back there the other day and decided to be a bit more adventurous and have a vegetarian pizza- but omitted the pesto spinach, as I didn’t trust the pesto (although they say all Classic pizzas can be gluten free.)- The pizza was alright, I would have it again however there seemed an overload of the spinach (which was a pile on top) however it was needed to add more flavour where there was a lack of topping or sauce. After eating it the second time, I also didn’t feel particularly well with a slight upset stomach and sickness. I would guess this to be a quite small cross contamination issue. – However I’m sure this would differ depending on your local restaurant as I’ve previously been to a Prezzo in Torquay where the manager refused to serve me anything that had been baked in the same oven for fear of cross contamination- (I had mushroom risotto.)
Overall I’d say Prezzo’s gluten free pizza was good but nothing to rave about.
Many thanks for taking the time to let everyone know your thoughts on the Prezzo pizza, very much appreciated.
Have just been to Prezzo (in Halstead, Essex) and was a bit wary to try another GF pizza after a recent poor experience at another chain restaurant but my non-GF boyfriend was keen for me to try the option now it was there and on our doorstop.
We called ahead to double/triple check that they offered the gluten free pizzas and on arrival when I again asked about them they said oh you called us earlier – here is the info and you can have any topping from the normal pizzas as they are all safe for you.
I was told that the gluten free pizzas would be cooked on a seperate tray for gluten free bases so that the cross-contamination risk would be minimal.
When the pizzas arrived the waitress (a different waitress from the one that took our order) specified my gluten free pizza.
I ordered the spicy beef pizza – when it was placed in front of me you could instantly tell it was a different base to the ‘normal’ pizza as it was slightly smaller (no problem for me as I can rarely finish a full pizza) and it just simply looks different.
I found the toppings to be as generous as the normal pizzas and on first bite I was instantly surprised with how delicious the base was!
The pizza tasted just as I remember a normal pizza to taste – it didnt taste cardboardy like the frozen GF pizzas that are available.
The two different waitresses that served us both came to check that everything was ok with our meal and ask how the gluten free base was.
I am so impressed with Prezzo and am already looking forward to our next visit. I hope more restaurants can take note of this and start to introduce more gluten free options.
Uh Oh! Spicy beef? I didn’t think that was gluten free: http://www.prezzorestaurants.co.uk/assets/prezzo/pdfs/prezzo_allergy_information.pdf
I dined at Prezzo this evening solely to try the new gluten free pizza range. When I heard they were going gluten free last week, I did some digging to figure out which of what they already offered was gf. They have a great allergy reference sheet on their website, which I definitely recommend printing & bringing along (http://www.prezzorestaurants.co.uk/assets/prezzo/pdfs/prezzo_allergy_information.pdf).
I phoned ahead to let them know I was coming and to confirm I needed gluten free foods because of coeliac disease, and checked on their procedures (separate preparation area and separate baking trays for gluten free items).
We were promptly seated upon arrival, and the waitress again confirmed their gluten free procedures. We each ordered gluten free pizzas even though my partner isn’t gluten free, one Tropicana and one Tre Gusti. Mine, the Tropicana, was very nice. It was even flexible enough to be able to pick up and fold the slices in half (a much missed NY pizza eating habit of mine)! His, the Tre Gusti, smelled and looked great, but I found the flavours a bit overpowering (I’m not a big spice person). He loved them both & he’s not gluten free. No ill-effects 3 hours on.
The waitresses were kind and attentive. We will be going back!
Thanks very much Jessica and Elizabeth for taking the time to comment in such detail, much appreciated 🙂
Oh Elizabeth – thank you for letting me know, i’m feeling fine at the moment and the waitresses were both under the impression that any of their pizzas could be made gluten free so they have possibly changed their recipe for the beef to accommodate this? i’ll report back if i start feeling glutened!!
Surprised by these comments, my husband went to prezzo yesterday and had to send the pizza back, he said it tasted really disgusting. They were a bit patronising saying GF pizza very different, but he said he’d had a frozen GF pizza from Tesco that tasted better. Really disappointed as I’d been looking forward to it! Maybe it’s just our chain? Maybe I will give it another go.
Hi Natalie, thanks for the commet. I went last nitght too actually, and I would say it was good but not great. I preferred the Pizza Hut GF pizza if I’m honest. Which branch did you visit?