Gluten Free By The Sea

My wife and I celebrated our ten year wedding anniversary earlier this month.  I can’t believe it’s been 10 years and she is truly lucky to have me, no wait, that should be the other way round!  We had decided to head out for a meal in Plymouth to mark the occasion, and thought we would head somewhere new for a change.

I’d recently heard good things about The Chancel from Facebook follower Sharon Lewis-King so I emailed them to check their gluten free options.  I had a call back to say they offered gluten free bread, pasta and even pizza in addition to much of the menu being naturally gluten free.  They did warn me that they had a very small kitchen and they did prepare gluten containing dishes, but were able to give me enough confidence that they would take cross contamination seriously.

We arrived at the restaurant in St Andrews Street and when we were seated at our table we found an anniversary card waiting for us, a lovely touch which was much appreciated.  The staff were extremely friendly and immediately came over to discuss the gluten free options with me and the vegetarian options with Abby, without us needing to ask.  Abby was told that if there was something she fancied and she could see the ingredients on the menu they would do their best to make it for her.

The option of bruschetta to start was extremely tempting, but we had walked from home on a cold night so we both decided to go for some warming tomato and basil soup to start.  This was extremely tasty and we both loved it, and as you can see from the photo mine came with some extremely impressive looking gluten free bread.  The bread looked so impressive, that I immediately had one of those “is that really gluten free” moments.  However, the waitress had stated it was GF on bringing it to the table and it was suitably different to Abby’s Tiger bread to put me at ease.  The bread was good and overall this was a very impressive starter and perfect for the cold occasion.  The portion size was generous too.

For the main course, I decided to go with one of the naturally gluten free dishes rather than gluten free pasta or pizza.  I decided to go with my favourite fillet steak, and was extremely happy to be told all the steak sauces were already gluten free.  This meant I could have peppered sauce, something I love and a rare treat!  The only downside was that the chips were not gluten free.  Again I was told this without needing to ask, and received new potatoes as a substitute.  Another enjoyable course, though I have to say the steak was not quite as tender as I usually expect of a fillet, but enjoyable none the less.  I definitely enjoyed being able to have the steak sauce for a change too.

For dessert I was given a choice of creme brulee, or surprisingly sticky toffee pudding.  I am a big fan of creme brulee and was too full for (and maybe slightly wary of) sticky toffee pudding.  The creme brulee was creamy and delicious as you would expect, and a nice light dessert to finish off the meal.

The overall bill was quite expensive, but this was mainly down to myself and Abby making the most of some of the delicious wines that were on offer.  I am not really a wine drinker, but the pinot grigio went down a treat.  Overall we were very well looked after, the food was good and there was plenty of gluten free choice.  I suffered no ill effects so they managed to prevent any cross contamination in their small kitchen with no problems.  I would definitely go back for another meal, and it’s great to be able to add another restaurant to the gluten free friendly list.  Thanks to Sharon for the recommendation.

Kevin, Gluten Free by the Sea

Tags: coeliac, creme brulee, food, gluten free, gluten free diet, gluten free food, plymouth, restaurants, soup, steak, the chancel