Gluten Free St Austell - The Trebonney Fish and Chips Restaurant.
The gluten free gem of our holiday has to be the Trebonney fish and chip shop in Fore Street, Roche, near St Austell. Postcode PL26 8EP for those using satnav! This really unassuming little fish and chip shop (that's being polite it looks like somebody's garage!) seemed to have a really good coeliac knowledge and their food was gorgeous. Seb and I both had their gluten free cod and chips and gluten free onion rings (the only gluten free onion rings I've ever had where the batter stayed on the onion and was actually crispy!) and enjoyed every mouthful, the portion sizes were pretty big and neither of us managed to finish our chips. They also offer takeaway meals too. If we lived nearby we'd definitely be regular visitors!
Gluten Free in Padstow, Cornwall.
We had a really successful gluten free day out in Padstow and managed to eat lunch and dinner with no problems.
Green's Cafe - Padstow
We ate lunch in Green's Cafe and were delighted to find that they offered gluten free rolls (dietary solutions granary ciabatta) to replace regular gluten bread. Seb had a cheese and ham roll (they gave him two ciabatta rolls - they're really small - instead of a regular sandwich) and I had a ploughmans, though for some reason I was only given one small ciabatta, whereas my husband had lots of (gluten) bread with his ploughmans. They also offer gluten free scones, so we followed up with gluten free scones, jam and clotted cream. I can't say they were the nicest gluten free scones I've ever had - in fact they'd be at the bottom of the list, they were very heavy and dry, but it was SO nice to have lunch - including cake - with the rest of the family for once.
As great as it was to feel normal at Green's I can't say that our happiness spread to the service, it was absolutely dire. We waited for ages to be served, the waiter just dumped a tray of drinks on our table and said "there you go, I'll let you sort out the drinks yourself" and never checked if our food was OK, nor did he come back to clear the empty plates and glasses and ask if we'd like desert - we had to walk up to the kitchen and ask to order more and the same when it came to paying. We spent £50 on lunch for a family of 6 so would expect better (some?!) service, not a place we'll rush back to, but I guess you have to balance the high prices and terrible service with the gorgeous view and gluten free availability.
Harbour Ice Ice Cream Parlour - Padstow
After a spot of crabbing on the North Quay we were delighted to spot a little sign saying "gluten free cones available" - gluten free cones were an extra 30pence, but how fantastic for Seb to eat out of a cone rather than a tub as he had done for the rest of the holiday! They had a big allergy chart on the wall so we were able to choose gluten free ice cream too - cornish clotted cream for Seb and chocolate for me. Perfect!
Rick Stein's Fish and Chips - Padstow
A 5 minute walk up to the South Quay opposite the Lobster Hatchery, Rick Stein's fish and chips takeaway offers gluten free fish and chips, although there is nothing on the menu to tell you that they do! We had cod and chips each which tasted like normal gluten containing fish and chips, or at least how I remember them to taste! The prices were nowhere near as high as I'd imagine, £7.80 for a pretty decent sized portion of cod and chips. A great way to round off a pretty successful gluten free day in Padstow!
