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Sweet breakfast options for gluten intolerants and coeliacs are hard to find, Express's secretive food reviewer has discovered.
Anonymous, unpaid, hard-to-please and gluten-free critic Harry Smiles had this to say...
Fellow gluten intolerants and coeliacs, I need your help! I have been searching high and low for somewhere to get my sweet tooth fix at breakfast but so far, my search has been in vain.
Pictured: A fluffy stack of pancakes from 'The Yard'.
It seems opportunities to eat gluten-free pancakes or waffles are far and between in the island. I have only been able to find one place to have pancakes, The Yard at the Museum, but as previously discussed they are on the smaller side as - to my knowledge - they are only available as part of the ‘Breakfast Tapas’ rather than a stand-alone breakfast option.
Some places luckily offer gluten-free porridge, Greek yoghurt and fruit, or smoothies, but I do want a bit more sometimes. What does a boy got to do, to chomp on pancakes he hasn’t had to make?
Come to think of it, it’s not just about sweet options, it’s gluten-free breakfast options as a whole that seem to be lacking.
I am yet to find a ‘full English breakfast’ without gluten. All the places I have tried so far tend to remove the hash browns, sausages and the black pudding. If you get lucky, they will have some gluten-free bread but more often than not, you would end up with eggs, bacon, baked beans and mushrooms – fantastic (not)! If I have to get out of the house before 10:00 on a weekend, I am going to need a bit more than that.
Pictured: Harry is still looking for a gluten-free English breakfast.
And don’t even get me started on breakfast rolls! I have enquired at my usual haunts and none provided. The best they could go was stuff my runny egg and bacon slices between two slices of gluten-free toast, which ended in a disastrous note for my white jumper.
Why couldn’t gluten-free become the norm, at least for the most popular breakfast items? I fully understand gluten-free ingredients are more expensive (have you seen the price of wraps?) but surely if you are catering to more customers, the additional cost would be easily recouped? Would, dare I say it, the happy souls who can eat without a care in the world about whether their bread is loaded with gluten or not even notice the difference?
Luckily, it’s not all doom and gloom in the gluten-free breakfast club. Although they do not cater for my sweet tooth, The Lookout Beach Café have become a firm favourite.
Pictured: That's some 'Royal' eggs from the Lookout.
Their ‘Eggs Royale’ are simply amazing and I am not ashamed to say that I have munched my way through many of them since spring has sprung! They are kind enough to provide gluten free bread, their eggs are poached to perfection (I like them runny but not too runny – it is a fine balance), they are never stingy with their salmon portion and their hollandaise is to die for (I may or may not have asked for the recipe!)
I apologise for my gluten-free ramblings this month, but it would be nice if more cafés and restaurants started offering options for breakfast; but also all meals. Knowing that wherever you go there will be something for you that won’t make you ill would make the experience of going out feel less like a chore involving hours of research online.
As ever I will be more than happy to be proven wrong about the lack of gluten-free brekkie options so feel free to slide in my DM’s with your recommendations.
