I have quite mixed feelings about writing this blog post, which may explain why it's taken me a while to write this review but I'll do my best to explain why now.
Essentially, what I had at The Custom House in Barnstaple was a delicious burger with chips (my first since being diagnosed), a meal that I could actually eat without being ill afterwards and a meal I enjoyed out with my friends. All in all, a very pleasant evening which certainly mustn't go unnoticed.
However, due to a slight mix-up with my food order with another lady's in our party, I ended up being given the wrong topping for my burger, the consequences of which, looking back now, could have potentially been serious for me as a Coeliac.
I really don't want to make this post sound negative because I did really enjoy my time at The Custom House. It's a lovely restaurant offering British and American cuisine "with a twist". Their specialty of course, is the burger. What's great about this place is you can pretty much tailor make your burger to suit you, depending on how you like it. The decision starts with what type of meat you want for your burger, then you pick the bun (hooray for the gluten-free bun!), followed by salad, cheese, a topping and then finally you pick a sauce. It kind of reminded me of going to Subway - lots of decisions to be made! And many, many different combo's. Apparently there are 544320 combinations? Wow!
It was refreshing to see a gluten-free bun option on the menu and the chips I was informed are gluten-free also.
So, what happened?
As always, I made sure I spoke with the waiting staff to let them know that I was Coeliac and they were very pleasant and friendly, going through the menu and explaining what I could have. They also made a point of alerting the chef to my dietary requirements to ensure there was no contamination in the kitchen.
Unfortunately when our burgers arrived it soon came to my attention that the kitchen staff had got my topping mixed up with someone else's - I had been given mushrooms and she had my bacon. Now there was no real harm in this and thankfully I hadn't taken a bite out of the burger - a simple human error which was quickly rectified by them very kindly offering to cook me some bacon to put on the side. But this then got me thinking... What would have happened if they had accidentally got the buns mixed up and I had been given a regular bun? Or I had been given a topping that had not been prepared correctly or had been cooked with other gluten-containing ingredients? What if I hadn't noticed before and had simply started tucking in? You may be able to see where I'm going with this. I do need to stress here that none of this happened and it was just the bacon and mushrooms that got mixed up.
Despite this, I did think the staff here were really clued up on gluten-free cooking and they did seem very accommodating to a Coeliac's needs. It's just a shame this little mishap came about but thankfully no harm was done and I still enjoyed my first gluten-free burger. Please please please don't let this put you off trying the Custom House, mistakes can and sometimes do happen, particularly if a restaurant is busy and there are a lot of food orders to prepare, not to mention the hundreds of different combinations of burger. Maybe just double check before your food comes out that they have got what you ordered right, that's all I'm saying.
And what about dessert?
Well, I would highly recommend their bubblegum (yes, bubblegum!) ice cream which I absolutely loved and was a great end to a fantastic meal. I'm now on the hunt for more.
I must give the East and West Bakery in Barnstaple, Devon a mention because they are doing a fabulous job catering for Coeliacs down in Barnstaple. We visited here one afternoon as my friend had mentioned that they do gluten-free cakes. I was naturally keen to sample their delights, I mean, a bakery that actually provides a selection of gluten-free cakes is a rarity in my part of the world and as I seem to be obsessed with satisfying my sweet tooth at the moment I couldn't wait to see what the bakery had to offer.
When we walked in it was clear that the bakery was a very popular place as there were about 5 or 6 people in the queue in front of us - always a good sign! My friend pointed out to me the section of gluten-free pastries and cakes which were located to the far right of the counter as you walked in and were all displayed on their own separate tray, away from all the gluten cakes. I also happened to notice that they bake their own gluten-free bread and sell it by the loaf, individually wrapped and ready to take away.
I decided to go for the coffee cake as it just looked amazing! I am not kidding when I say it was the nicest gluten-free cake I have ever tasted - the light, moist sponge, the layers of coffee flavours and the fresh cream on top all complimented each other well, plus the slice itself was huge! I almost forgot to take a photograph of the cake because I was enjoying it so much but here's a quick picture I took before I devoured the whole slice...
Apparently they take orders too so you can order a specific type of cake if you call them in advance and they will bake pretty much anything for you - 01271 377577.
I can not wait for my next visit!
After a few relaxing days away in Barnstaple, North Devon, I'm back and ready to review some of the places I managed to eat out at.
I was very surprised to find that there were actually a lot more Coeliac-friendly places to eat out in Barnstaple than in my home town of Leek, Staffordshire. (Come on Leek get a move on!) On further thought though, Barnstaple is a very touristy place so I suppose it does makes sense that there are a lot more gluten-free places to eat out there as there is probably more demand for them. But still, it frustrates me that there is hardly anywhere for me to eat out where I live in Leek, and further affield, in Stoke-on-Trent.
I was immediately drawn in to the place as there was a sign outside advertising their gluten-free choices on the menu so this seemed like an obvious place to lunch whilst visiting Exeter for the day.
The tearoom is a very quirky little place, located on the riverside in Exeter. You can eat outside or indoors but as the weather was bad we ate inside. The interior of the tearoom is decorated in pirate-themed paraphernalia and there are pirate ships mounted on to the wall all around the room so, plenty of things to look at whilst you are waiting for your food to arrive.
The Jolly Roger specialises in their loose-leaf tea (white tea, black tea, herbal tea and rooibos tea) and I was completely overwhelmed by the choice on their menu. I have only recently been converted to tea drinking (and fruit tea only) but after much deliberation I decided to go for a pot of strawberry black tea. It's also worth mentioning that they actually sell all their tea in a little shop next door too.
When the waitress came to take our order I asked her about the gluten-free options, as it was not clear from the menu what I could have. She explained that they had scones, crumpets, and gluten-free bread if I wanted a sandwiche. I decided to go for the date and banana scone which came with dairy-free margarine spread or jam/cream. I opted for the dairy free spread (it's nice that they have the dairy-free alternative too). When my scone arrived it was warm and fresh as everything is baked on site. I would have perhaps preferred a little stronger banana taste but the scone texture itself was lovely and light, definitely not as heavy as you find with some gluten-free baked goods. However, I really wished I'd ordered two! Everyone else in our party had ordered sandwiches which were huge and came on a plate with crisps and salad and by the time I had gobbled up my scone they had barely started on their plate of food and I had to sit and watch them eat the rest of theirs. Next time I think I will probably order something more substantial but again I opted for something simple in the hope that there would be no way I'd accidentally eat any gluten. I definitely think there is a trust issue there for me.
Overall, if you like tea you should definitely visit the Jolly Roger. The fact that there are gluten-free choices on the menu is also a bonus.
I'm off down south, to Barnstaple, North Devon for a few days to visit friends. I'm really looking forward to a nice break and a change of scenery but this is also the first time I will be away from home since being diagnosed as a Coeliac so I am feeling a little bit nervous about what/where I will be eating for the next 4 days.
Never fear I'm packing a few gluten-free essentials to take with me just in case - some bread, crackers, cereal and some macaroons for snacking plus some gluten-free stock cubes and gravy granules - always be prepared (can you tell I used to be in the Girl Guides?)
I've done my research and checked out Coeliac UK's venue guide on their website and found a couple of places to eat out in Barnstaple that they recommend but I'm looking forward to having a good old nosey round the place and hopefully I will find some great new places to eat out that are Coeliac-friendly. So watch this space...
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