Afternoon tea is a lovely indulgence. I’ve had a few in recent years and unfortunately didn’t have particularly good experiences with the coeliac versions. To be fair, even just having the option at all is often a treat though. I’m delighted to say that my recent experience in the Merrion was absolutely fantastic.

A group of friends from work booked in for the festive afternoon tea well in advance, it books up early and quickly.  The organiser, a certain lady known as HOB,   is somewhat of a Merrion enthusiast and attended afternoon tea the week before as well, she just can’t get enough!

The Merrion has an excellent reputation for its customer service and we really saw this during the afternoon we spent there. HOB had kindly highlighted my GF requirement at the booking stage and on calling to confirm that week, was told the chef was very excited to have a coeliac diner. Usually I imagine the kitchen staff cursing me as I know it’s much more hassle to cater for dietary requirements so this was a nice surprise.

As well as myself, we also had a pregnant diner and on arriving  the options for both of us were clearly explained. When the food arrived, I received my own  trays of specially prepared gluten free sandwiches, flavoured tea breads, scones and mini desserts. I didn’t feel at all like I was missing out and I think the chef really pulled out all the stops. My GF afternoon tea is pictured below.

There were also two birthdays in our group and the staff made sure there was a happy birthday message on the desserts for both.Tea is unlimited and there is a wide variety to choose from. Being a fan of spice, I had quite a few cups of the chilli chai tea which had a real kick. Staff were on hand for the entire afternoon to refresh or change your tea and make sure we had everything we needed.

I went for the option of having with a glass of Champagne as well which was delicious. Price with champagne was €52, €39 without. It is expensive but the service and food is top quality, you know what you’re going to get. I’ve had cheaper versions and although nice, the experience here was much better.

Highly recommended for a special treat.

Sometimes breakfast is a bit of an effort as I’m never particularly hungry when I get up in the mornings but by lunchtime I’m all about getting my grub on. As a coeliac or someone on a gluten free diet however, you can’t just pop in to your local spar for a hot chicken roll and a bit more planning is involved. From experience, I’ve developed a good knowledge of handy places to grab lunch in Dublin and aim to add to this wherever I go.

So, whether you’re in the city for a bit of shopping or seeking something to tasty to brighten up your work day, here’s a listing of some of my favourites.

ITSA

Okay okay, I know I’m always harping on about ITSA but they really do have amazing GF bagels. It helps that they also have great coffee, cakes and a great loyalty card that rewards you for both your bagel and your coffee purchases. Multiple branches, loads of choice and I’ve never ever been glutened. Eat in or takeaway. You can order online or by phone for collection.

Millstone

Situated on Dame Street, Millstone has one of the best set ups for gluten free in the city, they have a separate gluten free menu for lunch and dinner with sandwiches, pizzas…you name it. You can also get a decent gluten free pizza if that takes your fancy in Milano (Multiple locations), both Eat in.

Kitchen

Kitchen are located on South Anne Street so are extremely handy if you’re working near or shopping on Grafton. They do a decent value lunch menu with clearly marked coeliac friendly options. The wings are really good. Eat in.

Lemon

Lemon do buckwheat crepes which means they are suitable for coeliacs. However, they are cooked in an extremely gluteneous environment so please eat at your own risk. Personally, I have eaten many crepes from Lemon with no ill effects but I do think you need to bear in mind that they can’t make any promises. Two locations in the city centre on Dawson and South William Street. Eat in or take away.

Tolteca

There are lots of options to get a quick mexican fix in the city. Tolteca (multiple city locations) have confirmed to me that their burrito in a bowl is gluten free and I’ve also eaten in Tuzo  and Little Ass Burrito on Dawson Street with no ill effects. Eat in or take away.

Kilkenny cafe

Located on Nassau street, the cafe in the Kilkenny shop always have gluten free options clearly marked and offer really good value for money. Eat in.

Neon

Similar to the mexican vibe, Neon of Camden Street is one of the many Thai options for gluten free diners around the city. It’s my favourite and it’s the only place that does takeaway which you can order online or over the phone for collection. Beating the queues is one of life’s small pleasures. Other good options which are more eat in are KOH on Jervis Street, Red Torch Ginger on St Andrews Street or The Chili Club just off South Anne’s street. All clearly mark gluten free options and have good lunch deals.

Bunsen

I’ve already blogged the bejaysus out of this place here. Again, on Camden Street, gluten free burgers and chips – enough said. Eat in.

O’Briens Sandwich Cafes

Serve sandwiches and bagels from the Bfree range. They do have guidelines with regard to cross contamination however, similar to Lemon, cannot give any guarantees. I think as long as you ask the right questions and be vigilant you’ll be fine. I’ve never been glutened here. Eat in or takeaway.

My focus here has been for lunch on the move in the city and I’m going to blog about my favourite gluten free dining experiences in Dublin overall in a separate post. Any suggestions or thoughts are more than welcome.

Or Pitt Bros Smoked BBQ project, to give it it’s full name (Prententious much?).

Myself and Mos ventured to Pitt Bros recently before a gig to see what all the fuss was about. If you haven’t already heard about Pitt Bros or Bison Bar then you’re clearly not into the authentic BBQ scene in Dublin. Bison was the first off the mark this year and I’ve only heard good things. Pitt Bros are the new kid on the block with a very similar menu and free ice cream a la Neon of Camden street.

We ventured for early afternoon grub around 5.30 on a Saturday and got a table straight away. When we left an hour later there was a queue forming though – this place is new and very popular at the moment.

The decor is great in Pitt Bros, really bright and fun. An enthusiastic server seated us and provided the menu which is simple (and apparently a carbon copy of Bison’s)  but I still had some questions regarding coeliac options as they weren’t noted. Our server was able to tell me off hand the items she knew to be suitable for coeliacs but on closer questioning decided to double check with the chef. Nothing wrong with that, I’d prefer a cross check over a severe bout of glutening any day!

I was advised I could have all the meats without bread and all the BBQ sauces. For sides, no fries or onion rings unfortunately but there was mash, beans and corn to choose from so I wasn’t stuck.

Again, in the style of Neon, you order at the counter and your food is delivered when ready.

I order the pulled pork plate with mash and burnt beans with a glass of the house Sav Blanc. I really wanted to try the corn but didn’t want to spend the evening picking kernels out of my teeth while listening to Sigur Ros, it just didn’t seem like a good plan.

Mos had the Pitt Bros burger and a craft beer.

My meal was a good size portion although, for me, I think the spicy bbq sauce that came on the pork really overshadowed the flavour of the meat. The burnt beans come in a broth so it kinda felt like eating a chunky soup…it was nice but not really a side I would go for again. The mash comes smothered in gravy, again, not for me. Mos’s burger was decent but there are a lot of decent burgers to be had in Dublin.

This place didn’t live  up to the hype for me but it was certainly a pleasant dining experience and not the worst value going. Most people have recommended I try Bison for the real deal which I’m sure I will, although perhaps this type of food just isn’t for me.  As far as coeliac concerns go, I had no illness to report and although they don’t stock gluten free beer, cider is available.

*Update – Bison have now confirmed to me that they cannot guarantee that any of their meats are gluten free

Cleaver East by Oliver Dunne opened recently in the The Clarence hotel in Dublin. There was a lot of good noise around about it since opening a few months ago so I took the opportunity to try it out when meeting my friends Gráinne and Aoife for dinner last week.

Cleaver East use a tasting plate menu, the idea being that you get to taste and share a few dishes with your dining companions rather than ordering a meal in the standard format.  Grá and Aoife are big gluten fans so I let them away with ordering a few of the non coeliac friendly items from the menu, which is clearly marked to indicate allergens. In tapas style, food is served as it is ready, rather than by course/order. We ordered in two batches, 2 plates each to start and then decided how hungry we felt before ordering again. This worked very well except for a bit of a delay waiting to get our second order taken.

I won’t go in to too much detail on the food as I tried so many things but the scallops with crispy pancetta and duck egg with asparagus were definite highlights.  All the food was tasty, interesting and looked beautiful….well, I think it did. Pretty much my only criticism of Cleaver east is that it’s too dark in there. I know they are creating an ambiance but having to use your phone to see the menu isn’t great. It didn’t help that we had a pre dinner cocktail in the Liquor rooms which was just as dark, if not even darker!

The passion fruit pannacotta for dessert is pictured above (Not a great pic, I had taken a bite before I remembered to take the picture, it didn’t look as messy when it arrived at the table!) and was absolutely delicious, sweet and tart at the same time. We shared a bottle of the house red, a Spanish tempranillo which was very good for the price. The server even gave us a generous tasting sample each to start before we decided on the bottle which I thought was a nice touch. Bill came to €120 before tip and included the wine and 11 tasting plates (They recommend 3-4 per person).

Service was good, food was good, price was good, I’ll be back.