Top 10 places to eat gluten free in Lincoln — taste tested by a coeliac
Gluten free blogger David Robson has been living with coeliac disease for over 25 years. Based in Lincoln, he runs the Coeliac Man Blog (as well as Instagram and Facebook) sharing his experiences and recommendations — so he rounded up the best places to eat out gluten free in the city for The Lincolnite.
These days you can walk into any major supermarket and find a large dedicated free from range, meaning eating at home is a piece of (gluten free) cake.
Eating out gluten free however, can still prove tricky. For people with coeliac disease, cross contamination is a major concern as gluten free food prepared in the same area as gluten containing ingredients has the potential to cause serious illness.
However, if you pick the right restaurants, eating out needn’t be scary. The amount of restaurants offering gluten free in Lincoln has improved rapidly over the last few years, but which are the best?
Here are David’s top ten places to eat gluten free in Lincoln:
Olé Olé
Olé Olé Tapas Bar is an amazing choice if you fancy a taste of Spain in Lincoln. Most of the menu is gluten free friendly (including calamari) and they even serve Daura Damm gluten free lager to wash it all down.
Located in the historic uphill area of Lincoln (Now in Bailgate and in the Lawn from September 20), Olé Olé is always a great option for a sociable meal with friends —just make sure they order gluten free dishes as well so you can try everything. There’s a cosy dining area inside and a surprisingly spacious garden at the back for some al fresco dining.
The vast choice of gluten free food, the friendly staff (with their random shouts of ‘olé!’ throughout the evening) and the lively atmosphere make it an experience not to be missed.
Rating – 5/5
Wig & Mitre
Situated on Lincoln’s famous Steep Hill, the Wig and Mitre is everything you want from a proper English pub. A warm, cosy atmosphere, friendly staff, spectacular food and gluten free options!
Lincoln has so many amazing pubs, but sadly not a lot of them cater for coeliacs. The Wig and Mitre though is excellent and if you chat with the staff they’ll go through your options and make sure you’re well looked after. The pictured steak with parmesan fries was absolutely incredible!
Hopefully they expand their gluten free offering even further in the future.
Rating – 4/5
ASK
You can always rely on ASK to serve you a decent size gluten free pizza and their base is one of the best I’ve ever had. I recently tried their new ham and egg topping and it was so good! To some people egg on pizza may sound like slanderous nonsense but trust me, those mavericks at ASK know what they’re doing.
The gluten free menu features an extensive range of pizzas and pasta dishes, along with other options such as risotto and fish. Part of Lincoln’s Brayford waterfront development, ASK is often packed out at the weekends with people lining their stomachs for the night ahead.
Rating – 5/5
Burton Road Chippy
Having coeliac disease can mean that some meals are pretty much always off the menu.Fish and chips is a case in point due to most batters containing gluten. However on the first Tuesday of every month at Burton Road Chippy in Lincoln they have a dedicated gluten free day.
They clean out their fryers then only use gluten free batter for the day, meaning a tasty plate full of fish and chips is most definitely back on the menu! It does not disappoint and always goes down an absolute storm.
They’ve won a number of awards over the years including finishing 2nd in the 2017 Fish and Chip Awards so it really is the fish’s fins when it comes to chippies. My only complaint is that I wish they offered gluten free all the time!Although it’s probably good for my waistline that they don’t.
Rating – 4/5
Bunty’s Tea Room
Despite having lived in Lincoln for most of my life, I’d never visited Bunty’s until recently. Having spotted a small ‘gluten free available’ sign in the window while dragging myself up Steep Hill, I made a mental note to check it out.
Expecting possibly a token gluten free cake on the menu I was pleasantly surprised to find they served gluten free afternoon tea. Not needing much of an excuse to indulge in afternoon tea, I couldn’t resist. The afternoon tea consisted of sandwiches (all of the filling options were gluten free), a homemade scone and choice of two gluten free cakes (bakewell or carrot cake when I visited).
All the food was absolutely delicious. The tea room itself is 1940s themed and the staffwere excellent, putting me at ease about the gluten free options from the moment I walked in. Great stuff all round.
Rating – 5/5
Pizza Express
Pizza Express has long been a staple favourite of mine. With my love of pizza and Pizza Express’ Coeliac UK accredited menu, it’s been a match made in pizza heaven. I love the fact that they use gluten free flour in the kitchen, even for making gluten-containing pizzas, to minimise the risk of cross-contamination.
There’s a massive choice of toppings, along with other options such as the super food salad (at the back of the picture) meaning you’re always spoiled for choice. The Lincoln branch is located in a great location at the top of the High Street surrounded by other restaurants and bars.
They also have a gluten free brownie for dessert and a gluten free beer to wash it all down. What more could you possible want?
Rating – 5/5
The Cheese Society
I have successfully found heaven for gluten free cheese lovers! The Cheese Society in Lincoln is the place to go to make all your cheesey dreams come true.
Basically everything on the menu can be made gluten free with their homemade gluten free bread. From cheese soufflé to baked Camembert and cheese boards, there really is something to satisfy even the most discerning cheese connoisseur.
I was only hungry for a light bite when I visited recently, so I went for their freshly baked gluten free cheese and herb scone with Godminster cheese. It was probably the lightest and fluffiest scone I’ve ever eaten and it was packed full of incredible flavour. I’ll definitely be back to sample more of the menu.
Rating – 5/5
Lincoln Taphouse & Kitchen
The Taphouse has long been one of my favourite pubs. Partly due to the super friendly staff and its stunning setting next to the castle walls, but mainly because they were one of the first pubs in Lincoln to start serving gluten free beer.
It’s been on my hit list to try food for ages, but it always seems to be booked up whenever I try to eat there. I finally learned my lesson to book in advance for lunch recently and it was definitely worth the wait.
I was actually going to go against my pizza-loving stereotype and order a gluten free burger. However, it turned out the fries weren’t safe for coeliacs due to being cooked in the same fryer as gluten containing items. This was the only disappointment and the courgette and bacon pizza I ordered more than made up for it. It had a nice crispy base loaded with toppings. We sat outside on the roof terrace in the sun, excellent lunch all round!
Rating – 4/5
Zizzi
Zizzi in Lincoln is located next to the Odeon cinema, which is a great location for wandering around in the summer. Their gluten free, or ‘non gluten’, menu includes a wide range of pasta dishes and pizza, with the obligatory gluten free Peroni to wash it all down with.
They also have some rather dreamy desserts including a chocolate praline torte, which is to die for. The food always comes with a ‘non gluten’ sticker which your friends will have great fun sticking on you and taking a picture. So a good night is always guaranteed.
Rating – 4/5
Handmade Burger Co.
Handmade Burger Co has been a staple for Lincoln’s gluten free community for years. First offering ‘bunless’ burgers, they recently added a gluten free bun to their repertoire. The vast majority of burgers are gluten free including numerous beef, chicken and even veggie options.
A number of sides are also gluten free, including their amazing sweet potato fries, so you’re pretty much guaranteed not to go home hungry. It’s my favourite place to go if I’m ever in the mood for a burger, which let’s face it — is most of the time.
Rating – 4/5
Know any other places in Lincoln which do good gluten free food? Contact David Robson via Instagram and Facebook to let him know.
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The Lincolnite welcomes your views. All comments are reactively-moderated and must obey the house rules. Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers.
A group of Lincolnshire women have raised over £7,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support after completing a collective 400 mile walk for charity.
Twelve cancer nurses from Lincoln County Hospital’s Waddington Ward, as well as a prison officer and two Macmillan nurses, stepped out into the Lake District for the challenge, which saw each of them walk a gruelling 26 miles.
The walkers had been training together for months, and after the initial event was cancelled due to COVID-19 in 2020, they are all “on cloud nine” after finishing the mammoth task.
It took place on Saturday, June 19 and the march across the Lake District lasted over 12 hours for some, with the group setting off at 7.10am and the last person arriving at the finish line at 9.30pm.
Marie Beck and Beth McDowall with their medals for completing the Mighty Hike.
The ‘Mighty Hike’ was in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support, and at the time of reporting the women who took part have raised over £7,000 collectively.
Amanda Gill is one of the walkers who took part, and despite suffering from effects of long COVID, she incredibly managed to achieve 23 of the 26 miles.
She said: “The walk mainly took us off road and it included mountainous and rocky areas. I remember at one point the path was very narrow and it was scary because there was a sheer drop at the side of us.
“It was a really sunny day but, although it didn’t rain, it was very humid for everyone.
“Overall, it was both physically hard and very emotionally challenging.
“We are still buzzing after completing it. Personally, I am really proud of everyone, including myself because I basically managed to keep going up until the last couple of miles.”
There’s still time to donate to the cause, and you can do so by visiting the JustGiving page set up by Amanda Gill, one of the walkers.
Lincoln City will face Premier League opposition and three fellow Lincolnshire clubs when their pre-season schedule starts next month.
The Imps will begin preparations for the 2021/22 season with an away match against Championship side Reading on Saturday, July 10.
That game will be followed by a match with Nottingham Forest three days later, before a Lincolnshire derby with Boston United on Saturday, July 17 — both away matches.
A look at Lincoln City’s pre-season schedule for the 2021/22 season. | Photo: Lincoln City FC
Next up will be Norwich City away on Tuesday, July 20, fresh off their promotion to the Premier League last season.
Two more Lincolnshire derbies against non-league Gainsborough Trinity (Wednesday, July 21) in the Lincs Senior Cup and League Two Scunthorpe United (Tuesday, July 27) are rounded off with a trip to Salford City on July 31.
Michael Appleton will be hoping to get some much-needed minutes for his first team players as they prepare for their third season in League One, after the heartbreak of play-off final defeat against Blackpool last season.
All fixtures will be played behind closed doors, though this could be subject to change, and further information on coverage of these games will be made available in due course.
Kick off times are as follows:
Reading – Saturday, July 10, 1pm kick off
Nottingham Forest XI – Tuesday, July 13, 2pm kick off
Boston United – Saturday, July 17, 3pm kick off
Norwich City – Tuesday, July 20, 2.30pm kick off
Gainsborough Trinity – Wednesday, July 21, 7.45pm kick off
Scunthorpe United – Tuesday, July 27, 7.30pm kick off
A police officer’s career was left in tatters after he used a handheld mobile phone to record footage of himself listening to music while at the wheel of his marked vehicle.
PC Matthew Breathwick was caught after he used the Snapchat social media application to share the footage with colleagues while on duty.
The incident occured during a night shift on November 6 while PC Breathwick was driving a police van at 50mph on the A17 in Lincolnshire.
A Lincolnshire Police misconduct hearing was told the officer repeatedly lied about the incident after being challenged by colleagues who viewed his Snapchat footage.
The hearing was told a police officer who was sat next to PC Breathwick in the van became so angry when she was alerted to the footage by Snapchat that she asked to be dropped off and made her own way back to Spalding police station.
David Ring, prosecuting, said: “To be blunt it beggars belief that a serving police officer behaved in that way, especially at night, driving at 50mph on the A17.”
Mr Ring said the two officers were heading towards Long Sutton on the A17 when they used Bluetooth to put music on the van’s stereo.
PC Breathwick’s colleague was alerted to his behaviour by an alert to her own mobile phone from a shared Snapchat group.
Mr Ring said the message showed footage from inside the police van with audio playing and gave the username ‘Breathers.’
PC Breathwick’s colleague looked across and noticed him flipping back his handheld mobile phone.
The footage drew immediate responses from some of PC Breathwick’s colleagues who were also alerted by his Snapchat message and were concerned about his use of a handheld mobile phone while driving a police van.
Mr Ring said PC Breathwick responded by claiming his phone had remained in his stab vest and the camera had been activated by his fleece coat.
He then continued to lie about his use of the phone when he was confronted by a senior colleague the following day.
Mr Ring said PC Breathwick’s conduct showed persistent dishonesty and went against the public campaign of Lincolnshire Police that handheld mobile phones should not be used while driving.
“A police officer, while on duty, doing exactly what the public are told not to do,” Mr Ring added.
Breathwick, who did not attend the hearing, admitted four charges of professional misconduct and was respresented by Sergeant Lee Willoughby from Lincolnshire Police Federation.
Sgt Willoughby told the hearing: “There is genuine remorse, a silly act has resulted in the end of a previously unblemished career.”
Lincolnshire Police Chief Constable Chris Haward found Breathwick guilty of gross misconduct and ruled the officer would have been dismissed from the Force if he had not already resigned.
Chief Constable Haward admitted it was a decision he had made with a “heavy heart” after reading a wealth of testimonials about the officer.
“They speak of a person who helped others, not only as a police officer, but as a coastguard.”
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