12 Restaurants with Great Gluten-Free Food in Newcastle

Mowgli, Nelson Street

Tasty Indian street food is the name of the game at Mowgli and its dedicated non-gluten menu makes dining on its delicious fare a doddle for the gluten free. Kick off your meal small plates like fenugreek-kissed fries and follow up with a hearty curry (Goan fish curry or butter chicken, anyone?) teamed with sides like basmati rice, tangled green and Mowgli slaw.

City Tavern, Northumberland Road

Popular pub and restaurant City Tavern has a reputation for great, unfussy food in friendly surroundings and a love for dogs. It also offers a dedicated gluten-free menu featuring everything from burgers and sandwiches to chargrill chicken skewers and fish and chips, with lots of veggie and vegan gluten-free options too. Its Sunday roasts are popular too, and gluten-free friendly if you skip the Yorkshire puddings and stuffing.

Blackfriars, Friars Street

It’s almost traditional that we refer to Blackfriars as one of the city’s best-loved restaurants, because it just is. You can’t go wrong with excellent food – in this case, tasty spins on traditional British fare – in atmospheric surroundings. And as you’d expect, they cater wonderfully for people avoiding gluten. Around half of their meals are marked as gluten free, dishes like langoustine mousse roulade, BBQ'd pork chops with chorizo croquettes, and sticky toffee pudding. All their Sunday roasts can be served gluten free on request too.

Pizza Punks, Grey Street

Challenging the norm from the heart of Grey Street, dough-slinging anarchists Pizza Punks can make many of their tasty pizzas with a gluten-free base for just a £2 surcharge, which means pies like the Hardcore Carnivore, Buffalo Chicken and Chipotle Chocolate Pulled Pork can be yours without any worries. There are always offers available too, like Cheap Date Mondays (two pizzas and two drinks for just £32.50), in case you weren’t already tempted and they have gluten-free beer to wash their pies down with.

Cote Brasserie, Grainger Street

Popular and traditional, the Grainger Street branch of Cote Brasserie has a fine menu of authentic bistro fare, including lots of steaks, and they’re more than happy to accommodate people looking for gluten-free options with a handful of very appealing dishes. There’s a cheese souffle starter and mains such as confit pork belly, grilled sea bream, moules marinière and of course the steaks (all the accompanying sauces are GF too). Lots to choose from when it comes to sides and desserts too, so nobody needs to miss out on a tasty Gallic feast.

Pho, Grainger Street

You’ll be happy to learn that the vast majority of dishes on Pho’s menu do not contain gluten, and they’ve been accredited by Coeliac UK for over a decade – so you’re guaranteed a great gluten-free feast here. Dine on everything from its namesake noodle soup to rice bowls, curries and Vietnamese salads.

Miller & Carter, Mosley Street

The Newcastle branch of Miller & Carter is, as with all their restaurants, obsessed with steak: with its provenance and aging, its preparation and serving. And the good news is, being gluten free doesn’t mean missing out on one of their magnificent cuts of beef. The majority of their mains are gluten free – not just the steaks, but the seafood and other mains too.

Umai Mi, Eldon Square 

The Umai Mi USP is a lively mixture of the traditional and the contemporary from a variety of South-East Asian cuisines, from Korea to Japan and all points in between. They offer full meals, small plates and snacks and usefully have a separate and comprehensive GF menu. There’s sushi, sashimi, sizzling hotplates and noodle dishes - all with great gluten-free varities.

Fat Hippo, Shakespeare Street

One of the city’s most popular burger joints, Fat Hippo has a fine menu full of humongous burgers and all the starters and sides you could want. They've got a menu just for those following a gluten-free diet with starters and sides like trash browns and purple 'slaw to hearty hand-helds like the Wild Bill and Born Slippy burgers.

El Coto, Leazes Park Road

El Coto has been serving great tapas and Spanish dishes to the good people of Newcaste for two decades and has a reputation for a warm, friendly atmosphere and some really great food. Tapas and various paellas dominate the menu and there’s an extensive range of dishes for the gluten free, from cold tapas such as queso manchego and boquerones con tomate aliñado to cured meats such as jamon serrano and jamón de pata negra to hot tapas including puntas de solomillo al queso azul and gambas al ajillo. And all of the paellas are gluten free too – the paella Valenciana looks unbeatable!

Mantra Thai, Forth Banks

An impressive restaurant on a grand scale with a serious menu of inventive Thai food, offering familiar favourites and plenty that’s more unusual. The menu is clearly marked for allergens, including gluten free, and there’s plenty to choose from. There’s chicken satay, crispy pork with chill and basil, Thai-style beef in oyster sauce and Thai fish cakes, just to pick out a handful at random from a very appealing menu that’s going to make you happy whatever your dietary needs.

Zizzi, Grey Street

Another popular chain, Italian this time, and a high street favourite for its Italian menu with a difference. Their menu helpfully lists the gluten-free dishes separately to keep things simple, and there’s plenty of choice. There’s over a dozen gluten free pizzas, such as truffle salami and venison pepperoni, plus plenty of tasty pasta dishes like meatballs alla vodka, chianti beef ragu and seafood vongole. 

Even as recently as five years ago, having to avoid gluten could seriously limit your options when it came to eating out, but the restaurants here in Newcastle prove finding delicious and varied gluten-free food is definitely possible. So go forth and feast, gluten-avoiders!

Main Image: Mowgli