The ultimate gluten-free guide for a Warwick student

“Excuse me, can you please tell me what on this menu is gluten-free?” This is a question that I absolutely dread to ask when I’m at a restaurant with someone new.

The phrase ‘gluten-free’ often invites somewhat negative connotations – perhaps middle-class dietary pompousness, or even a mere ‘fad’ after gluten intolerance was popularised by Gwyneth Paltrow. However, for me, the diet is not a lifestyle choice; it is a necessity. I was diagnosed with Coeliac disease in 2013 – an auto-immune condition of which long-term consequences are controlled through following a strict gluten-free diet.

Before starting university, I worried that I wouldn’t fit in to the typical student culture of eating interminable amounts of Pot Noodle and drinking Warwick’s circling beverage of choice, ‘purple’ – both of which contain wheat and barley. However, over the course of my first year, I realised that cooking meals from scratch using fresh, wholesome ingredients couldn’t be more rewarding, and it has proved much healthier than relying on ready meals.

Whilst I have garnered a passion for cooking, I am also huge foodie and love eating out (perhaps a little too often, much to the disapproval of my bank account). In fact, many of my friends joke that I am 20 going on 35! It may be boring, but my ideal night out would be going to an amazing restaurant with a glass of Prosecco in my hand, as opposed to spending my night in a seedy nightclub. I have therefore accumulated a vast list of the very best places to eat as a gluten-free student. I hope this is helpful to some of you.

The Warwick campus:

Being a Londoner, I was thrilled at the news that Costa was being changed to a Pret because nearly everything, excluding the sandwiches, is gluten free. I use Pret as a method of motivation to come to campus extra early to work a few times each week and treat myself to avocado on toast or an acai granola – it is rare to find somewhere with such an extensive range of affordable gluten free choices. Canopy also have an excellent variety of gluten-free options – including pizza!

Best places to brunch:

Leamington Spa has an abundance of niche coffee shops and restaurants. Coffee Architects have a very aesthetically pleasing gluten-free brunch menu and it is quite possibly the most popular café in the town – there are sometimes thirty-minute queues to be seated.

In addition, Café Royal also caters for Coeliacs, offering full English breakfasts and the option to alter their menu with gluten-free bread. Located alongside a beautiful canal view, Procaffeinate is an excellent place to get on with productive seminar reading whilst enjoying a gluten-free cake. Hart & Co offer a Prosecco brunch with gluten-free 0ptions and is a great venue to visit with friends on a weekend. Finally, the café on the second floor of House of Fraser offer an affordable gluten-free afternoon tea – the ideal place to visit with friends on a Sunday morning or take visiting grandparents. 

Dinner: 

Leamington Spa has a great range of chain restaurants that cater well for gluten-free customers including Las Iguanas, Carluccio’s, Zizzi’s, Giggling Squid and Gusto. However, the town also houses many local restaurants such as La Coppola which do a delicious gluten-free risotto and is the perfect restaurant for a special date night. Bistrot Pierre has a very impressive gluten-free menu and is a great restaurant to take your family when they visit!

To read more about coping with a dietary requirement, take a read of this article: ‘Learning to enjoy food when you have a dietary requirement’.