Ah, I’m so conflicted about this post, but I feel the need to share. In keeping with my pre-baby life, Sundays are Fundays and – thanks to my sweet, caring Northerner who looked after the baby – I managed to meet up with my bestie. This was a rare treat, so I wanted to find an awesome place for us for brunch: gluten-free, accessible for both of us and affordable. You can’t imagine my delight when I stumbled across North London’s Artisan Gluten Free Bakery.
I may very well be late to the party; both pregnancy and postpartum have kept me in a cocoon of (at times, blissful) ignorance. But to the party I came.
The menu read delicious. In fact, I couldn’t decide what to have and prepared myself for some serious overeating and doggy bags. And look at the delicious goodies I ordered: (left) Eggs Royale with a tasty hollandaise; (right) blueberry turnover.
Alas, I neither overate, nor took goodies away… In fact, I have been struggling with bloating and general unwellness since though. Not quite what I had in mind.
| Some positives | Some negatives |
|---|---|
| • 100% gluten free produce
• Vast menu spanning across breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner, including delights, like Fish & Chips • Seriously powerful coffee and tasty freshly made juices • Generous portions, affordable prices
|
• Unfriendly staff, as in not rude, just not friendly. I had to bring some serious silliness to get a weak smile from one of them.
• Slow service. We ended up just leaving the money as nobody showed up for us to pay them. • Overly doughy bread; flakey, but tasteless pastry • I reacted. I doubt that I’ve been reacting to gluten and trust their guarantee that all produce is 100% gluten free. I did ask about dairy and onion/garlic, my biggest issue areas, but was assured that there wouldn’t be any in my order (except for butter, which I tolerate). Go figure. |
Aside from putting a damper on my first post-birth brunch date with my bestie and deflating my food-induced euphoria (not to mention, my immensely bloated tummy), I am just so disappointed about the missed opportunity. With regular restaurants becoming more and more accommodating to specialist diets and Beyond Bread literally up the road, I will try my culinary luck elsewhere next time.
