Cakes, pizzas, pies and pasties – but none of the gluten

Anyone who’s anyone seems to be going gluten-free these days – from Miley Cyrus to Victoria Beckham. Whether it’s for health reasons or just to follow the crowd, there’s ever-increasing demand for tasty gluten-free (GF) food.

Islington’s gluten-free brigade is celebrating the arrival of Romeo’s Gluten Free Bakery – and café – to Upper Street. It sells itself as the only 100 per cent gluten-free bakery in London; one of the very few eateries that wholly cater to people with coeliac disease.

Romeo Dallh, the manager, noticed a gap in the market while working at Chez le Boulanger, a French bakery also on Upper Street.

He said: “When we were doing our research we saw WAGfree in Brixton, but they don’t call themselves a bakery because they don’t have breads. That’s the qualification necessary, so we believe we’re the only gluten-free bakery.”

Public excitement has been building since its intended opening date of June:

On 17 December, Natasha Redcliffe said on Twitter:

Romeo's Gluten Free Bakery, Upper St: 'opening soon' since FOREVER. V. tantalising, & all I want for Xmas. Hurry up! pic.twitter.com/m07GRRM3Yk

— Natasha Redcliffe (@TashTastes) December 17, 2013

For some locals the opening even had a touch of the divine; DJFergie tweeted:

There is a God..???? "@SuperFoodieUK: Romeo's #gluten-free Bakery opening on Upper street soon..#London pic.twitter.com/W6N7kiGQEa”

— DJFergie (@Cinsferg) March 7, 2014

Romeo’s boasts an array of patisserie and cakes along with savoury dishes including pizzas, pies and pasties, which are guaranteed to make for a more appetising lunch than a limp supermarket sandwich – whether you’re a GF devotee or not.

Anyone who has tried supermarket “free from” products may be sceptical – the dense and brittle texture of GF bread often falls short of rivalling the “real thing” – but Romeo wants to turn over this reputation.

His in-house team of artisan bakers and pastry chefs aim to re-create the textures and flavours of traditional recipes. “It’s been a very tricky area – we don’t want to have any problems because we don’t want people saying this doesn’t taste like normal food. We have to work hard and give the time to the bakers and chefs to get everything right.”

“We’re doing it slowly, so if people come in and say they want egg-free and sugar-free as well, we will have all those things – we’re working on it.”

The prices are less appealing – with a typical freshly baked loaf of bread costing £5.99 and a pasty £6.50. Romeo’s GF goods won’t be accessible to everyone.

But GF foodies are used to having to paying extra for their fare and the affluent population in and around the borough’s fashionable Upper Street location might be less put off.

GlutenFreak, a GF home-based baking business Highbury, welcomes the competition from Romeo’s.

Elisa Duriavig, one half of GlutenFreak, said: “It’s good to see that an increasing number of businesses are now more aware of how to treat food allergies and prevent cross contamination. Customers can only benefit from more choice of products and places to go.”

The market for GF food in Islington is expanding, she says, with most of GlutenFreak’s orders coming from personal recommendations recommendations.

“A growing number of people embrace the benefits of a gluten free diet – even if they’re not coeliac – because of increased energy levels, feeling less bloated, improved mood, better focus and clearer thinking.”

For more GF food in Islington, the following eateries won’t let you down:

For a meaty meal: Frederick’s

The family-run restaurant on Camden Passage, Angel, serves a range of ‘Modern European’ fish and grilled meat dishes that are naturally gluten free, as well as tailoring other dishes to GF requirements.

For a veggie meal: The Gate

Veggies are known for their culinary inventiveness and this popular vegetarian restaurant on St John Street offers a wide variety of GF options – from Goji berry and quinoa salad to wild mushroom polenta.

For dessert: Samba Swirl

This frozen yoghurt shop on Islington Green serves GF crepes – from the classic lemon and sugar to peanut butter and jam – and its “froyo” flavours of the day are sometimes GF.

For home delivered cakes: GlutenFreak

A small team bakes batches of GF cakes and patisserie to order throughout the day – including cake pops and macaroons – using organic and ethically-sourced ingredients.

For everyday ingredients: Planet Organic

This health food shop on Essex Road stocks a wide range of clearly-labelled GF products like porridge oats and snacks that can be difficult to find elsewhere.

Natalie Gil

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