A look into East London’s gluten free Broadway Market delights. 🙂

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Broadway Market

Location: Hackney, East London

Address: Broadway Market, E8 4QJ (street runs from London Fields to Regent’s Canal)

Opening times: Saturdays only – 10am to 4pm

Nearest overground stations: London Fields (8 mins), Cambridge Heath (7 mins), Hackney Central (14 mins)

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I’ve been hearing about the gluten free wonders of Hackney’s Broadway Market for months, as some of you probably have if you’ve ever set foot in the Instagram gluten free community. It’s like a never-ending stream of gluten free free delights that taunts and teases you with delicious looking pictures of cakes and stuffed doughnut holes. And the worst (or best?) part is that this fabulous market is practically at my door step, yet I had never been until today!

And I’m really kicking myself for pointlessly missing out all along. Basically if you’re gluten free and live in London, you need to get yourself to this place right now. They have DOUGHNUTS. Need I say more? 😉

I know it can seem a bit out of the way for some, but even for those who don’t live around the area or are just visiting the city, it’s still worth the trip up there. From nice cafes to really cool roof top bars to walks along the canal to the quirky Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities, Hackney has much more to offer so you can easily make a day out of it. 🙂

Just bear in mind that Broadway Market only opens on Saturdays. That’s really the only downside to it, in the sense that it’s a bit limiting depending on your schedule. But if you have some free time or find yourself in London on a Saturday, go check it out if you can. You won’t regret it.

We loved it so much, this is definitely the first visit of many. So as you can imagine this list isn’t complete. I’ll keep on updating it as I discover more stuff.

To start off, the completely gluten free stalls:

1. Floris Foods

Gluten free status: 100% gluten free + dairy free options

DOUHGNUTS.

I don’t even know where to begin to describe how amazing these doughnuts are. They’re unbelievably good, almost too good! Everything from the texture and taste is pure doughnut perfection.

Just to give you an idea, I had a genuine panic moment after taking my first bite… at this point we were sat on a bench by Regent’s Canal and I began to worry that perhaps I had misread the stall sign. And what if not everything was actually gluten free? I couldn’t go back to verify at the time, but these doughnuts tasted way too real to be gluten free! Even my non-coeliac boyfriend was as gobsmacked as me. As we scoffed them all down I looked at my phone to check the time, preparing myself for a possible reaction within the next two hours. But of course they were gluten free, just really fantastic. lol

There are not many things in life that I would consider worth sitting in the rain for… and it was pissing it down! But I would honestly sit in the rain eating these doughnuts any day if I could and that’s how amazing they are. haha

So yeah, enough about doughnuts. There are actually other things available at Floris Foods, including savoury options. My heart (or stomach) was dead set on doughnuts right from the start so that I blanked everything else, but I look forward to try more next time. 😉

Update (24.02.2018): Oh and just in case you didn’t think this bakery could get any better, they now have ECLAIRS! ?

2. Eat’n’Mess

Gluten free status: 100% gluten free

Much like Floris Foods – and as you can see from the pictures – Eat’n’Mess is pretty much another gluten free paradise! Just look at these things!

We were already stuffed with doughnuts by the time we found our way there, but we couldn’t resist bringing back a chocolate cookie sandwich home to eat later. And OMG. As chocolate cookies go, this is about as epic as it gets! And they’re so big, we actually had to share it!

Everything looked and sounded so good. I mean, gluten free chocolate smores cheesecake slices, WHAT. That description sounds like something made in heaven and it’s going on my “to try” list for sure!

When have you ever seen such decadent treats being gluten free? I don’t meant to sound ungrateful – because I really do appreciate all the gluten free options available to us these days – but let’s be honest here, these are not your bog standard gluten free offerings. 😀

In fact I was ready to walk right passed until I spotted “gluten free” on the bread label. Even then I thought “why is the bread labelled gluten free, but not the rest?”. And “it must be yet another company trying to jump on the gluten free bandwagon without actually knowing about cross-contamination”.

Thank god I stopped and asked though, and then noticed the “gf” in small prints on the other labels. I do understand their reluctance to write GLUTEN FREE in obvious big letters. That way the ‘normals’ will stop by without ever realising it’s gluten free. 🙂

After looking them up online, I discovered that they actually have a cafe in Sevenoaks, Kent. I was a bit confused because the cafe is apparently not completely gluten free itself (although gluten free friendly for sure). But the guy at the Broadway Market stall assured me that everything sold there is gluten free and made in a gluten free kitchen.

For more info, check out their website {here}.

3. Meringue Girls

Gluten free status: 100% gluten free

I didn’t get to try any of it, but this is another completely gluten free stall that looked really yummy. They told me that even the ones with brownie bits are gluten free.

And look at how pretty they all are. 🙂

4. Osu Coconuts

Gluten free status: 100% gluten free, dairy free and vegan

Sadly I didn’t get to try that place yet. I had already eaten and had a bag of doughnuts and eclairs to go, but I look forward to testing this place in the future. It’s completely gluten free, but also vegan and therefore also fully dairy free for all the dairy intolerant Coeliacs out there! ?

5. Thai on the Fly

Gluten free status: 100% gluten free

And so I stumbled on this pad Thai stall today (update: 10.03.18). And boy let me tell you it’s amazing! Not only does it beat any pad Thai or noodle dish I’ve ever had in a market before, but it rivals many pad Thai I’ve had in actual restaurants.

It’s completely gluten free and the portion is huge with a generous amount of toppings. I highly recommend it! ?

6. Makatcha

Gluten free status: 100% gluten free + vegan options

7. Risotto Balls

Gluten free status: 100% gluten free + vegan

(Located in the Vegan part of the market; in the old school yard)

8. Rawsome

Gluten free status: 100% gluten free + raw vegan + grain free

9. Kally Cooks

Gluten free status: 100% gluten free + vegan

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Other ‘gluten free’ things I spotted

I saw quite a few potentially gluten free things while wandering around the market, but I’m not entirely sure how safe they are cross-contamination wise and I don’t like to recommend places I haven’t personally tried. So I decided to include some here just to give you an idea, but always make sure to question the stalls thoroughly before buying something!

Sweet & Savoury Vegan Waffle Stall

Gluten free status: gluten free options, but maybe not for Coeliacs.

The waffles are completely gluten free and vegan, but the issue is the toppings. The guy at the stall said he changes into new clean gloves and uses separate uncontaminated tubs of toppings for the gluten free orders. He even keeps a box of gluten free cookies at the back.

BUT as he was explaining this to me, he did touch the gluten containing cookies and then touched all the freshly cooked waffles with his contaminated gloves. Hence why I’m hesitant about it being safe for Coeliacs or not. I suppose you could ask him to cook a completely fresh waffle to make sure, but it seems a bit risky.

It looked and smelled delicious though so it could be a great options for non-coeliacs who don’t need to worry about cross-contamination.

(Located in the Vegan part of the market; in the old school yard)

Urban Falafel

Crepes & Galettes

Gluten free status: gluten free options, but maybe not for Coeliacs.

This stall is not completely gluten free, but I decided to include it on my list anyway because the lady at the stall seemed quite clued up about gluten. The first thing she did was ask me if I have Coeliac Disease and went on to explain that the gluten free crepes aren’t cooked on the same cookers as the gluten containing ones. She seemed confident that it’s safe for Coeliacs.

I had already eaten and was just asking out of curiosity so I didn’t actually try it. And to be honest I’m not convinced that I would simply because I hate taking risks when it comes to cross-contamination. I was a bit concerned about whether the topping containers were contaminated or not, etc.

It was too busy for me to observe and ask more in depth questions, but I will next time I’m there. For now I decided to put it on here because although the more strict Coeliacs like me may prefer to avoid it, it sounds like it would be a great option for gluten intolerants who may not be as strict on the cc front.

I don’t know, what do you guys think? Have any of you tried them?

Vegan Cake Stall

Gluten free status: gluten free options available, but not suitable for Coeliacs.

This stall has yummy looking gluten free options, but it’s all cooked in the same kitchen and displayed together on the stall. The risk of cross-contamination is too high for Coeliacs, but it could be a nice option for those who are gluten free for other reasons.

(Located in the Vegan part of the market; in the old school yard)

Temaki Bros

Gluten free status: nearly all gluten free, but maybe not for Coeliacs.

Nearly everything is gluten free apart from the soy cause and one topping. The guy at the stall said he changes into new clean gloves for gluten free orders and makes sure the gluten containing topping doesn’t touch the food prep surfaces. But I don’t feel comfortable recommending something I haven’t tried so I’m just putting this here as a potentially suitable stall. Just so you know what’s out there.

Gluten free sausages

The Bach

This cafe/restaurant advertises gluten free options on their front window. It was too busy for me to question them at the time, but it would definitely be interesting to check them out in the future. I’ve seen a few Coeliacs mention this place online so it sounds promising.

The Dove

I haven’t tried this pub yet, but I’ve seen on their website that they have gluten free options (including a Sunday roast!). I’ve heard a few Coeliacs mention it too so it sounds promising.

Popping Licks

A selection of homemade alcohol popsicles. 😛

Worth mentioning:

Although not technically in Broadway Market, both supermarkets below are on the way there from Hackney Central station. And they have tonnes of gluten free stuff so they’re definitely worth checking out while you’re around.

Hackney fresh

Grains & Green

That’s it for now, stay tuned for more. 🙂

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