Wellington is a great place to fill your belly: whatever kind of food you fancy, you can find the best of it here. But what if what you fancy is gluten-free? Can that still be a good time? The answer is yes, my gluten-avoiding friend. Many of Wellington's best eateries go out of their way to give gluten-free eaters a good time, and best of all, make us feel welcome and like we're no trouble at all. Here are ten of the best Wellington eateries for the footloose and gluten-free.
When I first heard that Italy is actually a great place for gluten-free travellers, I thought that can't be right: all of that pasta, bruschetta and pizza. But don't forget polenta, risotto, seafood, and slow-cooked meat and seasonal vegetables. Much of Cicio Cacio's regularly changing authentic Italian menu is free of gluten or can be adapted. On recent visits there I have feasted on saffron and bone marrow risotto (the forks were out fighting over the last bite of that one), slow-cooked pork and prunes with crispy crackling and a meltingly good eggplant parmigiana.
Gluten-free eaters are spoilt for choice at Dragonfly. Now there's something you don't read everyday. After asking what was gluten-free on the menu our waiter immediately ticked off the dishes he knew we could eat, explained what modifications could be made to make other dishes okay to eat and went to check with the kitchen on a few others. Ensuring that their staff are clued-up on dietary requirements is a priority for Dragonfly so our experience wasn't a one-off. Try the Salmon Two Ways, green papaya salad, red duck curry and Black Doris sago pudding.
The newest resident in the Hannahs Laneway, Shepherd's has a farm-to-plate ethos with a focus on seasonal produce. Shepherd's clued-up flock are happy to adapt your meal to make it gluten-free and can serve any glutenous components on the side to make dishes shareable with the gluten-avoider and the gluten-seeker alike. Gluten-free menu highlights include the pumpkin and smoked yoghurt, sweet corn ice cream (hold the miso cookie crumb), and kimchi fried rice topped with a fried egg.
With a nose-to-tail and cheek-to-fin philosophy, WBC is the place to feast on beast, be it of the land or sea variety. The clued-up and capable staff here will feed you to your gluten-free heart's content. A recent dinner here began with oysters and Goan raw fish curry served with poppadoms, followed by smoky saucy slow-cooked pork jowls accompanied by bowls of slaw and creamy white bean puree and ended with WBC's always excellent panna cotta.
Your mouth will drop open with astonishment when you are handed Charley Noble's gluten-free menu. The restaurant is an accredited member of the Coeliac New Zealand Dining Out Programme and their menu is extensive. While you're making up your mind on what to eat, order a tin of Connetable sardines with crunchy white toast, fresh radish and a glass of Central Otago bubbles. Specialising in 'fire-based cooking' the menu is centred around slow-cooked and char-grilled meat and vegetables along with incredibly tempting and interesting side dishes. Eating at Charley Noble is a rare treat for gluten-free eaters, so sit back and relax — you're in good hands.
The best seat in the house at Field & Green is at the chef's pass, where you get to watch as chef and co-owner Laura Greenfield and her team produce their take on 'European soul food'. Laura won the heart of this Coeliac by offering to pan-fry the polenta chips to ensure that they were perfectly gluten-free. Field & Green make their own delicious gluten-free crackers which they use to substitute for bread to make some dishes gluten-free. Save room for a scoop or two of their ice cream or sorbet: with seventeen flavours to choose from (all of which are free of gluten) you'll be ending on the sweetest note possible.
I have very good news for you: the iconic Nikau kedgeree is gluten-free just the way it is and better yet, it comes with a serving of Nikau's excellent gluten-free bread. The first time I tasted it I had a heart-dropping moment of 'oh no, they've accidentally given me regular bread', which turned to elation when I was reassured that this was in fact Nikau's own gluten-free loaf: moist, chewy and packed with seeds. Nikau apply their same mastery to the ubiquitous and often uninspiring friand, making them delicious with ground hazelnuts, buckwheat flour and seasonal fruit.
Milk Crate's baker and co-owner Brigid O'Flaherty is a gluten-free baking wizard. Old favourites like jam-filled shortbread and chocolate-covered marshmallow biscuits are given the gluten-free makeover and are more delicious than ever. Milk Crate is the perfect place to come for a little cakey something washed down with a cold-pressed juice or a pretty-in-pink mug of their excellent filter coffee. Milk Crate's salad of the day is often gluten-free, too.
In a city full of Malaysian restaurants Little Penang is undoubtedly the best. With clear gluten-free annotations on the menu and staff who only want the very best for you and your tummy, you'll be easily able to order up a gluten-free feast. All of Little Penang's curries are a green light, as well as most of the rice and rice noodle dishes. Their nasi lemak with lemongrass and coconut chicken curry topped with sweet toasted peanuts and salty dried anchovies is an addictively good time.
Serving up a menu entirely free of meat, The Botanist also does a great job on providing gluten-free eats. Most items on the menu are gluten-free just the way they are, including some damn tasty buckwheat pancakes and a kumara potato hash with sautéed seasonal greens and toasted almonds. The Botanist are also open for dinner menu and boasts a beer garden that'd be just as good for drinking wine or cider in.
