Why the UK is Paradise for People with Special Diets

Let me start by saying that our family knows dietary restrictions. From vegetable allergies to Celiacs, finding a place where everyone can eat can be tricky to say the least.

I was extremely pleasantly surprised, therefore, when I realized how accommodating British culture is to dietary restrictions. This is an area where the UK is leaps and bounds ahead of the States—both in grocery stores and restaurants.

Grocery Shopping

Living in London for several weeks now, we have shopped at most of the major names in the grocery game: Waitrose, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Aldi, and the online supermarket, Ocado. Overall, British supermarkets wipe the floor with ours in terms of what is available for those on restricted diets.

"Free From" Products

In the UK, restricted diet products are marketed as "Free From," as in "free from dairy," "free from meat," "free from wheat," etc. There are free from products for everything from mustard allergies to vegan diets. The selection is massive. You'll find everything from dozens of types of gluten-free bread to (delicious) vegan mac and cheese.

Moving from a place like San Francisco—where vegan and gluten-free diets are fairly common—we were astonished by the selection here. When it comes to making these products readily available, affordable, and tasty—the UK wins by a mile.

Not only are there aisles upon aisles of free from options, but British stores also offer much more information about their individual products. Gone are the days of skimming through a list of ingredients the length of a doctoral thesis!

Clearly Labeled Ingredients

When ordering groceries from one of the aforementioned stores—which I highly recommend, it's great!—you can click on any item in the store and read through a list of its ingredients.

Here you will find common allergens listed in bold. In bold! Such a brilliant way to simplify the process. Yet, this is not a thing on American food labels—trust me, I've read my fair share.

But yeah, the bold thing is a wonderful wonderful innovation that holds true for in-store purchases as well. Grab any jar or box off the supermarket shelf and you'll see that ingredients like wheat, shellfish, and soy are all emphasized in the same way.

The food packaging here is also much more buyer-friendly when it comes to specialized diets like vegetarian and vegan. Most products will say "suitable for a vegetarian or vegan diet," which takes some of the guesswork out of the process as well.

Eating Out

David and I both enjoy dining out but, again, dietary restrictions can be a limiting factor when choosing where to eat. Even once we've chosen a restaurant, sometimes it's still hard to decipher menus and flag down waitstaff in order to ensure everyone's dietary needs are met.

We have found this to be less of an issue in the UK. In the States most larger and chain-style sit-down restaurants are starting to improve their gluten-free and allergen-friendly menus, but eating at a small diner, hole-in-the-wall boutique eatery, or anywhere in rural America can be extremely difficult.

Gluten-Free Options

I love eating at local and independent restaurants but have grown weary of trying them. I was thrilled to discover, therefore, that this is not the case in the UK. Even the smallest local pubs and cafes here often offer gluten-free menus or are able to accommodate allergies on a case-by-case basis.

A great example is the small country pub we stopped at yesterday in rural Wales. From an initial glance at the menu, I was concerned about the chances of finding something gluten-free.

When I asked the waitress, though, she immediately said the kitchen would be able to make my chosen dish gluten-free. She even asked if I'd like a special gluten-free gravy. The food was delicious and I didn't have to miss out on the British tradition of Sunday roasts—read more about those here.

This type of situation is commonplace here and, in most cases, we've had no trouble finding things to eat everywhere we go.

Another really nice aspect of British pub culture is the popularity of gluten-free drinks like cider and gluten-free beer. In the States I get excited when a bar has more than one cider to choose from, but many American breweries and bars don't offer gluten-free drinks at all.

This is not the case in the UK, where cider is a popular beverage available in many varieties throughout the country. I especially enjoy the opportunity to try local ciders at different locations. My favorites so far are the Swedish brand Rekorderlig and Cornish Orchards.

While I was never a beer drinker, I have also noticed a greater abundance of gluten-free beer options on menus as well.

Vegetarian and Vegan Choices, too!

Vegetarians and vegans aren't excluded from mainstream pub culture either. While Sunday roasts are extremely popular in the UK, most menus we've seen have included a "nut roast" in addition to the traditional offerings.

This is a meat-free alternative common in both England and Wales. Most restaurants we've visited have had menu items labeled "vegan" or "vegetarian" as well.

Whatever your restricted diet, rest assured that you'll find plenty of delicious things to eat and drink in the UK. You'll probably even find that you have more to choose from here!

Do you or your family members have dietary restrictions? What has your experience been like trying to eat out in other countries? We'd love to hear about them in the comments below!