Gluten free Finsbury Park: a guide to all my Coeliac safe finds in and around the area including restaurants, markets and shops with interesting gluten free products.
For those who live locally, you might also be interested in checking out my guide for Islington which is an absolute gem for gluten free cafes and restaurants.
UPDATE / DISCLAIMER:
Always do research before heading to a location listed in a guide. Double check opening times and verify that the place is even still opened. The hospitality industry is notorious for being unstable… especially since the pandemic and even more so for dedicated gluten free establishments (sadly).
As you can imagine – as a part time blogger who just does this for fun – I can’t keep track of every restaurant I’ve once visited or discovered around the world. So at times, guides may not be up to date.
MY GLUTEN FREE FINSBURY PARK GUIDE:
The restaurants.
PETEK
Location: Finsbury Park / Stroud Green (North London)
Address: 96 Stroud Green Rd, Stroud Green, London N4 3EN
Cuisine: Turkish
Gluten free status: gluten free friendly / suitable for Coeliacs
TLDR: fantastic food, high quality, massive portions & excellent service – 10/10
View my full review {here}
THE TIFFIN TIN
Location: North London (multiple locations – Tufnell Park, Hornsey, West Hampstead, Wanstead and Totteridge Lane)
Cuisine: Indian (takeaway only)
Tried & Tested: Tufnell Park
Gluten free status: excellent knowledge of gluten and cross-contamination | safe for Coeliacs | they even use a separate oven for the bread
Price: Affordable
View my full review {here}
CATS CAFE DES ARTISTES
Location: Finsbury Park / Stroud Green, North London
Address: 79 Stroud Green Road, London N4 3EG, England
Cuisine: Thai
Gluten free status: Great knowledge of gluten and cross-contamination | safe for Coeliacs
Price: Affordable
They don’t have a gluten free menu, but are able to point you towards safe dishes. When we walked in, immediately the waiter knew about the restaurant being able to cater for us. And although he wasn’t completely sure what gluten is himself, he said the chef did and would be able to help us. The chef then came to our table to discuss what we could have. We decided to have a pad Thai and he went through all the ingredients with us to double check that I was ok with everything. Great service and amazing authentic food.
P.S.: The green curry is to die for! I’ve eaten in countless Thai restaurants over the years, looking to match what I remember having in Thailand, and this is as close as it gets.
STROUD GREEN MARKET
Location: Finsbury Park / Stroud Green, North London
Address: Perth road/ennis road, Finsbury Park, London N4 3HB
Opening times: Sundays only – 10am to 2:30pm
Highlights: There’s a completely gluten free stall called Floris Bakery that sells amazing gluten free fried doughnuts among many other delights.
View my full gluten free Stroud Green Market guide {HERE}
SPOON TAPAS BAR
Location: Finsbury Park / Holloway, North London
Address: 240 Hornsey Rd, London N7 7LL
Cuisine: Colombian
Gluten free status: Great knowledge of gluten and cross-contamination | safe for Coeliacs
Highlight: I highly recommend the tostones!
Spoon don’t have a gluten free menu, but as soon as we walked in and questioned them it was clear that they were aware of gluten and cross-contamination. They do handle gluten in the kitchen, however they reassured us that the gluten free options are prepared away from any gluten and cooked in separate pans.
Unfortunately the empanadas are not suitable for coeliacs due to being cooked in a contaminated fryer, but the corn flatbreads and tostones (made of fried plantain) topped with delicious Colombian flavoured meats, cheese and salsa are 100% gluten free and absolutely delicious. Especially the tostones which were by far my favourite out of the two. The flavour and texture was perfect, with nice crispy edges. And check out the huge portion sizes; they certainly don’t hold back on toppings (so much meat) which in my books earns them a few extra brownie points.
The restaurant itself is nice and cosy and the staff are very friendly and helpful. One to try for sure if you’re around the area and want something a little bit different.
APOLLO – UPDATE: CLOSED
Location: Finsbury Park / Holloway, North London
Address: 134A Seven Sisters Rd, London N7 7NS
Cuisine: Cyrpiot
Gluten free status: gluten free friendly / suitable for Coeliacs
There are no gluten free options marked on the menu at Apollo, but they understand gluten/cross-contamination and were more than happy to make something safe for me. No bread goes on the grill so the kebabs are safe (very tender and delicious as well, marinated in yoghurt). For sides, the rice contains pasta so that one is a no and the chips are technically not meant to be fried with gluten containing food, but it happens at times so the waiter wasn’t 100% sure. To play it safe, they gave me some delicious roasted potatoes instead which to be honest was perfect anyway! If you live in the area, it’s a great place to grab a nice tasty simple meal.
THE LUCKY RABBIT
Location: Finsbury Park / Holloway, North London (inside Nag’s Head Market)
Address: 22 Seven Sisters Road, Holloway, London N7 6AG
Cuisine: Indian
Gluten free status: Completely gluten free!
We stumbled on this lovely little Indian stall in Nag’s Head Market recently and it turns out that everything on the menu is gluten free. We each got a double portion box that came with two curries, rice, raita and a spicy carrot salad. Everything was tasty and had a nice ‘clean’ and healthy homemade feel to it. They don’t serve anything gluteny like naan bread, chapati, etc. so there are no risks of cross-contamination either. If you’re around the area, it’s a nice place to grab a quick meal on the go.
NANDO’S
Location: Finsbury Park / Stroud Green, North London
Address: 106 Stroud Green Rd, Stroud Green, London N4 3HB
Cuisine: Portuguese/South African, flame grilled piri piri chicken
Gluten free status: Excellent knowledge of gluten and cross-contamination | safe for Coeliacs
Price: Affordable
View my full review {here}
ROOSTERS PIRI PIRI
Location: Finsbury Park, North London
Address: 2-8 Stroud Green Rd, Harringay, London N4 2DF
Cuisine: flame grilled chicken
Gluten free status: Excellent knowledge of gluten and cross-contamination | safe for Coeliacs
Price: Affordable
View my full review {here}
STINGRAY CAFE – UPDATE: CLOSED
Location: Tufnell Park, North London
Address: 135 Fortess Rd, London NW5 2HR
Cuisine: Italian
Gluten free status: Excellent knowledge of gluten and cross-contamination | safe for Coeliacs | They even have a separate stone oven JUST for gluten free pizza!
Price: Affordable
While not exactly IN Finsbury Park, they do deliver to the area so it’s a fantastic takeaway option for the locals.
View my full review {here}
OA COMTAM
Location: Holloway, North London
Address: 232 Holloway Rd, London N7 8DA
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Gluten free status: gluten free options marked on the menu
Price: Affordable
Again while technically in Holloway, they deliver to Finsbury Park.
View my full review {here}
YAK & YETI
Location: Finsbury Park / Stroud Green, North London
Address:
Cuisine: Indian
Gluten free status: Excellent knowledge of gluten and cross-contamination | safe for Coeliacs
Price: Affordable
View full review {here}
COMMON GROUND
Location: Finsbury Park / Stroud Green, North London
Address:
Cuisine: cafe / avocado toasts, granola, etc.
Gluten free status: gluten free options marked on the menu, but maybe not for Coeliacs.
Price: Affordable
I haven’t actually eaten in this cafe yet – I’ve only stopped by for tea – but they have gluten free options marked on the menu. When I asked about risks of cross-contamination, they told me the toasts are prepared separately and cooked on baking paper so it’s not directly on the grill. However I wasn’t 100% sure about their answer at the time and the kitchen is really tiny so I’m not entirely sure cross-contamination can be fully avoided. I’ll have to question them again properly another time, but if you’re gluten free for other reasons and don’t need to be so strict, then this place may be ok for you. Otherwise it has a very cool quirky design and a lovely terrace at the back so even if you’re not eating this place is worth stopping by.
SHOPS:
Some shops that are worth checking out.
CLAPTON CRAFT
Location: Finsbury Park / Stroud Green, North London
Address:
Products: craft beer shop with a big selection of gluten free beers (including all First Chop flavours).
PRICKLY PEAR – UPDATE: CLOSED
Location: Finsbury Park / Holloway, North London
Address: 148 Seven Sisters Rd, London N7 7PL
Products: this little shop/deli imports all kinds of products from Italy, including a large selection of gluten free goodies. It’s a bit pricy, but there are some very nice finds in there. Such as these delicious Grisbi lemon cookies and the best gluten free pasta I’ve ever tried (Pasta Rummo).
HUA RUN (Chinese supermarket)
Location: Finsbury Park / Holloway, North London
Address: 122 Seven Sisters Rd, London N7 6AE
Products: This Chinese supermarket has a tonne of gluten free products like gluten free soy sauce, Shaohsing wine, oyster sauce, rice noodles, rice paper, mochi, etc. Well worth having a look if you live in the area.
INDIEBEER
Location: Holloway, North London
Address: 322 Holloway Rd, London N7 6NJ
Products: A craft beer shop with a good selection of gluten free beers.
It’s not technically in Finsbury Park, but it’s fairly close and a brilliant place for those wishing to stock up on great gluten free beers.
PRODUCE STALLS
There are so many produce stalls sprinkled around the Seven Sisters/Holloway Road area which are present on a daily basis. If you live around the area it’s well worth getting your fruits, veggies and meat from these rather than large supermarkets.
OTHERS:
Disclaimer: the following restaurants all offer gluten free options, but please note that I have not personally tried them yet so I can’t comment on how Coeliac friendly they are.
HOLY COW
OSTERIA TUFO
TOOTOOMOO
LA PORCHETTA
Q&T VIETNAMESE KITCHEN
FIREZZA
ORGANICA PIZZA
PIZZERIA PAPPAGONE
OAK (cheese and wine bar)
ZIA LUCIA
DEAR PIZZA
PASTA REMOLI
THE FRONT ROOM CAFE
GRANARY THAI CAFE
DOTORI
THE WHITE LION OF MORTIMER
You’re THE BEST. Thanks so much for these!
I highly recommend you try Tootoomoo and Orgánica Pizza, they’re both excellent. I’ve lived in North London for 7 years now and those two are my go to for home delivery. Delicious!