Gluten-free eating in London has never been simpler, and even pizza's no longer off-limits.
Of course, what pizzerias mean by 'gluten free' varies, with some places using gluten free flour but the same oven as their standard pizzas — so they're not suitable for coeliacs. Others might have separate ovens, but the same prep area and a risk of cross-contamination. All of the places we've picked, as well as making a great pizza, are happy to answer whatever questions you can come up with about their gluten free prep and cooking methods.
The Salusbury Food Store, Queen's Park
What's not to love about this NW London institution? Small, informal and hovering between deli and pizzeria, they've got the extra attractions of a small terrace with outdoor seating and a delivery option.
An Italian we called in to consult swears you can't tell the difference between the mix of corn, polenta and rice flour in the GF bases, and the standard gluten-filled versions. But maybe he was just distracted by the toppings, which come with a bit of extra swagger — like the homemade chilli relish on the Vesuvio, which sets it apart from your standard pepperoni.
The Salusbury Food Store, 56 Salusbury Road, NW6 6NN
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Sweet Thursday, Dalston
With the size of the Italian community in Hackney, it's not surprising there's so much good pizza in the neighbourhood. Even with all that competition, the Neapolitan-style pizzas at Sweet Thursday are up there with the best — try the Salsiccia or the prosciutto and parmesan pizza for proof, and order yours gluten free for an extra £2.25.
Sweet Thursday, 95 Southgate Road, N1 3JS
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Pizza Street, Turnham Green
Chiswick's not had a history of great pizzerias, but the recently-opened Pizza Street is changing that. It's no-bookings and pretty popular so you might have to queue, but if you're impatient and local they offer delivery or takeaway for their NY-style pizzas. You can't get their GF options by the slice, but at £11.50 for a 10-inch, it's still decent value for their ham and mushroom classic or the Beast — a triple-meat threat of pepperoni, smoked ham and sausage.
Pizza Street, 63 Turnham Green Terrace, W4 1RP
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Mamma Dough, Peckham, Brixton and Honor Oak
The south London Mamma Dough web just keeps growing, with Peckham and Brixton outposts hot on the heels of their first Honor Oak Park pizzeria. Gluten free diets are catered for with actual pizzas, bases supplied by GF merchants the Lab Pizza – or with the same toppings but baked in the oven on a bed of cannellini beans.
Mamma Dough, see website for locations
Zia Lucia, Highbury East
This Holloway Road pizzeria opened in June 2016, and their range of dough options — vegetable charcoal, wholemeal and gluten free — already has a loyal following. For the traditionalists there's the 'nduja — tomato, mozzarella, spicy sausage. For those wanting to mess with all laws of man and pizza, there's the Andrea Pirlo — mozzarella, gorgonzola, apple and truffle and olive sauce.
Zia Lucia, 157 Holloway Road, N7 8LX
Trattoria Sapori, Stoke Newington
Pizza's not the only string to their gluten free bow at this friendly, cosy trattoria; they also do GF pasta. But it'd be hard to resist the call of the stone-baked pizza menu, toppings sliced and thrown on fresh from the deli counter. Drop in on Wednesday nights for their movie deal — £12 gets you pizza, a beer and a film screening at the back of the restaurant.
Trattoria Sapori, 44-45, Alliance House, Newington Green, N16 9QH
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La Porchetta, Camden
With branches scattered across Camden, Islington and Finsbury Park — as well as other central locations — you're rarely too far from a La Porchetta in north London. Good news for gluten-avoiders, as they do GF pizza and pasta. They warn you might have a 20-minute wait time for those, but the pizzas are reliably good and the boscaiola — minced pork, fresh chilli and wild mushrooms — is worth the wait.
La Porchetta, 74 – 77 Chalk Farm Road, NW1 8AP. See website for other locations.
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Crate Brewery, Hackney
There are many, many reasons to visit Crate at their home on the Hackney Wick canal, and most of them are beer. But Crate also make a great pizza, with gluten free on offer and toppings ranging from the welcome and familiar to the seriously non-conformist — like the Kashmiri dhal, featuring mozzarella, spinach, dal, cumin, mango chutney, slices of banana and Greek yoghurt.
Best of the more maverick options? Probably the Middle Eastern lamb, with tomato, cheese, spinach, minced lamb, mint and chilli flakes, and you can wash it down with the (also GF) Crate Cider.
Crate Brewery, 7 The White Building, Queen's Yard, E9 5E9
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Honorable mentions: Stingray Globe Café in Shoreditch (where they use the same oven for gluten free and standard pizzas), and Stingray in Tufnell Park, this one with separate ovens. Also to Sodo Pizza, (branches in Clapton, Walthamstow, and Hoxton), who offer the same thing as Mamma Dough — toppings on cannellini beans baked to a stew consistency. And from among the bigger chains, Rossopomodoro (branches all over) are doing decent and Deliveroo-able GF pizza.
