The restaurant is called From Across the Pond and is run by a lovely English family who really knows gluten-free. It is casual in it's decor but brilliant when it comes to it's menu. One of the owners suffers from Celiac disease so I had no worries trusting their gluten-free menu and process. I love that they have a completely separate GF menu and it's not just a few items either. My husband does not have to eat wheat free but since we share a lot of items (especially since we've gotten to the south where portions are HUGE) he often gets to weigh in on the taste of foods compared to the wheat-filled counterparts.
First off, when I came in and requested a gluten-free menu they happily obliged and also told us they would bring a basket of complimentary GF garlic bread. The bread was hot and toasty and came with a little bowl of marinara for dipping. It was the perfect amount to nibble on while waiting for our food to come. They were also kind enough to check that dairy was acceptable before putting cheese on the bread.
We have tried several gluten-free pizza places since arriving in our new home but most of them have been rated somewhere between "okay" and "acceptable". Really none of them had produced anything to get incredibly excited about until we got to From Across the Pond. Their pizza was not a flat bread, it was a genuine, regular crust pizza made from rice flour. It was light and crispy and didn't at all leave me wanting. The toppings were fresh and the cheese was plentiful and I was absolutely stuffed after sharing the 12" pizza with the hubby.
The place is BYOB so I don't have any gluten-free drinks to report on but obviously it wouldn't be a problem to bring your own. As it was we stuck with soda and they were quick and happy to bring refills whenever we needed them.
Now, being stuffed would normally mean that I opt out of dessert. I mean, I can have ice cream at home and since that's so often the only option in the dessert menu for someone with Celiac it's no real loss. This restaurant certainly made me stretch my diet though and I decided that I should try one of their half dozen GF dessert options. The one that really called to me was the chocolate-chip bread and butter pudding. Now, pudding according to English people is not what someone from America would expect. In fact, as far as I can tell, it can often encompass most types of dessert. This was not surpsing to me having grown up in Canada and what we got was amazing. A bread pudding that was sweet and cakey but not heavy with a lovely cream to accompany it. It had a sweet, crispy bruleed outside that was delightful. It was a wonderful way to end our meal. Again with the dessert, I found it to be just the perfect amount when shared between the two of us.
