Eating Gluten Free on the Go, Part 1: Pret a Manger

Eating on the go used to be a world of bread stuff, sandwiches, wraps, pasties, pies. These days you can get a salad or sushi, but you really need to sit somwhere to eat these. To eat GF in this world can be hard, but here is a bit of help. I am starting with Pret, these are all over the place!

Pret a Manger

Pret makes loads of sarnis of course, but also salads, no bread sandwiches, soups and sushi. I have a problem with this place though, as they don't list the ingredients in the salad dressings on the salads, help is here on the website though. These are the things at Pret you can eat, a star next to it means I have eaten it, and it was nice!

Soups, Salads and No Bread Sandwiches

• Roasted Root Vegetable Soup
• Celeriac Mash Soup
• Chicken and Leek Stew
• Carrot and Cumin Soup *
• Chicken Curry Soup
• Mushroom Risotto Soup
• Chicken Avocado Salad *
• Skinny dips (Humous) *
• New Tuna Salad Bowl (No Dressing)
• No Bread More Than Mozzarella *
• No Bead Chicken Provencal *
• Sweet Chilli Dressing
• Crayfish and Smoked Salmon Salad Bowl (No Dressing) I don't get this, it says its comes with sweet chilli dressing, which is GF, so why does it say no dressing?
• No Bread Crayfish and Avocado
• Miso Soup

The website claims the sushi is not GF, its probably going to be the soy sauce thats the problem, but without it the sushi may be ok, so I will email them to ask about this.

Of course don't eat any sarnis, wraps, pastry, cakes or anything with the granola on it. The 'Pret Pots' are fine though, even the banana toffee one. Most of the crisps are ok, and tell you on the back anyway, but don't eat the seaweed ones. No cheesecakes or the pots with lumps of brownies in them. The new Chocky Banocky and Bionic Berries* are GF! Most soups are ok, but don't eat the meatball one, or the Bolognaise one.

Overall Pret is a good bet, as long as you have a desk or table to eat at, no good for walking down Tottenham Court road as you dash to the tube. It is a very scary place though if you don't have this list memorised, due to the lack of ingredient listings on the packaging, or any GF indications in the shop.

* = Mmmmm, I tried this and it was nice!