Gluten Free Guide to eating out and shopping in Loch Lomond

I asked and you replied with a resounding YES that you want me to write up this Gluten Free Guide to Loch Lomond so here it is. It will not be an all-inclusive guide as there were places we didn’t feel comfortable eating at. Not because it wasn’t a lovely venue but because the teens wouldn’t be comfortable and the key to our family eating out successfully is my two feeling at ease!

Disclaimer: this has been written in the summer of 2021 and things may change. We saw a few places that were on Trip Advisor that had sadly closed (possibly due to C-19) but you may read this and know of others that I’ve missed or places that have opened up since our visit. If so please do feel free to add these in the comments

All my visits can be tracked via my profile here Glutarama’s Trip Advisor Profile I do try to leave reviews every where we go. Obviously that’s been very few places in the past 18mths to 2 years! You’ll notice I’m a high scorer when it comes to the star rating. I just can’t help myself. Any experience eating out is a mini miracle in itself with my two and so I’m just thrilled to be out in the first place (insert slightly manic laughter here!).

Oh, for those new to this website, Lewis and Bethany are diagnosed autistic and Beth’s the Coeliac and Type 1 Diabetic so fun fun fun times. You can read more about this here if you choose About Us, 10 reasons I know my son has Autism, Type 1 Diabetes and us: the full diagnosis story.

One last word about this guide. It lacks in photo evidence of our meals. There is a very good reason for this. My kids made me promise that I wouldn’t turn into a blogger every meal and make people wait until I’d photographed everything before they could tuck into their food. I think they were very wise and as a result we enjoyed our meals with no fussing about from me.

Places to visit

I’ve split places to visit in and around Loch Lomond (not actually in the loch silly!) into four categories. I thought it easier to navigate this guide that way.

• Gluten free café’s
• Places to get gluten free fish and chips
• Restaurants that cater for gluten free diets
• Local shops that stock gluten free products

Gluten Free Cafe’s

The Tea Room at the Botanics, Glasgow – we had a lovely lunch here. In fact, Lewis ordered a second sandwich he liked the first so much! The menu had a wide choice of sandwiches and soups (check for soup of the day to make sure it’s safe). Beth also got to choose from three gluten free cakes and opted for a blueberry frangipane-style tart which was lovely. I was able to eat dairy and egg free too. click to see the menu.

Coach House Coffee Shop, Luss – we got here earlier in the day so too early to sit and have lunch but it’s always lovely too hear that a place stocks gluten free ice cream cones. They also had plenty of dairy free milk options for my latte too. If we had been hungry Bethany could have chosen from gluten free sandwiches and cakes. The shop inside the café has a wonderful choice of beautiful pottery and one set was to die for….bit pricy and wouldn’t have survived the 450 mile trip home so had to be sensible on this occasion!

Café Zest, Balloch – the café is part of a host of shops and outlets at Loch Lomond Shores. I had checked with Thornton’s Café, further down the parade of shops, if they could cater for Beth but was told it was the bog standard jacket potato. Here at Café Zest (part of the department store) they had sandwiches and did have a choice of cakes but be quick! they go quickly as they are not marked GF so muggles tend to pick them too! Also worth a mention is the Market that takes place evert 1st and 3rd Sunday.

We went on the 3rd Sunday and there were some lovely stalls with Scottish Tablet and fudge with both vegan and gluten free options. Sadly, none of the hot food stands were gluten free so something the traders may wish to take on board as they’d have a captive gluten free market if they did!

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Fish and Chips

The Faerie Tree Inn, Aberfoyle – This was a lovely find and was in a lovely little village too with a huge wool shop that’s a bit of an attraction itself with animal displays if you time it right in the year! The Faerie Tree Inn was going to be a lunch stop but we were hungry after doing the Three Lochs Forest Drive nearby so we ordered pizzas. Beth’s gluten free hand made base was the best base I’ve ever seen. She got hers first as it was prepared separately.

The menu had a simple key to identify all 14 allergens (1) being gluten. To see the key click the pizza menu first. We didn’t have room for any puddings as Beth also ordered a side of gluten free chips and the family had to help her with those. She could also have chosen battered fish too but for the first time EVER she was getting a bit bored of fish and chips (something I never thought I’d say as it’s never an option here in England).

They did have ice cream on the menu but I can’t comment on other options available.

The Real Food Café, Tyndrum (accredited by Coeliac UK) – what a find! Thank you to my followers on social media for this tip off. As mentioned they are accredited by Coeliac UK and totally get gluten free diets and cross contamination. Bethany was able to choose from three different size portions of Haddock and Chips. This came with a sealed pot of certified gluten free vinegar*. There was no way we had room for puddings but Beth could have chosen chocolate brownie or fudge cake. Also worth noting is that they do gluten free breakfast rolls too.

TOP TIP: to just view the menu click on ‘view current menu’ and choose ‘click and collect for later.’ This will enable you to see the menu but don’t worry, you won’t be locked into making a purchase.

* vinegar is made gluten free by the methods in production. However, Coeliac UK have taken all malt vinegars off their ok list until manufacturers start to test officially for gluten according to the bar 20ppm (parts per million)

Restaurants/Pubs that cater for gluten free

The Drovers Inn and Pub, Inverarnan – I think we visited The Drovers Inn four times during our two week holiday by Loch Lomond. The family could not get enough of the gluten free chips and curry sauce – I’m not joking, wish I was! I did try other dishes on the menu and Bethany did have the naked burger and chips twice too. The gluten free and vegan chocolate tart was lovely, I had this twice.

Beth didn’t have puddings though, despite me trying to tempt to get one of their sticky toffee puddings, Then again, my own version is pretty awesome Sticky Date and Toffee Pudding made gluten and dairy free. Another huge positive was the staff who were super friendly and couldn’t have been more helpful.

The Faerie Tree Inn, Aberfoyle – I’ve already mentioned these guys as they have gluten free fish and chips on the menu, but there are more options for you to try gluten free so here’s the link if you missed it the first time The Faerie Tree Inn.

Slanj Bar and Restaurant, Tarbet – Bethany enjoyed a hearty fish and chip dinner with a side of mushy peas and tartar sauce. I didn’t add this to the fish and chip section above simply because this is a more expensive place so not quite your bog standard fish and chips. There were many other gluten free options and the rest of the family tucked into sirloin steak and fresh trout which was amazing. Aside from the restaurant, you can sit outside and order from a bar menu (it’s also a takeaway menu) where there are also gluten free options aplenty. Beth also had the option of four – FOUR desserts to choose from. Frankly, it was worth going just for the experience of seeing the other guests and their dogs enjoy dinner.

That’s right, they have a doggy menu too – adorable.

Rod and Reel Pub, Crainlarich – not much to look at this pub tucked away as you leave Crainlarich. They’ve not dragged themselves into the 21st Century either so don’t expect to find them on the internet (apart from Trip Advisor). However, they did a lovely curry that Bethany surprisingly ate that was gluten free. Make sure you ask the right person in the pub though, some staff did the trick where they got gluten and vegan mixed up.

The Village Rest, Luss – this place is like the Tardis! It’s way bigger on the inside than the outside. They have a fair few gluten free options on the menu and our meals were lovely. Bethany went for the chilli con carne with all the trimmings. Sadly no gluten free cakes as we fancied something sweet to take away with us.

Inversnaid Hotel, Inversnaid – a great place to soak up the scenery with a sandwich. We hopped over the loch using the cruises available at Tarbet and took advantage of the 30min ride to the hotel we’d been looking at all week from the other side. The chips were also gluten free and as you can see from below we had a choice of gluten free sandwiches. There are also some beautiful waterfalls next to the hotel so we spent a good hour exploring them too.

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Queen of the Loch, Balloch – this wasn’t originally a planned stop but another family had mentioned the pub so we thought we’d give it a go. Of course I checked in advance for gluten free options so knew they could cater for us. I think on this occasion Beth was utterly overwhelmed by the menu and had difficulty choosing. Plus there were a lot of foods she’d never tried before.

She opted for the chicken wings in the end which surprised me as she doesn’t eat off the bone. Bless her she tried her best, thankfully she had a side of chips and some ice cream to keep her full (yes, there were a lot of chips consumed over the holiday!)

I had the carvery with Lewis and the most gorgeous vegan apple pie (sadly not gluten free too). Heads up, if you get the sundae to share its the size of a small bucket so make sure you leave room! It’s also worth pointing out the staff here were lovely, clearly exhausted, think they were short staffed but so keen to make sure we had a nice meal.

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Falls of Dochart Inn, Killin – this was the one day that Beth didn’t accompany us she was shattered from being sociable and her blood sugars had been misbehaving. The rest of us enjoyed delicious warm rolls with chips all of which Bethany could have had gluten free if she was with us.

Sadly the little café that’s attached (and where I got my delicious dairy free mocha) had no gluten free cakes which is a shame as I had wanted to take Beth a little something back as she’d missed out.

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Local shops that stock gluten free

This was a bit more tricky as there were, once upon a time, a few local shops but sadly C-19 saw to it that many have closed down. The local shop in Arrochar is well stocked but didn’t include any dairy free milk options, nor gluten free items. Of course you could get your essentials and non-gluten-containing foods to self cater.

Just don’t rely on them for breakfast and lunch essentials.

On the site we stayed on they did have soya milk which was handy as my tea drinking went into overdrive as there was many an hour sat on the veranda soaking up the views – and can you blame me. But again sadly no gluten free bread or cereals.

The best (and as far as I could tell only) option is the not so local Co-op in Balloch right at the bottom of Loch Lomond. It’s a larger Co-op store and, as you would expect, they have a sufficient gluten free section and other non gluten containing food items scattered around the store if you know where to look. I was also able to stock up on sugar free dairy milks for my out of control tea habit!

Other gluten free guides you may find interesting…

Gluten Free Scotland; our successful freefrom family holiday

Eric’s Gluten Free Fish & Chips (Thornham) Review

Plan your Gluten Free Norfolk Coast Weekend

Guide for Gluten Free small businesses that deliver across the UK

If you’ve only just happened across my blog Glutarama, then you may also be interested to know this is not the main topic I write about, the majority of my posts relate to free from recipes and food reviews, as our family are affected by Coeliac Disease, egg, dairy other intolerances it keeps me busy in the kitchen, but boy do I have fun experimenting for my family and followers.

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