Same but different

Is anyone able to advise what gluten free lunch options are generally available in LHR T5 Galleries Club? Assuming the choice is quite restricted, any recommendations for good gluten free options in T5 restaurants?

Gorcat

I’ll need to let my wife have a read of this thread in the morning, as she’s the one who must eat a gluten free diet.

i know that recently she absolutely loved the gluten free Victoria Sponge she had in T5 Galleries Club, and the options seem to be improving!

However I can’t remember if she ate anything else there that day, as she was already ‘stuffed as well as delighted’ at the quality of the meal she received that day on the Club Europe Flight from GLA - LHR

The same with the meal in J from LHR - YYC, it looked great to me and she said it was excellent.

However the gluten free meals on the inbound flights from North America - whether in F or J have always been a huge disappointment.

Crismyth

My wife is celiac and she can have some food at the lounges and they do mark the food items at the buffet with signs if they contain gluten. They had lovely gluten free cakes on request but those have been enhanched out this summer.

CW is bad, but most airlines bad in regards to gluten free food, BA isn't unique in that regards. My wife actually one time had a 3 salad meal. A salad starter with a side salad before the main salad. But most times she will get a big bit of dry chicken with rice with no flavor or sauce. This year we have noticed that atleast when the regular starter is gluten free she will get the same as I do. Hopefully this is a start of better things to come.
Dessert, hit and mis, sometimes she has gotten a nice dessert, but also on several occasions no dessert was loaded.

Rumors have it that they serve the same gluten free meal in all classes including first. We are doing our first first flight in a couple of months and we will report if this is actually true and if they really do serve the standard gfml to first class passengers.

We have no experience on t5 restaurants so can't help you with that. But landside there is a Marks and Spencers that has a decent gluten free range of sandwiches, wraps, cakes and even a pasta salad.

chris1922Mk2

My wife is also a celiac, and has had a mixed experience of late. Last month we had lunch in LHR north lounge, and several dishes were marked GF, including rice which could be had with chilli ,a chicken white wine dish and baked potatoes with beans and/or cheese. I also recall GF bread was available if asked for, and one of the soups on offer was also GF. Cant comment on board, we were in club Europe, and that was repetitive. caprese salad all four sectors ! You could read my trip report.
We did have a much better experience in F last year, eating in the CCR and choosing meals before flying and using the chefs chat on board. I recall that all courses had a gluten free option available, that just happened to be GF, they weren't specifically so. I too have also heard that special meals are all the same in all four classes, just presented differently.
I can concur that north american meals are awful ! But not as bad as Thai...............

Castle25

Mrs castle 25 is GF and hates the CW offering. On a return to Calgary it was chicken for starter and main outbound and salmon for both inbound. Both dry and bland. She now takes. Few bites and asks for chef chat to see what she can eat. Helps being gold though as most csm will be more obliging

chuckstar

Also interested in this as although I'm not celiac I have a high intolerance to wheat gluten.
I usually take my own snacks with me, small packs of oatcakes so I can enjoy cheese etc.
Restaurants are getting a lot better at this and should be prepared to offer gf dishes or modify menu items.
LHR to LAX this week so will see what I get ...

cziwkga

Only have recent experience of T5 first lounge, sorry, but if Gorcat's observation is anything to go by they are putting the same G-F cakes in both lounges. My wife liked the sponge, raved about the coffee cake that was available during October & has enjoyed the G-F lemon drizzle cake that appeared most recently. As for on-board food in CW, I try whenever possible to find the menus in advance for her and thanks to many helpful folk here on Flyertalk have usually succeeded. That's because my wife also doesn't eat meat, and it isn't possible to place a special meal order which combines the two requirements. However it's not unusual for there to be a fish option which is also gluten-free. Failing that she often tries pot luck with the asian vegetarian option which, apart from a naan bread or two, is often suitable. However since (like chuckstar) she is wheat-intolerant rather than coeliac she's not applying the same level of scrutiny to the ingredients and preparation that a coeliac sufferer would have to.

GadgetGal

I'm wheat intolerant and I tend to stick to the baked potatoes and salad options in Galleries club. It's extremely receptive but I find it's safest. As others have said upthread there is gluten free bread and cake on request, though the cakes aren't always available. They have to have brownies and biscotti as biscuit substitutes but they have been enhanced.


AS for option outside the lounge, Wagamama would have a good selection

Gorcat

My wife stated that the best Gluten Free meal she had was on the GLA-LHR afternoon flight on the 3rd July, I unfortunately don't have any photos of it.
The worst gluten Free meals (as usual) are when flying from Canada and the USA whether in F or J.

This is the Victoria Sponge Cake she had at Galleries Club on the 3rd July, looked great and she didn't hold back


This is her starter in the J cabin on BA103 to Calgary on the 3rd July. Think it was something cheesy, and you can also see her Gluten Free cheesecake desert and some cheese.


This is her main course on BA103 to Calgary on the 3rd July. It was a fish dish which she said she enjoyed. You can also see her Gluten Free roll in its wrapping.

GadgetGal

orbitmic

Rumour has it wrong! However the Gluten free (and in fact most SPML) is indeed the same in CW and F.

chuckstar

Just an update, LHR-LAX in J yesterday.
South Lounge had lots of good options, both soups GF and delicious ...
Hot buffet also had options, curry, rice, baked potatoes.
Crisps and nuts obv.
I checked the menu online but didn't pre-order GF as have had poor experiences previously, now I just go with the flow, couldn't
eat any of the hot mains but that was fine as I had a smoked salmon starter (with my own bread) side salad and fruit.
The light meal was pea mousse and artichoke salad (just ate the salad) then a delicious warm grilled salmon salad, more fruit.
Plenty of options in the Club tuck shop too ..
Was expecting to go out for dinner on arrival but no need after that lot ...
Got 8 AA domestic sectors coming up so that should be interesting ..will update if anyone is interested ??