London is big, and the places on this page are spread across it rather than gathered round the sights. In the centre, Indigo at One Aldwych is about 5 minutes on foot from Covent Garden and about 10 from Trafalgar Square, El Pollote is just off Carnaby Street, and CERU Farringdon is about 15 minutes on foot from St Paul’s. South of the river, Paladar at St George’s Circus is about 20 minutes on foot from Tate Modern and from Borough Market; in the east, Wicked Fish in Spitalfields Market is about 20 minutes on foot from the Tower. The bakeries sit further out, in Notting Hill, Kensington, Chiswick and Battersea. By our estimate the British Museum and the Tower are about an hour apart on foot, so plan one area a day and take the Tube between them.
A day that works (Wednesday to Saturday, when everything here is open): St Paul’s opens for sightseeing at 8.30am, Monday to Saturday. From there, cross to Tate Modern and walk on to Borough Market, about 10 minutes on foot for each leg. In the market’s Green Market, Ma Ma Boutique, an entirely gluten-free bakery, has a counter from Wednesday to Sunday. Then walk to the Tower of London, about 15 minutes: Historic Royal Palaces says it is quieter in the afternoons, and Tower Bridge is right beside it. End the day at Wicked Fish in Spitalfields Market, about 20 minutes north on foot, for fish and chips in gluten-free batter from a shop that is entirely gluten-free. On a West End day, Indigo at One Aldwych serves lunch (Wednesday to Saturday) and dinner (Monday to Saturday) where every dish is gluten-free; breakfast there is not.
The UK has its own gluten-free system, run by the charity Coeliac UK. Its Gluten Free Accreditation means a venue meets Coeliac UK’s Gluten Free Standard and its staff are trained in the procedures; look for the GF symbol on websites, menus and in windows. In Coeliac UK’s words: «The GF symbol on a menu tells you that the dish is gluten free according to the law and that the caterer meets all requirements of the Gluten Free Standard.» Niche, on this page, names that accreditation in its own words. Coeliac UK also says that staff can change and that you may not always find an accredited venue, and its Venue Guide lists accredited venues alongside ones its community recommends, which is not the same thing. On packaged food, the Crossed Grain is its mark for products suitable for a strict gluten-free diet. Whatever the sign on the door, say you have coeliac disease every time: “coeliac” is the word staff here know.
London’s everyday food leans on wheat: batter on the fish, pastry on the pies, Yorkshire puddings with the Sunday roast. Chips are the classic trap, because many kitchens and chip shops fry them in the same oil as battered fish or breaded food: ask about the fryer every time, and ask whether sauces and batters contain malt, beer or soy sauce. At the two mixed kitchens on this page, CERU Farringdon and El Pollote, most of the menu is gluten-free but the exceptions are named, so say the sentence there too. And check the market days: Borough Market is closed on Mondays, The Free From Bakehouse’s stall there trades Tuesday to Sunday, and Thai on the Fly is at Broadway Market on weekends only.
Sources: Coeliac UK, coeliac.org.uk (Gluten Free Accreditation and eating-out pages), read 29 September 2026 · St Paul’s Cathedral, Historic Royal Palaces and Borough Market, their own sites, read 29 September 2026 · the venues on this page, in their own words · walking times: our estimate from the map · food traps: “Good to know” and “The one sentence to say” on this page.