I’d heard great things about LEON restaraunts and their super gluten free offerings. So was delighted to discover that they had opened a branch at Cheshire Oaks (one of my favourite places to shop!). And on Wednesday, after a spot of Christmas shopping with my fabulous buddy Carol, we called in for our tea.
I checked with the manager prior to ordering to make sure they were able to safely cater for coeliacs. Without any prompting, he advised me that they would clean down the worktop and change their gloves before preparing my gluten free food. Delighted with the response I was happy to order.
The menu at Leon clearly marks the gluten free options – and as standard when you place your order, the first thing they ask is “do you have any allergens”? The manager did also offer me the allergen book to check out for myself, but with the dedicated gluten free menu and all we had nattered about together, I was happy just to go ahead with my order. Of course, the allergen book is great to refer to, should you be affected by multiple allergies.
I loved that after I had placed our order for the Lucky Katsu and LEON baked fries (Ooooh how I wanted a GF burger too!!) the manager seemed to guard the tray. This may just have been my imagination, but it made me happy, as I felt he was doing all he could to ensure my food would be safe! Carol’s not coeliac, but as we were having the same thing, I’d asked that both our meals were prepared with the same caution to make sure there was no disastrous mix up!!
On a bit of a mission to eat our tea rather quickly – as we were extremely hungry but mainly because we wanted to make a quick exit from Cheshire Oaks, before the thousands of people that had gathered for the Christmas light switch on, decided it was time for them to go home too – we tucked into our delicious katsu Curry, baked fries and chilli dip with. Really liked the flavour and texture of the katsu sauce, which worked perfectly with the the gf breaded chicken and fresh slaw….I was also rather taken with the chilli dip!
LEON is worth the hype. They offer great, very tasty ‘natural’ fast food which is actually good for you and of course they cater for people like me and you who need to follow a gluten free diet.
Liz x
My experience at LEON was a great one, but all LEON restaurants operate shared kitchens so you need to ask all the relevant questions should you choose to visit and eat at any of their branches to make sure all is good to go for you. As always, if you are ever in any doubt about the suitability of something, don’t eat it. Check out my gluten free guide for eating out at shared facilities for a few more tips on the subject!
