DAY 1: Scotland
Hotel: DoubleTree by Hilton Edinburgh City Centre
This is a solid hotel choice for Edinburgh! There is a fridge in the room and it’s in close walking distance to grocery stores like Sainsbury and Tesco.
Shopping: Publix Super Market at Fairmont Plaza
Before leaving for Scotland, we stopped at Publix to shop for snacks and easy meals to take on our trip! I can always find allergy-friendly food at Publix. I never have a hard time finding food that is free from my allergens here!
Lunch: Pizza Express
Super helpful staff and the food was really good! The waitress I got seemed really informed about food allergies, and she told me that they don’t use any nuts at Pizza Express. I felt so safe eating here—definitely recommend if you’re coming to the UK!
Dinner: Bentoya
I loved eating at Bentoya! There didn’t seem to be many nuts on the menu, other than the fact that they use peanut oil to fry some of their dishes. I got an allergy-friendly cucumber roll with miso soup!
Shopping: Tesco Express
I love how allergy friendly the grocery stores are in the UK! Tesco had a lot of nut free products, including nut free Cadbury chocolate.
Sightseeing:
Edinburgh Castle
DAY 2: Scotland
Breakfast: Lowes Foods of North Church Street
I had cereal for breakfast in my hotel room. Before leaving for Scotland, we went to Lowes Foods to pick up some food for our trip!
Lunch: Makars Gourmet Mash Bar
Makars is the place to go to get wonderful mashed potatoes! The waitress also told me that the chicken was safe for me to eat. That was really good as well.
Dinner: Bertie’s Proper Fish + Chips
The waiter at Bertie’s Fish + Chips was very kind and helpful when it came to my food allergies. Their signature fried fish and chips weren’t safe for me since they use the same oil to fry items containing nuts. However, I got a safe baked haddock with mashed potatoes which was so good and allergy-friendly! They also have a detailed allergy menu online that’s very helpful.
Shopping: Sainsbury’s Local
This Sainsbury’s has a bunch of allergy-friendly items! I got a ton of safe Cadbury products here.
Sightseeing:
Holyrood Abbey
DAY 3: Scotland
Lunch: Edinburgh Waverley
I was able to find a fruit platter in one of the stores at Waverly Station that was safe for me to eat. While there are not a whole lot of allergy-friendly options, there is a good chance of finding something safe to eat.
Dinner: Din Tai Fung Selfridges
Din Tai Fung has the best Asian food! They do pose a risk of cross contamination for candlenut and peanut allergies, since their vegan dumplings and some of their noodles contain those nuts. However, since the risk of cross contamination is limited to those nuts, I still feel comfortable eating here.
DAY 4: London
Lunch: McDonald’s
McDonald’s is my go to place to eat for safe food. McDonald’s in the UK has pretty much the same items as the ones in the US. You can also find a helpful allergy menu online!
Dinner: Din Tai Fung Covent Garden
I had dinner at another Din Tai Fung location!
Sightseeing:
The British Museum
DAY 5: London
Lunch: Bodean’s BBQ Covent Garden
I felt super safe eating here! The waitress gave me an allergen menu that listed all of the allergens in the dishes. I was able to get the BBQ sandwich and it was really good!
Dinner: The Mayfair Chippy
So good! The staff was really nice about my allergies and they even offered to make my meal in a separate fryer. They also offer gluten-free options! The only thing is that the line gets really long, so make sure to get there early in the day!
Sightseeing:
Tower of London, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey
DAY 6: London
Breakfast: Pret A Manger
While I don’t feel comfortable eating the baked food and drinking the coffee at Pret A Manger, I was able to get some fruit here. They also have an allergen guide online that lists the ingredients and allergens in all of their items.
Lunch: Pizza Express
I always feel so safe eating here! The staff are always very educated in food allergies. They also have an allergy menu there.
Venue: Sondheim Theatre
Seeing Les Miserables here was an incredible experience! I was also able to buy safe Haagen-Dazs ice cream here.
Shopping: Fortnum + Mason
Fortnum and Mason has an incredibly large selection of tea! They have several nut-free options, too.
Sightseeing:
Buckingham Palace
DAY 7: London
Lunch: Yo! Sushi
Yo Sushi had many nut-free options. I ate at a grab-and-go location of Yo Sushi and I was able to get nut-free sushi.
Airport: Heathrow Airport
There are many nut-free restaurants here. Yo Sushi is just one of the many allergy-friendly options!
