By: Margaret Kennedy Tully, Tenerife, Canary Islands
Having left Scotland a few years ago to live on the beautiful island of Tenerife, going home for me is a real treat.
A couple of years ago I was diagnosed with ceoliacs disease, which in simple terms means I can only control my illness through my diet. By cutting out gluten completely I can live a healthy life. Going home now means so many changes none other than the big changes when eating out. On my latest trip home in June, my husband and I met up with friends and arranged to dine out at a restaurant in Colinton, Edinburgh.
The name of the restaurant is Dantes.
Outside on the wall is their menu, and it states clearly, Gluten Free pasta, I was excited as you can imagine. For the first time since being diagnosed I could eat pasta in a restaurant.
My friend and I went into Dantes and asked the man that greeted us about the gluten free pasta and he reassured me that the pasta and the sauce was in fact gluten free, and that there were a lot of other things on the menu that I could eat.
We booked a table and ate there that night. I, in the end, decided against the pasta as I was more tempted by the special, a beautiful grey mullet fillet and special potatoes.
Both of the owners seem to share the responsiblity, they are two brothers and one of the desserts my friend ordered had been made by their mother, so a real family affair. They are, I think, part Italian and extremely good looking which just added to our evening and they were really friendly to our men folk too.
Throughout the night all types of people came in, with and without children, all age groups, and they were all welcomed. This establishment was busy in a recession and the two men were happy at their work, they had one day off a week in which they liked to play golf, and it seemed the rest of their time was spent running their business.
I hope, not only because they made me, a coeliac, welcome but because everyone enjoyed their meal and the price was fair, that this business goes from strength to strength. I just want to use this medium to sing their praises and to say Thank You, it meant so much to me just to feel normal whilst eating out.
