An ambitious new cafe has big dreams of becoming Liverpool's number one spot for people on wheat-free diets to enjoy delicious Italian food that "doesn't feel gluten-free".
Situated between the popular the Baltic Triangle and the docks, Di Strada Italian Street Food Cafe serves modern Italian street food with a twist – as its whole menu can be made gluten-free. Toasted ciabattas, deep-fried arancini, dough balls smothered in garlic butter, pizza, pasta, and other dishes normally unavailable to anyone with a gluten intolerance are all on the menu at the up-and-coming eatery, which opened in April.
Owner Molly Gannon, who runs the cafe with co-owner Ross Hazelhurst, said: "I am gluten-free myself, so that was the main reason. There's not many places you can go for Italian street food where you can get something to eat, let alone the entire menu. You're always compromised whenever you go somewhere when you're gluten-free – especially Italian places – and I thought if there isn't anything, why not make it ourselves?
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"It took a lot of trial and error along with a lot of help from our head chef, Ashleigh Baker.
"Everywhere you go, people will try to be gluten-free-friendly, but a lot that means you have got to make special orders and that makes you feel like you're causing a fuss and being a burden. Our idea was that, because the whole menu can be gluten-free, it's not a big deal, and everyone feels welcome whether they have a dietary requirement or not.
"In terms of our pizza dough, we've worked really hard over the years on different recipes, perfecting the dough, which is made in-house, trying lots of different flour mixes and getting the right balance."
Di Strada opened on Sefton Street in the premises of the former Carmine’s Italian Cafe & Deli, which closed down in January.
Molly said: "During lockdown when there was not much else to do, we created the concept, and we weren't specifically looking to open a restaurant, but then an opportunity came up with this unit and it just seemed perfect.
"We had it all ready to go because we'd planned it all out. We even had a website designed in lockdown.
"From the moment we opened we've had positive feedback and gluten-free people are really glad to have somewhere to go that doesn't 'feel' gluten-free. It feels like they're having authentic Italian food.
"We're really happy that we're on the right path and we're excited about the future. Long-term, we want to open a few different units across different areas, and take up any vendor opportunities- but it's still early days for us."
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