From the team behind the Salisbury Gluten Free Guide

Researched with care — never a guarantee. Menus and kitchens change, so it's always worth a quick word with staff before you order.

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Ringwood & Burley

Hassocks5489, CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication), via Wikimedia Commons
Pub

The Elm Tree

Hightown Road, Hightown, BH24 3DY

At a glance

Sixteenth-century thatched pub at Hightown on the Ringwood edge of the forest, a minute off the A31, run by the Risbridger family with a big garden, a large free car park and a tithe barn used as an events room. Everything is cooked to order and gluten free is marked right across the published menus.

Gluten-free options

The pub keeps a separate gluten free fryer, so the battered cod and the chips are within reach. The main menu of June 2026 marks gluten free dish by dish rather than leaving it to a conversation at the table. Battered cod and chips is marked gluten free, and gluten free batter is offered on the halloumi chips and on the Sunday cod; burgers can be provided with a gluten free bun, the beef ragu can be made with gluten free penne, and gluten free bread is offered with the squid, the houmous and the baked camembert. Steak, gammon and egg, stone bass, the Caribbean curried lamb, the wild mushroom risotto, chips, fries and loaded fries all carry gluten free marks. All three Sunday roasts state a gluten free option. Puddings include a gluten free brownie, meringue mess, lemon drizzle sponge and blueberry pannacotta, with all ice creams and sorbets marked gluten free. Paninis on the bar snack menu are offered gluten free on request. Above the main menu the pub says most dishes are available gluten free on request, and the head chef, Jerry Patrick, is described on the site as bringing a particular understanding of coeliac disease.

Before you order

The head chef is coeliac himself, which is as close to informed handling as a kitchen gets, and there is a separate gluten free fryer. What the pub has not described is the panini press or how the roast potatoes and gravy are kept clear of the stuffing and Yorkshire puddings, so raise those two at the table if they matter to you. Every menu asks you to tell staff about allergies before ordering.

Worth asking?

If I order a panini gluten free, is it pressed in a grill kept clear of the ordinary bread?

Source links

Last checked:

This information is researched but not guaranteed — menus and kitchen practices change. Always tell staff you are coeliac.

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