Elai
Elai, Salisbury
At a glance
Elai is a riverside South Indian and Keralan restaurant just off Castle Street in central Salisbury, serving dosas, biryanis, tandoori dishes and a large vegetarian and vegan range.
Gluten-free options
South Indian cooking is naturally rich in gluten-free food, and Elai is a strong choice for it: the menu marks gluten as an allergen on every dish, so the many naturally gluten-free options — dosas and idli, a wide range of curries, rice dishes and a big vegetarian and vegan selection — are easy to pick out, and gluten-free diners report eating well here. The breads (naan, paratha and roti) and a few fried items are the main things that contain gluten.
Before you order
Elai doesn't publish cross-contact or kitchen detail, so for a dish that isn't marked as containing gluten it's worth a quick word about how it's prepared, and whether anything is fried in shared oil. Say coeliac, not just gluten-free.
Worth asking?
For a dish that isn't marked as containing gluten, can the kitchen prepare it without cross-contact, and is anything fried in shared oil?
What this means for coeliacs
Most of Elai's menu is naturally gluten-free and clearly allergen-marked, so a coeliac has plenty of safe choices, and diners report being well looked after — but the bread and some fried items contain gluten and there's no published cross-contact detail, so it's worth a quick word with staff about how an unmarked dish is prepared.
Last checked:
This information is researched but not guaranteed — menus and kitchen practices change. Always tell staff you are coeliac.