nut free nerd

Recently I discovered one of the best food places I have ever been in my entire life: Yorica! Located on Wardour Street in London, Yorica is a sweet shop that serves ice cream, frozen yogurt, shakes, crepes, waffles. I’m sure that at this point you must be asking: But Holly, how can you possibly enjoy anything here when you have a severe nut allergy? Answer: it’s all nut free.

I repeat, italicized and bolded for maximum impact: it’s all nut free. 

In fact, Yorica prides itself on being free from the top allergens, with the exception of soy. According to their website: 

We’re a friendly, curious bunch. Always learning, growing and creating fab free-from treats for everyone. Free-from means freedom. Simple. So everyone’s invited to indulge without worry. All recipes and ingredients are free from wheat, gluten, dairy, eggs and nuts and all entirely vegan. Yorica! is where the love is. From process to product. Bye-bye allergens and intolerances! It’s our outta this world, earth-bound ingredients that makes Yorica! so divine. All free-from. All certified and traced, from crop to cone.

You can imagine my delight and astonishment when I walked into this place and realized that I could choose to eat anything they serve. I could probably count how many times I’ve had this foodie freedom in my entire life on one hand, maybe two. Eating out is always a fairly stressful experience for me, especially abroad. I can’t even remember the last time I was able to get ice cream at a shop that wasn’t plain vanilla soft serve, and I’ve never been able to casually order an ice cream sundae. I’ve always said that if I could get rid of my allergy for just a single day, the first thing I would do is march myself to an ice cream stand and order the largest sundae they have.

And yet here was Yorica, this miraculous place where I could suddenly choose whatever I wanted without having to worry about possible cross-contamination, effectively communicating the severity of my allergy to the server, or researching the menu ahead of time. When I walked up to the counter I could hardly believe my eyes. So many flavors to choose from! So many toppings! Dessert I could eat that wasn’t just fruit?! Unheard of!

On this particular day my mom and I decided to eat ice cream for lunch, so we went for something extravagant: ice cream AND waffles. I got a scoops of vanilla brownie and double chocolate with brownie bits and chocolate sauce on top. (Can you tell I like chocolate?) The waffles come in smaller pieces that are warm, fluffy, and perfect for fitting into your sundae cup. My finished product looked like this:

I’m not exaggerating when I say that this sundae was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. This whole experience was such a foreign luxury to me that I savored every bite, so grateful that a place like this exists. There are countless things in life that are more challenging and painful to deal with than my nut allergy, but the truth is that allergies still really suck. Places like Yorica help make me feel normal, which doesn’t often happen in food-orientated settings. I always try to tell myself that countless things in life are more important than food, but it’s challenging to maintain that mindset when so many events and experiences often revolve around eating. I’m so appreciative of companies and organizations that go above and beyond to make allergy sufferers like me feel safe and comfortable. Yorica definitely deserves an A++ in that category! (And an A++ for DELICIOUS ice cream!!)

I’ve already been back to Yorica since that first time, and I’m really hoping to go at least once more before I head back to the States in about a month. If you’re vegan, have various food intolerances, or suffer from allergies, I HIGHLY recommend checking out Yorica. {And kudos to my mom for finding this place!}

Click here to check out other posts in my Holly Goes Abroad series!

Have you ever been to Yorica?  Let me know in the comments section below!

Yours,

HOLLY