Attention all those gluten-free, whether you are coeliac or opting in for a healthier lifestyle choice, a fresh spot has opened in Covent Garden just for you.
Copains, located at 54 Neal Street, offers a 100% fully gluten-free menu baked fresh daily including croissants, brioche, babka, sandwiches and pastries, with vegan and dairy-free options also available.
Consumers have been seen queuing out the door to get a taste of Paris, marketing itself as a premium bakery experience, Copains is a lot pricier than other nearby eateries.
It is rare to find a gluten-free bakery, despite London’s wide food scene; some supermarkets have caught up with offering gluten-free options for everyday essentials, but high-end alternatives remain scarce.
The bakery’s arrival to London was met with much interest from the coeliac community, who have expressed their demand for inclusive food spaces without being segregated from mainstream food culture.
Copains currently operates several locations across Paris, Lyon and Belgium.
Visitors who praise the Paris branch have taken a bite of what London has to offer, but there have been some mixed reviews regarding quality, and a few murmurings about the steep ‘London prices’ solely reserved for its Covent Garden venture.
Upon reaching out to Copains, their founders had a lot to say about their new London opening.
They said: “Copains is first and foremost a naturally gluten-free bakery built around a simple idea: to offer an experience where gluten-free is never a compromise, but a given.”
They put their emphasis on taste and tradition rather than dietary restriction.
They expressed their decision to open in London was driven by growing demand and the appeal of the city’s openness to inclusive, high-quality food concepts, as well as aligning with the company’s values: diversity, inclusivity and quality.
One of the founders Baptiste previously lived in London where he perceived London lacks naturally gluten-free alternatives of this quality.
Covent Garden was chosen to be Copains flagship, as a place for strolling and discovery, the mix of tourists and Londoners lead them to feel it reflects the open and exploratory experience they wish to offer customers.
They said their approach differs from other gluten-free bakeries as they treat gluten-free baking as the starting point, rather than an adaptation, with an emphasis on taste, texture and indulgence.
Copains said: “Gluten-free is neither a selling point nor a manifesto for us — it is a discreet choice, integrated from the moment the recipe is designed, in the service of taste.”
Their key vision is to create an inclusive space, not a specialist one and offer an experience beyond food: calm, welcoming, refined.
In their position to pose gluten-free as normal, indulgent and mainstream; they want to use London as a platform for international growth.
They said: “This London opening marks the beginning of a wider international dialogue, with a second location set to open in Islington later this year.”
During a visit to the bakery on a weekday evening, there were customers inside and no queue outside, but also minimal pastries to choose from as they had sold most of their stock during the day.
Staff were incredibly helpful and friendly to make up for the interior – which was smaller than expected -given the scale of attention the opening received online.
While the concept here is a strong one, online reviews have been mixed, with customers praising the variety, presentation and aesthetics.
However, customer’s main concerns are with freshness, quality and price.
One google reviewer said: “Being gluten free, we’re already used to paying extra for things that are often mediocre, but this was genuinely disappointing.”
Other reviewers have defended the bakery, one reviewer from the gluten-free community said: “Honestly, I don’t know why everyone criticises this bakery so harshly- do you know how difficult it is to make pastries look and taste like this, all gluten free?”
They added: “For coeliacs, the range alone makes it worth visiting, even if it’s more expensive.”
With a second location set to open in Islington later this year, the coming months may determine whether Copains can meet the expectations of London’s competitive and, importantly, highly vocal gluten-free food scene.
Featured Image: Copains
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