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The 8 Best Gluten-Free Food & Restaurants In New York City

February 7, 2012 1:20 PM

Suffer from Celiac disease? Going through life gluten-free poses its challenges, especially when cravings for comfort foods like pizza and cupcakes come knocking. Don’t worry – we’ve got you covered. Here’s a look at some of the top GF fare in town. By Camille DeMere.

More: N.J.’s 4 Best Gluten-Free Restaurants | Long Island’s 5 Best Gluten-Free Restaurants | NYC’s 6 Best Gluten-Free Desserts

Risotteria

gluten free breadsticks The 8 Best Gluten Free Food & Restaurants In New York City

Our favorite gluten-gree find in all of New York City may be Risotteria’s breadsticks (credit: Risotteria)

270 Bleecker Street (between 6th & 7th Aves.)
New York, NY 10014
(212) 924 – 6664
risotteria.com
Reviews & More Info

If you suffer from a gluten intolerance, you’ll find a bit of heaven at Risotteria. From the minute they place the first round of gluten-free breadsticks at the table until you finish the last bite of your gluten-free apple pie at dessert. In between, you can sip on gluten-free beer! The menu targets those with Celiac Disease, and itemizes the options with markers for “gluten free,” “vegetarian,” or “dairy free.” The restaurant specializes in risotto and gluten-free baked goods, which you can order to go. On Tuesdays, order from a special gluten-free pasta menu. Yes, the place sounds too good to be true for those who normally can’t enjoy all of these foods – and the crowds that gather nightly prove the restaurant’s worth. Reservations aren’t accepted, wait time can be lengthy and the place gets crowded fast. But our tip? It’s worth it.

Bistango

(credit: bistangonyc.com)

415 3rd Avenue
New York, NY 10016
(212) 725-8484
bistangonyc.com
Reviews & more info

The gluten-free options here are limitless, and the staff is eager to please and ensure a safe and delicious meal for everyone. You’ll probably even meet the owner, Anthony, who often comes out to greet guests and chat about his restaurant. Start the meal off with warm, crusty gluten-free bread that puts most other GF bread to shame. For dinner, you can dine on creamy Spinach & Ricotta Ravioli, flavorful Wild Mushroom & Ricotta Ravioli, or Cheese Tortellini from the gluten-free menu. For a $2 premium, you can make any pasta item on the menu gluten-free. They also offer two Green’s gluten-free beers, the dark and sweet Endeavor and the light and fresh Quest. During the summer, sip fresh gluten-free white wine sangria. Try the GF homemade cheesecake for dessert.

Keste Pizza & Vino

kestepizzeria2 The 8 Best Gluten Free Food & Restaurants In New York City

The pizza from Keste. (photo credit: kestepizzeria.com)

271 Bleecker Street
New York, NY 10014
(212) 243-1500
kestepizzeria.com
Reviews & more info

A good pizza can be tough to find – especially when you’re avoiding gluten – but Mondays and Tuesdays are gluten-free days at this West Village spot. Choose from the Mast Nicola, with lardo, Pecorino Romano (a hard, salty cheese), and basil, or sample the Marinara (tomatoes and oregano) or the classic Margherita. All pies come on a cruncy, brick-oven crust that will make you forget it’s gluten-free. The torta caprese, a flourless chocolate almond cake, is moist and dense, completely gluten-free, and a great way to finish off your meal.

S’MAC

The 8 Best Gluten Free Food & Restaurants In New York City

(credit: S’mac/Facebook)

345 East 12th St
New York, NY 10003
(212) 358-7912
smacnyc.com

Mac’n'cheese is the ultimate comfort food (check out our Best Mac roundup) - but for not always for gluten-free lifestyles. That’s where S’MAC comes into the play. They’ve gone through a lot of effort to make their entire menu available in GF variations, charging a bit more depending on the size of dish you order. For GF mac, they use Brown Rice elbow macaroni, bechamel (no wheat flour), and breadcrumbs made from GF cornflakes. With all that in mind, dive into their extensive collection of delicious mac flavors, including cheeseburger and cajun.

Lilli And Loo

Getty Images/Clip Art

792 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10065
(212) 421-7800
lilliandloo.com

Hungry for stick-to-your-bones, Chinese takeout – sans gluten? Check out this Lexington Avenue locale, Lilli and Loo. Their gluten-free menu boasts more than 50 items, including spicy General T’so’s chicken or tofu, which retains the crunch its gluten-filled counterpart is known for. We like the rice noodle pad thai, and the dumplings are delicious with GF soy sauce.

Candle 79

(credit: Candle 79)

154 E 79th St
New York, NY 10021
(212) 537-7179
candlecafe.com

Dimly-lit and perfect for date night, this Upper East Side venue boasts a thorough gluten-free menu. Their organic, vegan fare pairs fabulously with a thorough cocktail selection. The atmosphere is welcoming to those without dietary limitations, as well. We’re big fans of Angel’s Nachos ($16.00).

Tu-Lu’s Gluten-Free Bakery

Tu-Lu’s Vanilla Cupcake with Vanilla Buttercream (credit: Tu-Lu’s)

338 East 11th St.
New York, NY 10003
(212) 777-2227
tu-lusbakery.com

Time for dessert. Tu-Lu’s made our Best Cupcake list on the quality of its wares alone. It’s a bonus that they’re gluten-free. Tully Lewis attended culinary school at Le Cordon Bleu in Austin, Texas, before making her way up to NYC to continue her studies at NYU. Good thing for us it’s not all academic for her. Her chocolate chip cookies get rave reviews, and of course, we love the vanilla/vanilla cupcake.

Rice To Riches

(credit: ricetoriches.com)

37 Spring Street
New York, N.Y.
212.274.0008
ricetoriches.com

In a skinny city where venues like Pinkberry make a business of encouraging visitors to top their non-fat concoctions with healthy additions like fruit and nuts, Nolita’s Rice To Riches offers heaping portions of their trendy take on comfort food while encouraging the overindulgence (the walls are lined with phrases poking fun at thin girls and fitness freaks). It’s a bit pricey, but even the smallest size is big enough for two to share. The staff is knowledgeable about which flavors are gluten-free, and which ones aren’t safe for those with the allergy.

healthy dinner ideas

I have been browsing online greater than 3 hours nowadays, but I by no means discovered any interesting article like yours. It’s pretty worth sufficient for me. Personally, if all site owners and bloggers made excellent content as you probably did, the internet shall be a lot more helpful than ever before.
Wendy

I’m going to be visiting the Big Apple and must eat gluten free. It sounds dangerously hit-or-miss to me, and as if these restaurants need to either be strictly gluten free or not. Mixing it up seems too risky in my opinion, for whatever it’s worth.
Hilda

Being Celiac it is unacceptable to have gluten free pizza in a regular pizzeria!

vanderdecker

My sister is a gastroenterologist and she has celiac, as does her daughter. She sees no problem buying a GF pizza from a regular pizzeria.
Leelee

I’ve gone to many regular restaurants that serve gluten free food and never had a problem with cross contamination. My favorite place is an Italian restaurant not too far from where I live and the pasta and pizza is amazing.. I’d eat there every night if I could. I’ve yet to see a valid reason as to why a regular respectable restaurant can’t serve gluten free food as well.
karvictho

I would expect an entire restaurant that serves only gluten free wouldn’t be around long as they wouldn’t have enough customers to sustain them. If they are cautious and thoughtful about not accidentally using materials containing gluten there is no reason not to sell gluten free alongside products with gluten.

NYC Celiac Mom

My daughter and I just ate at Nice Matin on Saturday. We have had good experiences there in the past. There were some warning signs like the big baskets of bread being slapped down on our small table Ithere were gluten eaters at the table with us)….and the gluten cookies served with a dessert. We think the villain was my daughter’s pasta, and possibly the risotto which we shared. Her issues were immediate and mine showed up today. Sad, because we have had good meals there.

NJ Mom

I am so sad to hear that our experience there was repeated. I had a long conversation with the head chef, and told him he needs to have the nutritionist from Columbia come and review his practices again. Either there is a training issue, or some blatant new cross contamination problem, as we ate there for years with no issues, and then my daughter got sick there 2 times within 3 months. The last we left it with the chef,was that he was going to see whether the ice cream maker was cross contaminated because not all the offerings are gf but he never got back to me and we will sadly never eat there again. My daughter got sick only having steak, salad, mashed potatoes and sorbet, and their gf bread. Something is very wrong there.

Dor

I’m glad that the idea of gluten-free is becoming more mainstream and that restaurants are acknowledging it. However, while the FDA considers corn and rice gluten free using a very strict definition of gluten, both of these foods contain variants of the problematic glutenoids found in wheat, though at much lower levels. Those with gluten sensitivity and especially those with celiac are far better off avoiding grains as a whole, including all processed foods that contain grain derivatives, i.e. corn starch/syrup, modified food starch, et al. Speaking from personal experience (my wife, my young son, and me), the task of total grain elimination was a big pain at first, but now it’s old habit and we even get to eat out a couple of times a week. Lots of good free information on this site: http://www.glutenfreesociety.org/
Mo

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THESES POSTS I WAS JUST DIAGNOSED WITH CELIAC DISEASE AND THESE SUGGESTIONS ARE VERY HELPFUL TO ME!
Ramon

I’ve been using http://withoutwheat.net to search gluten free restaurant menus. It’s worked well enough so far.