The top gluten-free food in Manhattan
These are the Best Gluten-Free Spots in Manhattan
From Pizza to Pasteries
New York City is well known for its incredible food options, there aren’t many places on earth with as diverse a food culture as the city. Naturally, there will be a lot of gluten-free options, but the sheer number is astonishing coming from anywhere else in the country. If you are visiting for less than a week you won’t be able to make much of a dent in the options, so we’ve tried to narrow down the list so that you can hit some of the top spots without having to put too much time into the research. What follows is the shortlist of must-stops if you're visiting Manhattan on a gluten-free diet.
Keste
Keste has to be at the top of your list. You wouldn’t expect the best pizza in New York to be Neapolitan rather than New York style, but it's true. I honestly could not believe their pizza was gluten-free and had to ask the waiter just to make sure. As an added bonus, the chef is a cheese maker from Italy so make sure to grab an appetizer while you're here, the cheeses are amazing. I do want to note, that the dough is so amazing because they use Caputo Gluten Free flour. This flour is not wheat-free. It is perfectly safe for those with Celiac, but if you are allergic to wheat it is not safe. I am sure a lot of restaurants use the same or similar flour without anybody knowing, but the lovely people at Keste happened to be nice enough to share their secrets with me.
Modern Bread and Bagel
You’d think in New York City there would be no shortage of pizza or bagel places. There's no shortage of pizza joints, but we could only find one good bagel shop, Modern Bread and Bagel. It's a bit of a trek up to the Upper West Side, but it's worth it. They don’t have a ton of options, but every single one is a banger. While we were visiting we made our way there every morning. I highly recommend the salmon bagel with the chive spread and all the toppings. It's the only sandwich I’ve had that can hold a candle to Mariposa’s in San Francisco, and that's high praise coming from me.
Senza Gluten
Senza Gluten is technically two different places, just down the street from each other, the restaurant and the bakery&cafe. The restaurant serves up great classic Italian food from a dedicated gluten free kitchen. Make sure you get the fried calamari! The bakery, just one block down, serves up classic breads and sweets, plus a limited cafe menu. Check out their various options at each on the website.
Noglu
If you’re looking for another bakery option, Noglu is your place. Albeit expensive, their baguettes and croissants are what we’d come back for. I always find myself looking for those things that are so common in regular bakery fare but so hard to do well gluten-free. Noglu gets pretty darn close to what you’ve been missing since going gluten-free
Cosme
If you’re looking to have a special fine dining experience while you're in NYC, this is a great place to do it. Cosme is owned by Chef Enrique Olvera, who is well-known for his Mexico City restaurant, Pujol. Cosme has been voted one of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, and it is entirely gluten-free! If you want to check it out, make sure you get a reservation well in advance.
It seems like there is just about anything you want in Manhattan, these are just a selection of some of our favorites. We encourage you to explore the city and let us know what else is worth checking out.