Best Gluten Free Restaurants in NYC
Food is my favorite part of traveling and I know that there are some of the best gluten free restaurants in NYC. The city did not disappoint!
Many of the restaurants are small so community tables or tables in close proximity are the norm. Starting in May the weather becomes more mild and several places open up their patio dining! Wine bars are a big deal and quite common as are reservations, which are recommended through Resy.com.
There were tons of options for gluten-free dining, which is always a must for me! I did cheat once – keep reading to find out where.
BREAKFAST/BRUNCH
Sadelle’s – I’m starting with the best because I STILL talk about this bagel. This was one of our very first meals and it set the bar very high. This cafe prepares their own salmon so, naturally, I had the GF everything bagel with chive cream cheese spread. It was also served with tomatoes, cucumbers, and capers. It’s still one of the best things I ate all week.
Spring Natural Kitchen – We had brunch here on our last day and this restaurant wins for the fanciest-looking dish of the week. I had the Toast Royale which was GF bread topped with avocado, salmon, microgreens, a poached egg, and hollandaise sauce.
Olive’s – We popped in for coffee-to-go one morning, but they have other grab-n-go breakfast items as well.
LUNCH
Rubirosa – This was my favorite pizza in NYC! Their GF crust was buttery and delicious. We had the supreme pizza and it was the perfect size for 2 people.
La Esquina – This is 2 restaurants in one, I think. There is a sit-down restaurant as well as a cafe/quick service type service. I couldn’t quite figure it out but we were able to get some delicious tacos on GF corn tortillas pretty quickly before heading out to explore the city again. I tried the lamb, mushroom, and mahi-mahi.
Katz’s Deli – This is another location that I’m still daydreaming over. The pastrami - OMG! I ordered a salami omelet which wasn’t that great (no cheese). Mike split his sandwich with me which is what we should do next time as plan A. It was MASSIVE and full of perfectly seasoned, tender meat. The whole thing is quite an experience in general. Note that they are cash only.
Lombardi’s – This was Mike’s favorite pizza. They are the oldest pizzeria’s in NYC and they still use a coal-fired oven. I didn’t particularly like the sauce or the crust (and it wasn’t GF) so I opted for the antipasto platter, which was one of the only gluten-free items on the menu. WOW! It was full of choices but the tuna-stuffed peppers were my favorite. Also cash only.
DINNER
Charlie Bird – This was right across the street from our AirBnB. It’s primarily a wine bar with an interesting late night vibe. Their menu is pretty limited for GF diners but I was perfectly happy to have northern oysters with chili garlic vinagrette!
Peter Leuger – This steakhouse is one of the oldest in the US and they dry-age their meat. The menu is basic and a la carte but they did everything extremely well. Reservations open up 60 days in advance and fill up FAST! The only time we could secure was 4:45 pm. While the steak was fabulous, I was quite smitten by dessert. We had chocolate mousse and cheesecake and I still can’t decide which one was the best. Both may lose out to their house-made whipped cream. They brought out a huge bowl for us, which would have been a dessert on it’s own. This restaurant is also cash only.
Bar Bacon – A friend told us about this after we arrived and we knew we had to go! Every item on the menu has bacon. They were able to put the pork belly tacos on corn tortillas for me and it was delightful! We opted to dine at the location in Hell’s Kitchen.
Kingside – This was my last meal before leaving NYC. This sushi bar is inside terminal B of the airport and they have several nice options to choose from as well as a full bar. They also have a full restaurant location on 57th street.
DRINKS/DESSERT
The Beekman Hotel – We stopped in to see a friend who works here and had a drink at the bar. It’s a neat setup with vaulted ceilings and a library feel, plus our cocktails were delicious!
Little Cupcake Bakeshop – We happened across this by accident and I was delighted to see they had gluten-free items. I had been craving a GF cupcake and the chocolate, peanut butter, banana was quite tasty!
Van Leeuwen – This was down near Pier 17. I enjoyed the peanut butter vegan ice cream with hot fudge topping while we waited for the sun to go down and then had an incredible view of the Brooklyn Bridge at night.
Amelie – This is primarily a French wine bar but we heard they had an incredible creme brulee. The rumors were true! They also had a fabulous chocolate mousse too!
