We’re often asked how we choose dishes for our 100% gluten free menu. This is a layered process, and a lot of thought (and of course love) goes into each dish.

Behind the scenes there are many components involved including:

• Ingredient sourcing – pricing, shelf life, and finding safe GF ingredients that have minimal other allergens so we can accommodate as many guests with different food restrictions as possible.
• Prep space – our chefs work magic in our very small NYC kitchen, but we need to consider how much prep and cooking space any given dish requires.
• Balancing our menu – we always do our best to accommodate additional food restrictions as well as different tastes, so we analyze our menu to see if there are any areas where we can do better. For example, we recently added a unique vegan dessert special to create more delicious options for our vegan and dairy free guests – Pear Al Vino Rosso, poached pear in red wine served with blackberry cabernet sorbetto.

But there is also a very personal component in choosing our dishes. Teona, Senza Gluten’s owner and co-founder, is often seen in the dining area chatting with guests after their meal. Running a gluten free restaurant, she says, is a very special thing. She loves listening to each person’s stories about living gluten free, how they were diagnosed with celiac disease, and what favorite dishes they dream about eating again. In fact, many of the dishes on our current menu are inspired by requests from our guests.

Once we have a new dish idea and navigate behind the scenes components, Teona and our team work diligently until the dish is perfect. We often introduce new dishes to our specials list. On many occasions our specials became so popular that they found a home on our regular menu. Our gluten free gnocchi dishes, fried calamari, and mostly recently Sicilian-style cannoli have recently made their way onto our menu.

We truly love receiving requests from our guests so please feel free to send us a message on social media or discuss with Teona in person. We look forward to creating even more wonderful gluten free dishes for you!

Buon appetito!

The Senza Gluten Family