A Night Out at Senza Gluten by Jemiko

Hell's Kitchen gets a dedicated gluten-free gem

I’ve written before about how there’s nothing quite like dining at a 100% dedicated gluten-free restaurant, and I was reminded recently how good that feels. That’s because I had dinner at Senza Gluten by Jemiko, and while I joked at the time about the difficulty getting there — it was a dark and stormy night, and I had to fight my way through Times Square to get to Hell’s Kitchen — it was well worth it.

If Senza Gluten by Jemiko sounds familiar, that might be because there’s a bakery in the West Village that goes by the same name. It’s been around since 2018, and it’s also a dedicated gluten-free operation run by chef Jemiko Solo. The Hell’s Kitchen restaurant is a newer venture that only opened last year. It’s a delightful space with towering ceilings that are studded with crystal chandeliers. (There’s also what looks like a lovely garden space at the back, but it was raining so hard the night I was there that I didn’t explore it.)

The menu is wide-ranging and classically Italian, with antipasti like prosciutto di Parma and fritto di calamari, and primi courses such as lasagna and gnocchi. The secondi courses — meat and fish dishes — looked wonderful, but the portions at Senza Gluten by Jemiko are substantial, so I did not even think about ordering one of those dishes.

I started with a perfect Caesar salad and then had a plate of rigatoni with smoked prosciutto and baby arugula, which was creamy, delicious, and actually quite meaty. I also raided my husband’s plates (remember, everything here is gluten-free, so nothing was safe from me!). To start, he ordered the breaded, fried *and* baked cauliflower with buffalo mozzarella (SO GOOD), and the manicotti mozzarella.

Unsurprisingly for a restaurant that also owns a bakery, the desserts were top-notch. I highly recommend the red velvet cake. (My husband opted for the eclair, possibly because he knew I wouldn’t steal it.) The restaurant also serves excellent cocktails. Chef Jemiko’s Gin & Basil Smash was the hit of the night, but I can also put in a good word for the pomegranate mojito.

The menu was longer than I was expecting, but that was because it includes a really thorough description of ingredients. Want to know exactly what’s in the Artisan Style Bread? The restaurant gives you the 411. (For reference, it’s rice, cornstarch, tapioca, vegetable fiber [cellulose, psyllium], millet, sugar, potato, emulsifier [polyglycerol esters of fatty acids from vegetable fat, mono and diglycerides from plant origin], ascorbic acid, sunflower lecithin, xanthan gum, active dry yeast, kosher salt, extra virgin olive oil, honey, and water.) There are equally detailed listings for the breadcrumbs, buttery flaky pastry, and other bready offerings. Everything about the experience of dining at Senza Gluten by Jemiko made me feel like I was in good hands. It was a splurge, but it honestly felt worth it.