Featured Review

May 2009

Sambuca Restaurant Near Lincoln Center in New York City Earns Rave Review for Its Gluten Free Menu and Southern Italian Fare

Welcome to GlutenFreeTravelSite.com! Each month we'll highlight an especially useful travel review as the Featured Review of the Month. The winning reviewer receives four of Triumph Dining's Restaurant Dining Cards (one each for American, Chinese, Italian, and Mexican cuisines).  Don't miss our past Featured Reviews found in our Archives.

5.0 Palms	Sambuca Restaurant
Review Type:	Restaurant
Location:	20 West 72nd Street, New York, NY , USA
Phone:	(212) 787-5656
Website:	http://www.sambucanyc.com
Contact:
Trip Type:	Adults only meal
Travel Dates:	January 2009
Review Posted:	April 14, 2009

Sambuca is a southern Italian-style restaurant about eight blocks north of Lincoln Center, just west of Central Park and within a couple of blocks of the subway stops at 72nd Street for subway lines 1, 2, 3, B, and C.

In addition to their "regular" menu, they have a gluten-free menu that includes a number of pasta dishes and a few meat dishes. Generally, they use elbow-shaped rice pasta, except for their ravioli, which is made from tapioca and rice. I have enjoyed the pasta primavera, pasta pomodora and basil, pasta with broccoli rabe, pasta with sundried tomatoes and broccoli, pasta with pesto, and the pasta with mixed seafood.  Meat dishes (which I have not yet tried) include Tuscan chicken, veal paillard, and steak Florentine, among others. 

The menu lists two prices for each entrée.  An individual-sized order of one pasta entrée and one Sambuca salad is enough to fill both me and my wife.  A family-style platter would easily fill two very hungry people, or three or four people who have had breakfast or lunch that day.  They serve an excellent gluten-free bread with orders from this menu, and also have a delicious gluten-free brownie for dessert.  A number of wines and after-dinner drinks are available to complement the food. 

The lighting is dim, but not so dark that the menu cannot be read.  Occasionally there is live entertainment in the evening.  I have had dinner here numerous times and have never been disappointed.

(Note: Read other recent New York City restaurant reviews by "NJKen" on our New York page)

** GlutenFreeTravelSite.com suggests you always contact restaurants directly to verify the availability of gluten-free meals before your arrival.