Review of Josephine

I was glutened blatantly here, despite their large gluten free menu, making a reservation to notate “gluten allergy” and communicating with the server multiple times of my gluten free/celiac. The first few courses all came out gluten free ( a soup without croutons, the cheese board with gluten free bread — which, was seemed to be Udi’s white bread toasted and sliced into 4) but the entree is where we ran into trouble. Because their menu is pretty much in French, and the gluten free menu is separate from the regular menu, it is not clear what items are gluten free originally and which have to be modified. This is how I didn’t realize I was eating a gluten containing “pea spaetzle” that should not have come with the GF version of the duck until the texture made me question what it was and if it was gluten free. Sadly, though I’d requested a server knowledgeable about gluten free, cross contact and the menu, when my dining companion asked our server she tried to assure us it was gluten free. I pulled up the regular and the gluten free menus online and insisted the pea portion was not listed on the GF version. The assistant manager then came out and confirmed — I was right, and I’d just eaten gluten containing pea pasta. I burst into tears. The assistant manager was extremely apologetic and was just about beside herself with worry. She comped our meal and we left swiftly to hopefully make it home before the reaction started. Unsurprisingly I was up all night extremely sick, though I won’t detail that here. Sadly — because everything was delicious and the place itself is stunning — I will not eat here again unless the restaurant reaches out to get my input on how to improve the safety of their operations for GF and celiac diners and I see firsthand evidence of improvement. I have never been served a regular gluten meal since my diagnosis in 2020, and eat out regularly. I have had a few bouts of exposure due to cross contact but I share that as anecdotal evidence of just how poorly executed the safety precautions for my meal were at what portends to be a fine dining establishment.

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Not at all

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Separate gluten-free menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Some

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Good