Agustin Kitchen

If no one in your group has any dietary restrictions or allergies, you’ll probably enjoy a five-star experience at Augustin Kitchen. If anyone in your group does have dietary restrictions, please read on. A few days ago when I arrived at the restaurant, our server asked if we had any questions about the menu. I replied that I had celiac and could not eat gluten, and then asked if there was any part of the menu that I should pay particularly attention to or avoid. The server kindly asked how sensitive I was; I replied that cross-contamination was usually not a concern as long as wheat was not an ingredient; and he confidently recommended the lion’s mane with no qualifications other than the fact that the mushrooms are cooked in a fryer. After enjoying a delicious dinner with an unknown ingredient that seemed similar to buckwheat berries, I woke at 2 am to the rare and awful gastric pains (and other whole-body symptoms) indicating I’d been glutened. I went to the restaurant’s website to review the description of the lion’s mane and found that it contained fregola, which is made almost entirely of semolina flour. I estimated that the dish contained about ¼ cup of fregola. The next day I wrote a polite email to the restaurant to inform them of the mistake, in the hopes that other diners could avoid my three-day malaise (or worse). The response I got from the manager (who happened to also have been my server) was that I should have recognized that the unfamiliar ingredient was a pasta containing wheat and that I should have googled the ingredients on my phone to verify they were gluten free. He also wrote that “"gluten containing ingredients" are listed on our menu in print in a very intentional way”, yet when I had asked him whether there was any particular part of the menu I should pay attention to, he had not pointed me to that info (note that their menu is quite full and visually busy). In my experience, a restaurant with a menu, wine list, and ambience like those at Augustin Kitchen only employs knowledgeable servers who will honestly and competently answer diners’ questions. The manager of this restaurant is clearly looking to cover his butt and is unconcerned with the well-being of his customers. Go elsewhere, as there are lots of restaurants where employees at least try to provide accurate information to their customers.

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

— Not at all

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— No gluten-free information on the menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Not Much/None

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

— Good

Other Characteristics

• Good for dinner
• Good for keto
• Good vegetarian options
• Offers outdoor seating
• Reservations recommended