Beauty & Essex

My friend and I had dinner on Friday night at the NYC location of Beauty and Essex. It was a long anticipated evening to celebrate her birthday. We were supposed to come a few years ago, but first the pandemic put a hold on our plans and then she had surgery, further delaying us. We are both gluten free and dairy free and were really looking forward to the delicious options on your menu. We asked the server to clarify the ‘cross’ symbol next to some of the options and wanted to know if those meant they were gluten free. He said Yes, they were. We also told him we were both gluten and dairy free. We ordered the Vegan sherry glazed tofu, the miso glazed crispy eggplant and the autumn roasted vegetables. For dessert we ordered the vegan brownie sundae. We were curious about what some of the gluten free substitutions were on the items, such as the coating on the eggplant and the couscous-like ingredient with the tofu. He told us he didn’t know what they used for the eggplant coating and he said the couscous-like ingredient was couscous, which of course is not gluten free. We thought that was odd and we thought maybe he didn’t know what they used as a substitution. What we figured out later that evening, when my friend got very sick, was that he didn’t know about the menu, or that the ‘cross’ meant gluten free options available. He just told us they were gluten free. Unfortunately our fun couple of days in Manhattan turned into a shortened trip and had to head home to treat her symptoms. We are typically very careful about making sure what we are getting is gluten free and dairy free, but we also need to rely on the servers to know how to accommodate us. I just wanted to make you aware and ensure that the servers are familiar with the gluten free options on your menu. Hopefully it can prevent someone else from getting sick.

I never leave reviews but feel absolutely compelled to after the incredible experience I had here last week. I have Celiac disease and am highly allergic to gluten, so restaurants are rarely a pleasant experience, but WOW was I blown away by Beauty & Essex. He ensured I felt comfortable before choosing any dish, double checked what was fried in shared fryers, etc. I can’t say enough good things!! Not only was Joe SO knowledgeable about dietary restrictions, but he also had a delightful personality and gave great dish recommendations for our group.