Top 25 Gluten-Free Spots to Explore in Harvard Square, Cambridge

Seth Gertz-Billingsley

Edit: Came back for lunch. Great service, amazing food. Excellent gluten-free options. Affordable for the area and great portions. I think you get a little more if you dine in rather than take out. Evening: Good margaritas for a good price! Rooftop is probably not worth the wait unless you have a good-sized group. Will probably return.

Angi Horn

We were very pleased with our visit. Amazing service and the food was great. Much bigger portions than we were expecting, we ordered way too much! My niece is gluten free and the server marked up the menu to show exactly what was gf or could be modified to be gf. Amazing service! We had the ubiquitous kale salad, burrata that comes with sweet potato bread (gf bread also available), grilled broccoli with hummus, and roasted potatoes. Both the cocktails and cocktails were great too!

Melissa Gene

GLUTEN-FREE OPTIONS NOT GLUTEN-FREE I came to this location on 6/5/24. I was very excited to be visiting this restaurant in Cambridge. I am vegan and have a gluten allergy and saw on the menu that many items were denoted gluten-free so I was very happy that there would be food for me to eat. (I had also not eaten all day so I was extra excited.) I went up to the counter to order and while ordering was told (in a very rude/smug way) by the people working the register that everything that is noted as gluten free is not actually gluten free but “gluten friendly” and not safe for an allergy and they would not recommend for anyone who actually eats gluten free to eat at their restaurant. Either the menu needs to be changed to say “gluten friendly” or a kitchen process needs to be changed so the gluten free options are actually gluten free and there is no cross contamination. I do appreciate that they let me know so I didn’t get glutened but I shouldn’t have found out while ordering - it should have been clearer (and that’s on Veggie Grill). The staff at this location were also rude, unhelpful, and didn’t offer any suggestions. They honestly didn’t care and were not kind at all. I hope management changes the menu to be clearer so people that do have a gluten allergy are able to either eat safety or don’t come with their hopes up only to not be able to eat not anything. They should also train their staff on some basic customer service/kindness. (They didn’t even apologize - which I feel like is just like basic customer service.) Maybe other staff members are great and the ones that were working the register were just the bottom of the barrel but I am honestly shocked with how I was treated. Luckily, I don’t live in Cambridge so I won’t run into this issue again but I want to flag this for future gluten-free travelers (and honestly anyone who may come into this seemingly wonderful place…).

Kenichi Iwasaki

We had delicious doughnuts at this store the other day. What’s special about this place is that they make great gluten-free doughnuts which I find precious. For people who cannot eat gluten, finding good doughnut stores that make decent gluten-free doughnuts isn’t always easy, especially doughnuts carefully made not to have any gluten contamination from other food sources. We’d definitely visit this store again. Thank you for making sure to include gluten-free doughnuts on your menu. That makes a huge difference for some people. We truly appreciate it.

Nikki M

decent coffee, plus gluten-free options and space to work/study/read

Mary Wilcox

We came mostly for the desserts, and they are absolutely delicious. The available ice cream flavors were really creative. We chose the pink peppercorn flavor which was fruity and fun to eat. The pistachio white chocolate cake was the favorite of the composed desserts we had, but the peaches & cream (the gluten-free but not nut-free option) dessert and (dark) chocolate tart were also amazing. If it weren't for the fact that we don't have an unlimited budget and desserts in general aren't exactly healthy in large quantities, I could make a daily meal of just the desserts.

T Keeps

Best burgers we have had in a very long time. Waitress cared enough about my daughter's gluten allergy that she double checked with the chef and came back to correct one part of our order to be GF. This place was a home run. I just wish they had a location closer to my home!!!!

Whitney Norton

Great food and excellent gluten free food!

Brandon Messinger

Olivia Crane

I went here for Dine Out Boston with a few friends and we had the best time. The ambiance and decor was so cute, they had great music playing but not too loud so great for chatting. The service was great and the food was so so good! The chopped salad was so delicious and they were super accommodating of my gluten allergy. Will definitely be returning!

Kevin Barhydt

Again and again we return to L.A. Burdick and are amazed. Got lucky this time. The district manager happened to be in the shop and guided us to some really fun chocolate covered citrus, apricot and mango. Beyond good! Teas and snacks were delicious, and I enjoyed an amazing gluten free baked dessert. 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Owen Russell

Just ordered here—friendliest service! Mauri, Feda, Mani crushed it! Eveything was so clean and they were so careful with my gluten free allergy! Will definitely be coming back!

Judit Agràs Masdeu

delicious brunch with gluten free options

Jan Jan Moon

Had a wonderful dining experience at Henrietta's kitchen this Saturday with my hubby and son. Hubby loved the scallops on special. I got the roasted chicken (a classic) and my son got the duck. We were all really happy with out meals. Even though there is no GF labels on the menu, they were able to accommodate my Gluten allergy on almost anything on the menu.

Rebecca Kowalczyk

I tried Cafe Sushi for the first time tonight and it completely exceeded my expectations. I ordered it through delivery to indulge in after a nine month pregnancy sushi drought. After eating hospital food for a while, I was especially looking forward to it, but often get disappointed when trying new restaurants because most struggle to accommodate my gluten allergy. All of the dishes I ordered were not only exceptionally fresh, delicious and well composed, but completely safe. They were carefully labeled with stickers and notes on the receipt to confirm careful prep. None of the dishes felt like they were missing key ingredients (it's clearly not one of those places that accommodates allergies by taking half of the ingredients out of the dish or telling you that you can "just have an salad"). There were special, seasonal and local ingredients in the dishes and a huge variety of flavors. The fish had that buttery texture you only get in the best places. I would say it was exactly the meal I was dreaming about and hoping to have post baby, but it was even better than that. Thank you so much Cafe Sushi!

Craig Hefner

We just walked in with no reservation. The only place to sit was outside on the "street" (alley really), which was fine. They accommodated us. The problem I have is with the menu. I am gluten free; there was literally nothing I could eat. It was as though they had never even thought about such issues. They found a stake for me (no stake on the menu so that was mysterious) and some veggies. It was very delicious. However, for a restaurant to not even have thought about food sensitivities in 2023 was shocking to me – took me back to the 1990's.

J Francis

Prefer this Shake Shack to others I've visited- for one, i can make an order on a screen and take as long as I'd like. Also their gluten free buns seem to taste a bit better than those I've had in nyc.

Armaan Jinnah

I had heard a lot about Joe's Pizza before coming to the USA, and it didn't disappoint me. I really liked the pizzas; they had thin crust that was very cheesy and delicious. They also had gluten-free pizza, which made my dad happy! The service was quick and easy. They have so many celebrities coming from all around the world! I found out about Joe's Pizza from friends where joey ordered it so many times.

brian spinks

Gluten free pizza was meh. Crust was of the frozen spongy variety. Otherwise good ingredients.

Danforth N

Sometimes difficult to find a seat during busy hours. But that's literally my only complaint. A great option if you are trying to accommodate various diets. Keto friendly, vegetarian friendly (Tofu option for protein), gluten friendly. Good stuff.

Órla Michelle

WARNING FOR PEOPLE WITH CELIACS Came here with my friend after a very heavy support meeting, picked it because it lists gluten free options, she has celiacs, and naturally she wanted to make sure her food was absolutely gluten free. The staff were very dismissive of her concerns and when I raised concerns about their refusal to affirm their accommodation they reacted as if I was unreasonable. Right now, neither of us are sure if she got a corn or wheat tortilla, as it looked uncomfortably similar to my wheat tortillas (note that I requested corn tortillas as a matter of preference) and if anything happens I will update this review Edit: it was a wheat tortilla, she's now sick

David Danehy

Burgers were excellent. Freaky frappes were a real treat. My burger was a little past medium but not enough to upset me. If you get the nachos, make sure you share it or you will have trouble finishing your meal. There are all kinds of burgers to satisfy all tastes and they have gluten free options for those who need it.

Elena D

Very nice place! They have gluten free pasta.

N Neil

So I arrive and there are no staff out front or on the floor. I am nothing if not proactive, and since I ordered my food for pick-up online, I walk towards the back and see an ordering stand near the kitchen and make myself known. I am 5 minutes late for my pick-up, but I still catch her by surprise. She looks about to hand me a bag but then someone else comes out to hand her another bag, which was apparently mine. I grab the bag and she gets the drinks. She has them in one of the cardboard push in carriers, the drinks are way to heavy for the carrier and they begin to move toward each other, leaning in on one another in semi collapse. I put the drinks on the table and I ask for extra syrup. I am told, "Oh, I think she put some in there, but I will get you extra." Then apparently the waitress who put my order together tells me she put some on there. I said "She told me I want some extra." Then I hear her go talk to someone else in a nearby section and she says, "Yeah, she knows I didn't put any in there." What?! Why?! I don't know this girl from a hole in the ground. Why would you mess with someone's order on purpose? When I get back what do I find? She did not put any in the bag, so if I had not asked for extra for my gluten free pancakes, I would have had none. My food was okay. I needed hot sauce and the syrup, and excluding one bad piece of meat from the steak tips, I enjoyed my meal. I loved how things were stacked in the containers. My food was still nice and warm when I got back. What was messed up was one of the drinks. I ordered two of the same thing, strawberry lemonade. One was great, the other tasted like they had started to add the lemonade and stopped and added something else on top of it. It was slightly effervescent, and it should not have been and way watered down, like it did not taste like lemonade at all. I had to throw it away. I called them about the drink and left a message for the General Manger today, but I was still pleasantly surprised by my meal. It is pretty spacious inside, but pretty dim for an all day breakfast spot. They could have just been conserving energy and only had lights on full blast in the section by the front where everyone was seated. It was the section I walked past to get to the kitchen. I would recommend them, just double check your order before you leave. The food won't knock your socks off, but it still will be tasty.

Marguerite Curtis