There is no life without pasta for most Italians, and given that some Italians must also grapple with the scourge of celiac disease and gluten intolerance, people have found a way to make delicious pasta, and pizza, without the gluten.
Still, it remains a rarity to find a completely celiac-safe Italian restaurant, and now San Francisco has one, in the Richmond District. It's called Clementina, and it's the latest project of restaurateurs Gianluca Legrottaglie and Viviana Devoto, who opened Montesacro Pinseria in SoMa over a decade ago, along with chef Giorgio Brunella.
Legrottaglie and Devoto were inspired first to launch a pop-up at the former Marina location of Montesacro, named Alice after their daughter, which served a gluten-free Italian menu, after discovering that their daughter had celiac disease. And they've now expanded the idea into a full-time restaurant on Clement Street — in the space that formerly housed their casual concept Bettola. (The Marina location of Montesacro is now closed.)
Brunella also has two daughters with celiac, and together they have imagined a full menu of both classic and inventive dishes at Clementina that leaves nothing to be desired in terms of Italian flavors, textures, and of course, pasta and pizza.
A dish of tagliatelle, with the pasta itself made with chickpea and brown rice flours giving it a familiarly elastic consistencey, comes with wine- and tomato-braised calamari. There's a beautifully layered pesto lasagna with just enough cheese and bechamel. And a classic saffron risotto — which wouldn't have had gluten in the first place — is dressed with bone marrow.
The crust of the pizza has a satisfying crispness from rice flour — which is also a component in Montesacro's signature pinsas — and you can opt for a simple Margherita, a red pie with anchovies and capers named for Alice, or the meatier Clementina pie with broccolini, Calabrian chili, and pork sausage.
And delicious starters include butter-poached asparagus with buffalo mozzarella, a classic vitello tonnato — thinly sliced beef with tuna sauce — and baked mussels with gorgonzola cheese, which may sound odd but is actually delicious.
There is even gluten-free focaccia on offer, as well as baguette slices for dipping in sauces, courtesy of Mariposa bakery.
Families with members who are gluten-intolerant, and those with celiac, will no doubt be glad to have this option for dining out without worry, and with a bevy of options to choose from. See the full dinner menu here.
Clementina - 343 Clement Street - Open for lunch Fri-Sun, 11:30 am to 2:30 pm, and for dinner Wednesday to Sunday, 5 pm to 9 pm, and until 10 pm Fri and Sat. Reserve on OpenTable
