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Agata & Valentina Gluten-Free Outdoor Café Opens in June

The Italian grocer will debut its first gluten-free outdoor café on Manhattan’s Upper East Side

Agata & Valentina outdoor patio

Agata & Valentina’s gluten-free outdoor café is set to open on the Upper East Side June 1.

Italian grocer Agata & Valentina will open a fully gluten-free outdoor café on June 1.

The new cafe space is the grocer’s first outdoor venture. The cafe will offer service at 11 tables, with 22 seats, in a devoted area set off by planters filled with greenery and yellow umbrellas at 79th Street and First Avenue.

Agata & Valentina
Grilled Caprese Panino from Agata & Valentina.

“We are excited to bring this option to our customers, who not only have a safe gluten-free space to buy food, but now have that same space to sit and enjoy a bite to eat,” says owner Valentina Puleo.

The family-owned store, which opened in 1993 on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, is already home to a gluten-free market. Agata & Valentina’s Gluten-Free Market was born initially from a personal need, when Puleo was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. 

The new café is just the next marker of gluten-free innovation by Agata Musco and her daughter, the pair behind the grocery store.

The outdoor café will serve brunch, lunch, and dinner items — and even includes a kids’ menu, a bonus for parents of children who eat and drink gluten-free. Agata & Valentina’s Spaghetti Involtini is on track to stand as the café’s signature dish. 

The café’s menus are set to include the below:

Lunch & Dinner: 

● Chicken or Vegan Eggplant Parmigiana 

● Organic Roasted Salmon 

● Veggie or Chicken Feta Burgers 

● Various pizzette

● Focaccia

Weekend Brunch:

● Grilled caprese panino
● Housemade gluten-free muffins, scones, croissants 

● Egg sandwich or wrap 

● Fresh seasonal berries / yogurt and granola parfait 

● Cavatelli in homemade pomodoro sauce 

● Bellini 

● Mimosa

Kids: 

● Chicken fingers

● Turkey burger

● Various pizzette 

● Focaccia 

Desserts: 

● Tiramisu 

● Chocolate mousse 

● Biscotti trio

● Homemade blueberry tart

The outdoor space opens June 1 and will operate from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 11 a.m. through 8 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays through the summer.


Related: The Best Italian Markets in the United States

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