Geno’s, a newer restaurant in the Gonzaga district, is a joint operation of the previous owner of Isabella’s and the current owner of Zola. Walking into the restaurant, it has the immediate feel of a funky but classy establishment. We headed for the bar section with clean white leather stools and bright lights.

The first thing I noticed was that the menu at Geno’s has “gluten free” listed at the bottom of each page, but doesn’t mark individual items that might be gluten free. We decided to start with the cocktail menu for something sans gluten, and when we asked about gluten free beer, they were apologetic about not having one, but quickly suggested the Angry Orchard Cider. This cider, the one with ginger added, is delicious and amazing and my new favorite cider. My friend ordered a cocktail, and we started in on quizzing the bartender about their gluten-free menu.

Gluten free is noted on the menu, but not individual items.

Here is what we found out: most items, from pizza, pasta, to sandwiches, can be made gluten free. They use local Fusion Flours for sandwiches and pizza crust and a gluten-free rice pasta. They seemed knowledgeable about keeping gluten free items away from any source of contamination and even have a separate prep area. The meatballs are gluten free, as are all sauces except the Thai Peanut sauce, which has soy sauce in it.

Since we were just out on a happy hour recon mission to make sure we felt safe with Gino’s gluten-free standards, we only ordered the tapas plate, with Fusion brand flat bread. The plate arrived with three cheeses (brie, gouda, and blue cheese) tangy hummus, olive tapenade with large chunks of garlic, pesto tofu and crispy wedges of bread.  Everything tasted great and we finished every last crumb on the plate.

Tapas Plate