Gluten-Free in Columbus, OH

On a recent trip to Columbus, OH I stumbled upon a gluten-free gem that goes by the name of Marcella’s Ristorante.

While staying at the Hyatt Regency hotel on North High Street, I was on a mission to find a restaurant that 1) was within walking distance and had gluten-free options, and 2) had gluten-free options that would actually fill me up after starving on convention style food for 2 full days.

How did I accomplish this mission? A little thing I like to call a Google search…keywords: Gluten-Free Restaurants in Columbus, OH. It was really THAT easy. Thank you technology.

So after walking three blocks on North High Street, I stepped through the double doors of the cutest restaurant ever. Wine bottles lined the walls, candles were lit on every table , and a deli counter [circa 1960] decorated the back of the restaurant. I immediately told my friend that I wanted to move to Columbus just so we could visit Marcella’s on a regular basis [and this was before I even tasted the food].

We were greeted by our waitress and I explained that I would be ordering off of the gluten-free menu [which was huge by the way]. But, first things were first – I had to order a glass of sangria.

When our sangria was brought back to the table, I was ecstatic to order since I had skimmed the menu in the meantime. I asked whether or not they provided gluten-free bread baskets, and the answer was yes – and it was homemade. I then asked about getting gluten-free CHEESE bread, and the waitress said she could work something out for me…and that she did.
Best gluten-free cheese bread ever.

After falling in love at first bite with the bread, and then inhaling it all at lightning fast speeds, I knew that my entrée would be ballin. I ordered the Chicken Parmesan and penne noodles, and was confident the second round of carbo-loading would be something to write home about.

When the plate was set in front of me, my heart melted.

The large piece of cheese-covered chicken next to the hearty serving of noodles were my dream come true.You may think that the large serving size would result in a take-home box, but you are wrong. I ate every last bite. We won’t talk about how full I was after-the-fact, because that doesn’t really matter. All that matters is how good Marcella’s can serve up a plate of gluten-free Italian gloriousness.

I actually liked the meal so much that I actually came back the next night…for pizza.

Tagged celiac, celiac disease, Columbus, gluten free, gluten free menu, Gluten Free Pizza, gluten intolerant, OH