Clement Street just got a quiet little shakeup. Clementina, a small trattoria in the Inner Richmond, slipped open in mid-March and, in doing so, became San Francisco’s first fully gluten-free Italian restaurant. The kitchen is built to be celiac-safe, yet the dining room is meant to feel like a regular neighborhood hangout, not a medical facility with pasta. For diners who have spent years picking through menus and worrying about cross-contact, the shift is hard to miss.
A first-look review described the food and service as classic neighborhood cooking rather than wellness preaching, and called out a feather-light focaccia as a standout technical feat. As reported by The San Francisco Standard, Clementina is currently the only spot in the city devoted entirely to gluten-free Italian cooking.
The restaurant is the latest project from Gianluca Legrottaglie and his wife, Viviana Devoto, the team behind Montesacro, and the concept grew from a personal need. According to WhatNow, the couple’s youngest daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease and they rebuilt the space specifically to eliminate cross-contamination. The new trattoria took over the former Bettola address and opened to the public in mid-March, per an openings roundup in Eater SF.
Menu and craft
The menu leans hard on dishes that are already gluten-free by design, like crudo, risotto and a spread of salads, while pizzas and pastas are built with alternative flours and a lot of tinkering. Review coverage notes the kitchen’s work developing gluten-free flour blends so pinsa-style and pizza doughs land close to the familiar textures of wheat versions, and highlights several dishes that come across as full-flavored Italian plates rather than “special-diet” compromises. That balance is the whole pitch: create a truly safe kitchen that still tastes like home.
From pinsa to pizza
Legrottaglie made his name bringing Roman-style pinsa to San Francisco at Montesacro, and Clementina pulls from that background while reworking dough without wheat. Montesacro’s history with pinsa, along with its approach to dough and fermentation, informed the testing that led to Clementina’s gluten-free doughs. For more on the chef’s pinsa work, see Montesacro's website.
Why it matters for the city
San Francisco has no shortage of restaurants that can accommodate gluten-free diners, but fully celiac-safe Italian kitchens have been rare. Guides to gluten-free pasta and pizza point to strong one-off dishes around town, yet most spots still treat wheat-free service as a side option, not the rule. Coverage in Eater SF underscores how Clementina’s all-in approach marks a meaningful change for diners who need strict gluten-free service.
Clementina has already expanded its service since opening. The kitchen now offers lunch Friday through Sunday, in addition to evening hours. The restaurant’s website lists current hours, reservations and contact information, and the owners say they plan to sell retail pastas and other pantry items as the concept settles in. For details on hours and bookings, see Clementina’s site.
