Lily Ruth Restaurant in Cambridge

Last Saturday night I visited Lily Ruth restaurant in downtown Galt. We called ahead for reservations, and I talked to the owner about gluten-free options. She knew about Celiac disease and said they have plenty of dishes on the menu that were gluten-free or could be made gluten-free.

Definitely a good start! My mother was coming into town as well, and she's a Celiac as well. So we were pleased.

The restaurant has a nice atmosphere inside, and if you want privacy try to reserve the table for four in the back of the restaurant. (though don't expect speedy service back there - I think a few times they may have forgotten about us!)

The current menu is located here: http://www.lilyruth.com/main2.cfm?id=BA6C46D2-80C6-EFE0-D72D30194E2066F2. As you can see, dinner entrees range from $15-$28, which is probably about right for this kind of upscale casual dining.

My starter was the soup of the day - a black bean soup which was above average. It didn't blow me away, but it was good. I always ask about the soup since it's hard to find gluten-free soups at restaurants...though I am finding that more restaurants of this calibre make their stock from scratch without gluten.

For my entree, I ordered the simply named "Chicken Breast" dish, which is described as:

Boneless, skinless, breast of chicken
Stuffed with Quebec double cream Brie
Wrapped in Parma ham
Pan fried and served with a mesquite veloute

On paper, this sounds great. Unfortunately I can't say I really enjoyed it. The chef made it without the veloute (which is a stock, and presumably had gluten in it) so it was a tad dry. To be honest, it didn't taste like anything really.

However, my mother's meal (which I got to try) was excellent. She ordered the White Ruffy that came on rice. The chef modified it slightly from the menu - I can't remember what in the wasabi pea crust had gluten in it. But overall it was amazing, which was good. The rice was also gluten-free, we checked with our server.

Both my wife and dad's meal were very good as well (though contained gluten).

We also asked about a few of the other dishes. They have a 'famous' burger and frites, which might sound odd at a restaurant of this nature, but think classic French. The burger is homemade and contains no gluten, however the fries are fried in the same fryer as other foods containing gluten. Bummer. I might order it next time, but something about eating a burger with mashed potatoes just isn't the same.

The warm salmon salad is also gluten-free.

For dessert - my favourite - creme brulee. It had a little bit of citrus taste to it and was delicious.

Overall, I was really impressed with the staff, the service (even though slow, we weren't in a rush), and some of the food - just not what I ordered. I think I'd give Lily Ruth another try since they did seem to be careful about our food...but I'd pick something else off the menu.

Here's their website if you'd like to learn more about them:
http://www.lilyruth.com

Been there? What did you think? Do you have any other restaurant suggestions in KW or Cambridge? Feel free to leave a comment!