This new restaurant at the base of the Manhattan Bridge caters to celiacs
New Yorkers with celiac disease are about to get a rare thing in this city: a full restaurant where everything is safe to eat—no cross-contamination caveats, no worries about fryer oil and no ingredient detective work necessary. KIMMI, the latest project from the team behind the much-missed Tiger Lily Kitchen and TLK, opened last week at 125 Canal Street, right where the Lower East Side meets Chinatown near the Manhattan Bridge.
The 47-seat spot is entirely gluten-free—right down to sourcing ingredients from gluten-free facilities—while leaning into flavors from across Asia and its neighborhood surroundings. That means dishes like grilled head-on prawns in chili tomato sauce with Thai basil oil, roasted cauliflower dressed in miso aji amarillo and a vermicelli bowl with baby bok choy, snap peas and a chili-ginger-cilantro sauce. Heartier plates include a pan-seared market fish with green chili garlic sauce, grilled pork belly skewers finished with green papaya chutney and a five-spice braised short rib set over miso sweet potato purée and crisped Chinese broccoli.
The drinks list is just as low-key as it is flavor-forward. Wine director Olivier Filograsso keeps things tight with natural and sustainable wines by the glass (starting at $13) or bottle. Cocktails lean low-ABV, made with vermouths, aperitifs and soju: try the Orient Express with cardamom-infused Method dry vermouth and Thai tea coconut cream or the Seoul Crusher with mango soju and lime. On colder nights, a warm Farmyard Toddy spikes Pineau des Charentes with chamomile, honey and cloves.
Inside, KIMMI is compact but inviting, with big windows framing the bridge, wooden banquettes, a terracotta-tiled bar base topped with warm wood and a matcha-green floor. Dinner service runs Wednesday through Sunday, from 5pm through 11pm, with both walk-ins and Resy bookings available.
KIMMI also marks a homecoming for co-founder Michelle Morgan, who grew up in Chinatown a few blocks away. Her original Tiger Lily Kitchen, launched as a pandemic delivery project before evolving into full-service TLK, had a following devoted to its Hong Kong-influenced comfort cooking before it closed back in 2024 due to building demolition. Now, Morgan and partner John O’Brien are back with a restaurant that feels like a natural next chapter—and happens to be a major win for gluten-free diners citywide.
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