Almond, a casual yet intimate restaurant in Flatiron, is great for brunch with your family or dinner with a group of friends. Although Almond is classified as an American bistro, I’d argue their food and ambiance most resembles that of a French restaurant; they are most famous for their croques and duck entrees and serve (what I am told are) excellent fresh pastries and rolls…
Brunch classics listed under “Sweet Stuff” and “Croques” on the menu look delicious, but are absolute AVOIDS for the nobread crowd. I recommend any of the salads (I had the brussels sprouts two ways and was very pleased, and I kept toying with ordering the frisee salad with duck confit, grapes, butternut squash, and a poached egg.) The omelettes on the menu are all gluten free, too. I recommend the braised kale omelette, chorizo omelette, and house made pastrami and eggs. Almond is famous for their almond hash; duck confit with roasted potatoes, onions and duck cracklings. This dish can be done without the duck cracklings, but unfortunately flour is used, too, and it is NOT gluten free. The eggs florentine and benedict are also good gluten free options if you ask for them nobread. Lastly, if you are okay with cross contamination, I highly recommend the french fries. I ordered a side expecting to dabble with a few and ended up eating the whole order. I’ve been here for dinner, too, and I highly recommend the charred squid, summer salad, spanish octopus, fruits de mer, the charcuterie, burger #nobread, and hearth roasted dourade. Sauces used on main entrees are subject to change, so if you are concerned about your order, asked for the item simply grilled or with nosauce.
Almond is a big space and perfect if you are looking to get away from the cramped spaces of NYC restaurants. The food is fresh and delicious, portions are hearty, and you are provided with a complete neighborhood feel. Furthermore, management is very attentive to all diners; I had asked for my salad nodairy, and when the server noticed cheese had been added, he apologized profusely, offered to replace my dish, and even brought over his manager to apologize for the mistake. Always nice to see an allergy conscious staff, especially when I didn’t even mention I had any allergies!