A great little find in Florence. The food wash fresh light and refreshing, with unique and rich flavor. Having it made fresh in front of you, you get what you want. The service is what you expect from a small town southern boutique, sweet as southern tea. The restaurant itself is a quiet, inviting space. Perfect for an intimate lunch of two. read more

Surprisingly great food!! Cute little slot, vegetarian options, and the cookies were great too! Will definitely eat here every time I'm in the Shoals! read more

Esther’s Eatery - Veggie bowl - Gluten-Free Near Me - Florence, Alabama

Clean healthy, delicious eating. I love Esther's for lunch bowls. When i need a lean protein and veggies, this is a go to. Build your own or get one from the menu. The carrots are amazing, shaved Brussels delicious, and the poblano sauce is yummy! The natural wine selection is great and the help provided in selecting wines even better- I recently found a new favorite red here! Tonight I got the grab n go green Chile sour cream turkey enchiladas from the freezer. They were delicious and my whole family loved it! I will now be stopping in frequently on my way home from work for dinner. Love Esther's! read more

I had this for lunch yesterday and can not stop thinking about it!! I was looking for somewhere that had a nutritious but tasty looking menu and this place really blew me away just reading the ingredients and options you had. I ordered the open sesame and WOW. The steak was cooked and seasoned perfectly, the carrots were AMAZING- somehow soft tender but also had structure. The Asian noodle just had the most amazing creamy texture and sauce. I added hemp seeds and really was just a beautiful flavor combination. Will be back to try other items!! read more

Food was vibrant, fresh and paired perfectly. Staff was very friendly and knowledgeable. Service was on point and very fast. Ambiance is casual with a slightly modern feel that is warm and welcoming. This place is about to become my regular lunch spot. read more

Esther’s Eatery - Chicken breast, shaved Brussels and lime agave miso green beans over a bed of spinach - Gluten-Free Near Me - Florence, Alabama

Esther's is a cute little shop in an old downtownish looking area. It is unique in that it is kinda of like Mediterranean food meets the south. It is a build your own bowl or plate place and is quite good. I had one of their signature bowls, the Fowl Bowl. It was very good. The star was the Turkey meatballs which were delicious. The Moroccan carrots were good, but the vinegar marinade was strong and built on you the more you ate. I added carrot hummus and it paired nicely with the Moroccan carrots. Overall this was a very enjoyable experience and the ladies behind the counter were wonderful as well... very knowledgeable and helpful for a first timer like me! read more

Very cool and tasty food. Service was excellent and great menu. And they sell wines and dishes to go.

Delicious and healthy food provided with friendly and helpful service. Their website offers online ordering. Quick, convenient and healthy.

Good value for price. Clean; bright ; knowledgeable. Food is fresh and several selections. Very nice folks working here. read more

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We always visit Florence for the Handy Festival, but this is our very first time eating at Esther's. I am pleasantly surprised by all the options - and healthy sides. I normally would not have gotten the couscous, but the hostess was extremely helpful and made the suggestion. It is my favorite in the bowl! Highly recommend checking this place out if you are in town. read more

Stopped in with my son and his girlfriend for a quick bite. The food was fresh and delicious. The young woman behind the counter was friendly and helpful. Next time I come to town to visit, I will be back. In addition to the RU, TOO bowl, I ordered a Cheshire Cat smoothie to take back to the hotel for later. So glad we found this place. read more

Esther’s Eatery - Gluten-Free Near Me - Florence, Alabama

Great little eatery. Very healthy food options and vegan / vegetarian friendly. Honestly I'm a very meat and potatoes kind of guy, but I thought my girlfriend would love this place and she did. Even being aeat and potatoes kind of guy, I found the food tasty and the portions generous. Definitely a good choice for lunch read more

Arrrrrgggghhhhhhhhhhhhh... Sorry. I'm busy sighing and inspecting myself to see if I suddenly grew horns out of the side of my head or something. Surely there must be SOMETHING wrong with me for this place to have been borderline RUDE to me, right? So, I'd never been here before but a friend is back in town and eats a plant-only diet, so this seemed like a no brainier. (Note: they do serve meat, but they have a great variety of vegan and vegetarian options.) We all have bad days, but for the life of me I have no idea why the person behind the counter (could be the owner, for all I know) just grunted "what'll you have" at us and then GLARED at the wall behind us while putting together our food seemingly angrily. That was literally her only interaction (besides forgetting part of the second order and having to say "what was that again?") with us the entire time. Like, I have suffered through bad service and it not BOTHERED me. This was actively nearly HOSTILE. Anyway, it took me a bit to figure out where menus were, but the basic set up is you either order a bowl or plate. They have recommended options, or you could build your own. I went with the "Yours Truly," which was a nice bowl filled with vegetables and rounded out with asparagus and flank steak. (I wanted to ask them to go light on the dressing, but I was scared I'd get a bowl of food thrown at me.) The meal was fine, and the nice (not food plating person) lady who took payment was friendly too (and masked). The rest of the experience was ho-hum, and other patrons were greeted warmly so...yeah. I'm guessing I was either wearing too much (or too little) makeup, or my shoes weren't expensive enough or something. Maybe since I'm not a regular or a "known local celebrity" I wasn't cool enough? I definitely did not feel wanted or welcome here, which is a bit odd for a new business that definitely was NOT busy during lunchtime on a Friday. I have no desire to ever go here again, which is sad as the breads looked nice, they had a lot of tempting dessert options, and the food was filling and healthy. However, I really don't want to feel like an imposition while purchasing any of it. read more

Delicious! I'm visiting and this place caught my eye, I love rice bowls with all kinds of stuff in them - and that's exactly what this is. Highly recommend! read more

Food is mostly gluten free. It's a buffet, not self serve. I've been 3 times. Best the first time I went, ok the 2nd time and the third, I couldn't eat most of the food. Seemed to be the same items on the buffet every time I went, over a years span. I like the concept, but some of the sauces don't work with the protein and veggies they will be serving. And you don't find that out until you're eating. This one, I think, is a matter of preference. read more

I cannot say enough about this spot. The food is clean. There is a wide spice pallette. Great choices all around. By far, one the best meals I have ever had in Florence. Keep up the good work. Thank you so very much!!! read more

So glad we decided to try this new place! The entire experience was amazing. First, Macy took our order and was delightful. The service was so friendly. I am vegan--and all I can say is "yum." I got a bowl and added the lentil salad, okra, broccoli, carrot humus, avocados and tofu with the avocado something dressing. I had to pay an up charge for extra ingredients--but it was well worth it. Portions are large, and I had plenty of leftovers for dinner. Please know that we were very casually dressed and were treated like royalty. Looking forward to my next visit. Thanks again Macy for great service. read more

Such a unique, lovely little spot in town. Quality food and great folks. Wine and Beer selection is great and they make the best brownie I've ever had. read more

DELISH! I stopped at Esther's Eatery today for lunch and was pleasantly surprised. The location is easy to find with plenty of free parking, a rarity in Florence that I learned today. The atmosphere is pleasant and clean. I ordered the picnic bowl which had rice, tomatoes, mozzarella, and chicken, and probably some other goodies that I am forgetting. I substituted spinach instead of cabbage. The dressing and overall flavor was delicious. They have plenty of gluten free options. They also have vegetarian and vegan options. What I also like is that you can make your own bowl or get a plate rather than a bowl. Esther's has something for everyone. I also had a gluten free cookie that was yummy. For an extra treat, they have some Interesting beverages, both with and without alcohol. I tried a CBD beverage that was good. For 2 specialty drinks (I got one for the ride home), the bowl, and the cookie I spent around $25 or so.Yes, that's a lot for lunch BUT you could very easily spend far less by not getting the specialty drinks and sticking with water, sweet tea, or one drink. I splurged because I was eating alone today. AND the FRESH and QUALITY ingredients are worth the cost, especially if you have food allergies and/or want something freshly made to eat that tastes really good. One more thing, they have a very interesting wine selection. Many are free of additives like extra sulphates. Or course I grabbed a bottle to go. I haven't been able to try it but will do so before the week ends. Long story short, I cannot wait to visit Esther's next time I am in town. I am particularly excited to bring my family. My ONLY complaint is that we do not have an Esther's in Tuscaloosa! If one opens, I will be a regular for sure! In the meantime, I have a "go to" when I am in Florence. read more

Visiting Florence today with friend who has celiac, so always a challenge to find interesting lunch eateries in GF world. But this is it. Whether you r GF or not, this terrific lunch place epitomizes next generation of tasty, fusion-y, healthy food. Some places advertise as "GF" because they have 1 or 2 dull GF options. Not Esther's. Today, they had predominantly vegie and GF options, but also meat if u chose. For lunch, you order either a bowl or a plate but basically both feature complementary combos of vegie or meat components. I chose meatless options, and like in any super restaurant, as I was eating, kept thinking, what spices did they use to season these couscous? What ingredients make this potato/kale curry so unusual? How did they turn something as boring-sounding as brussels sprout cole slaw into something I would kill to serve at a dinner party? Plus, according to my friend, their GF desserts were great (not just the usual tolerable). Cannot say enough about good vibes of this place. live in a part of Nashville famous for out of box, amazing restaurants, and returning home tonight, all I can say is, Esther! Would you please consider opening Esther's-North up here? read more

I have a ton of food allergies and can actually feel normal eating here! The peanut butter cookies are amazing! The carrots were my favorite. read more

Absolutely love this place. Can't say enough about how good the food is. Great healthy option!

Such a cute little place. Stopped in to grab a bite for lunch and it was delicious!!! Had the pimento cheese sandwich and hubs got chicken salad sandwich...and a cookie. Well worth a visit. Somewhere new to explore in Florence! read more

We love the excellent food there. Casseroles, chicken, steak, salads and vegetables, all with perfect seasoning! We have gone there several times and the service is fast and friendly. read more

Loved trying Esther's Eatery! I had no idea it existed and now it's one of my favorites in the Shoals!