KIMMI: A Gluten-Free Asian Kitchen on Canal Street
KIMMI doesn’t publish a happy hour. The restaurant at 125 Canal Street — the space we used to list as TLK – Tigerlily Kitchen — lists no discounted window on its site or menu, so treat it as a full-price dinner. It’s open Tuesday to Friday from 5pm and from 2pm at weekends.
The verdict: come for dinner, not a deal. The pitch is Asian-inspired plates on a menu that’s gluten-free from top to bottom, which is rarer than it should be in this part of town, with a natural-wine list to match. The Tigerlily Kitchen name lives on as KIMMI’s takeout and catering arm, from the same address and phone.
What to Expect
From KIMMI’s current menu: noodles in the low $20s — peanut street noodles, chili garlic wide rice noodles, a green garden vermicelli — with tofu, chicken, salmon or shrimp to add; small plates like spicy tuna rice cakes ($18), lemongrass-glazed grilled wings ($18) and a coconut-lime shrimp ceviche ($23); and larger plates to share, from a red curry chicken ($29) and sticky Thai-chili pork ribs ($34) to a five-spiced short rib ($52).
The drinks list leans natural: wines by the glass mostly $16–$18, Guinness on draft at $11, gluten-free Belgian cans from $8, and a short list of low-ABV cocktails at $16 built on soju or agave wine — a lychee martini, a matcha-mango Green Goblin, a hibiscus-and-passion-fruit El Tigre.
Go here instead: for an actual happy hour nearby, our Chinatown happy hour guide has the windows, and the Lower East Side guide is a few blocks north.
The Room
KIMMI sits at 125 Canal St, at the Chinatown end of Canal by the Manhattan Bridge. It takes reservations on Resy and hosts large groups and private events through its own events page. Grand St on the B and D is a five-minute walk; the J and Z at Canal St or Bowery and the F at East Broadway are about eight. More places to eat around here are in our best Chinatown restaurants guide.
Who KIMMI Is For
| Occasion | Why It Works |
|---|---|
| A gluten-free dinner out | The whole menu is gluten-free |
| A natural-wine night | Most of the list is natural or organic, by the glass from $16 |
| A group dinner | Large plates to share, plus private events by enquiry |
| A lighter drink | Low-ABV soju and agave-wine cocktails at $16 |