Imagine a restaurant, in which all the food is gluten-free. And dairy-free. And sans refined sugar.

No doubt, you’re probably fearing it also will be flavor-free and dismally low in satisfaction.

Not so. Not when it’s Little Gem in San Francisco, which opened in December.

After all, when the head chef is Dave Cruz, formerly of Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc in Yountville, you’re guaranteed to be in good hands with the food, as I found out when I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant last week. Little Gem’s other partners are Eric Lilavois, former chief operating officer of the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group, and John DiFazio, an investment banker, who has such an appreciation of good food that he did an apprenticeship at Dan Barber’s Blue Hill at Stone Barns in New York.

This is clean eating the way it should be — with bold flavors, freshness, finesse but not fussiness, and great ingredients from purveyors such as Marin Sun Farms, Five Dot Ranch and Rancho Gordo.

You order at the counter. The food is brought out to you at your table in the airy, industrial-looking dining room that gets a lot of natural light from floor-to-ceiling windows.

There are seven wines by the glass. To get in the mood, my friend Donna and I decided to share a Green Dream ($8.50) instead — a smoothie whirled with avocado, cucumber, spinach, ginger and almond milk. Thick, rich and the color of Kermit, it tasted indulgent because of the body the avocado gave to it. It’s not your usual sweet fruit smoothie, but one that’s bordering on savory, especially with the gentle warmth of the ginger.

We shared a few dishes, including two bowls. The Curried Cauliflower & Sweet Potato Rice Bowl ($10.50) was mild and creamy, a comforting dish with big chunks of veggies and fluffy Carolina Gold rice. If you want more heat, there’s a bottle of housemade garlicky hot sauce at the table.

Lilavois recommended the Trumpet Mushrooms on Heirloom Beans & Rice ($11), and I’m so glad he did because we almost didn’t order it. And what a shame that would have been because it was one of the biggest standouts of the night. Large slices of trumpet mushrooms almost stood in for meat with their substantialness and wonderful smoky flavor. Underneath was a mound of creamy beans, rice and Tuscan kale — all cooked up in a long-simmered tomato-bacon sauce that was a powerhouse of savoriness with a little hit of spice. Rice and beans may not sound sexy, but this dish sure sizzles. I could even imagine it rolled up in a tortilla for one unbelievable burrito.

Besides bowls, there are also Chef’s Plates, which are larger entrees. The Tuscan Pork ($19) brought out thick slabs of juicy slow-roasted shoulder with marble potatoes, pretty shavings of winter radishes, and beet marmalade dotting the plate like a Jackson Pollock painting and adding a subtle sweet, earthy accompaniment. It’s a bargain for the price.

The 101 Chicken ($21) had lovely burnished skin and moist meat not only in the thigh, but the breast. Underneath was a mound of mixed rice that had some nice crisp bits to it, reminding us almost of a wild rice Thanksgiving stuffing. Mushroom ragu and a garnish of fresh spring pea sprouts made this a nice, complete dish.

King of Hayes ($23) delivers a thick piece of New Zealand sustainably, farm-raised Ora King salmon seared with a golden crust along with red quinoa made more exciting with mixed with almonds and kalamata olives with a drizzle of lemon scallion vinaigrette.

For dessert, there’s a vibrant, deeply lemony custard in a cute little glass jar that gets topped with glazed blackberries and toasted oat crumble. Coconut milk and a little arrowroot give the custard its silky texture.

Little Gem also offers a few baked goods such as quinoa raspberry date cake ($4.50), chocolate chunk cookies ($3), and a small coconut cocoa bar ($2). This is where you might notice the real difference. They lack the powerfully sweet, ooey-gooey nature of traditional baked goods, and sport a crumblier, drier (though not dry tasting) texture. Instead the bitterness of the chocolate is at the forefront in the cookie and bar. But that’s not a bad thing. It just calls for recalibrating your taste buds to accept something a little more austere.

You definitely don’t feel deprived in any way here. As Cruz explained, “We want to make food that tastes good first and foremost.”

From all accounts, they have justly succeeded.

Other Places to Check Out In The Area: Rich Table

And: Absinthe Brasserie

And: Boxing Room

And: Monsieur Benjamin