HAZARDOUS DINING LOCATION -- USE CAUTION IF YOU EAT HERE
Our party of four adults opted to dine here on Sat, Sept 28, 2024 at 730pm. One member of our party has Celiac Disease and has an allergic reaction if he eats bread or pasta made with wheat (gluten). This restaurant offers a variety of gluten-free dishes.
Upon being seated, our waitress, Stephanie, greeted us, brought menus and took our beverage orders. The member of our party who must avoid gluten, told Stephanie of his allergy. She immediately said that she, personally, has gluten-free restrictions and she would review the entire menu.
After bringing our ice teas and waters, Stephanie went over the menu and noted the GF symbols beside the gluten-free dishes. Our gluten-free guest chose the creamy Tuscan White Bean Skillet. The other guests ordered Millionaire Meatloaf and Caribbean Salmon as well as appetizers of Fried Green Tomatoes and Pimento Cheese & Chips. Our gluten-free guest ordered an appetizer of Brussels Sprouts. We told Stephanie that each of us would have separate checks.
Stephanie returned with our appetizers and we began our meal. Entrees arrived and each of us were enjoying our separate dishes. After many minutes, Stephanie returned and said the
Tuscan White Bean Skillet had been prepared with regular bread! This, after, our gluten-free guest had already eaten a slice of the bread, along with many forks of the beans & bacon portion. He immediately stopped eating and realized he had eaten the gluten-laden bread and the rest of the skillet was now contaminated, as more bread was in the dish.
Luckily, our gluten-free guest does not suffer EXTREME allergic reactions to gluten, as some folks do. We asked how the dish could have been prepared wrong, due to waitress' personal gluten allergy and her assurance of the kitchen's cooking protocols. She wanted to take the dish back and have the kitchen re-make it. Our gluten-free guest said NO, since he could not now trust the kitchen to safely prepare another dish. So he went without a meal. We all sat stunned at the mistake, especially since Stephanie touted her allergy awareness and assured us the kitchen routinely made gluten-free entrees.
After the three of us finished eating our respective meals, Stephanie returned with our checks. We were shocked that she gave our gluten-free guest a bill for $68, that included his iced tea, brussels sprouts and two Old-Fashioned mixed drinks, along with an order for Fried Green Tomatoes and an order of Pimento Cheese & Chips, that he DID NOT ORDER! On his bill, she had only zeroed-out (comped) the Tuscan White Bean Skillet. Not only did the kitchen make a serious mistake in making what was to be a guaranteed, gluten-free meal, but Stephanie did not comp the other items our gluten-free guest had eaten, as a "apology" for the error. AND, she also added to his bill, the two appetizers ordered by the other 3 members of our party.
After she said she couldn't adjust the bill further, we asked to speak to the manager. Upon his arrival, he never introduced himself, and never apologized for the kitchen or billing errors.
We politely, but firmly, explained the situation and asked him for a goodwill gesture as a token of apology. He finally agreed to comp the items our guest had consumed, but he could not comp the alcohol, under state law. We then insisted on a $40 gift card to cover the cost of the alcohol. Stephanie returned with corrected bills and the $40 gift card. When asked again how this could have been allowed to happen, she said "it's never been an issue before".
Be FOREWARNED that this restaurant promotes its gluten-free dishes and its staff touts their allergy awareness, yet they have a disregard for guest safety and customer service. Fortunately, this was not a life-threatening situation, but it could have been for another guest. Sadly, errors occur. Yet the real disappointment was the failure of the staff to own responsibility, not apologize and not proactively "make things right" without a challenge by us, the guests.