By Gluten Free Eats' gluten-free community
Updated Oct 2024
Celiac accommodating
220 E Walnut St, Springfield, MO 65806, USA
Celiac friendly
320 E Walnut St, Springfield, MO 65806, USA
Celiac accommodating
209 E Walnut St, Springfield, MO 65806, USA
Spenser was excellent. Fun, Informative. Attentive. The food was absolutely spectacular. We had the truffle fries that surprisingly came with a nice assortment of delicious handmade sauces. They were good on their own, but extra special with the sauce. Nice touch. The burgers are diverse and delicious and they even have gluten-free options available. Can’t wait to come back with more people. We will definitely request to be seated in Spencer’s section.
Gluten-free options
221 E Walnut St, Springfield, MO 65806, USA
Gluten-free options
306 South Ave, Springfield, MO 65806, USA
So I've been to this place twice now, on my first trip around August or September of 2019, me and my family decided to give it a try. I was less than impressed. The food took forever, and it seemed like everything we wanted they had just run out of. I understand this happens, although in this case it seemed a bit excessive. Service was okay and what food they did have was decent at best. On my second trip to this place July 2020 we decided to give it another go, we had recently found out they are now offering a gluten free menu, and my wife who is a celiac was really looking forward to eating some pasta. The wait staff was friendly, however was not educated on what they were serving. A few times we asked about things on the menu the response differed from even the discription on the menu. Not being able to answer these questions left us simply not ordering these items, a lost sale for the business. When we placed our order, my wife got a "gluten free" dish. I place the words "gluten free" in quotations because what is considered gluten free to the rest of the world and what is considered gluten free to this restaurant are obviously 2 different things. My wife's pasta may have been of a gluten free brand. But at some point in the kitchen it was contaminated with the pasta containing gluten. Evidence of this was found near the end of her meal when we discovered a few spaghetti noodles in with her pasta. The problem with this is (if you are unfamiliar with a gluten allergy or Celiac Disease), is that even a tiny amount of contamination can cause trouble. Due to this restaurants poor practice, and cross contamination my wife spent the entire night in terrible pain. Which for a celiac is a best case scenario, as its very possible to have worse symptoms. If one is allergic they can go into anaphylactic shock for some people when exposed to gluten, which can cause a trip to the ER and possibly death. Because of this I cannot recommend this place for any celiac. The entire staff should be better educated for the safety of it's patrons. Also with this if, they have unsafe practices with a allergen, which in some cases can be deadly for the customer. I can only assume other practices not as severe might also not be taken very seriously. It is my suggestion that you take your business elsewhere. ETA: The owner did reach out on my wife's Facebook review, and though seemingly apologetic, he said they're "doing the best they can in a pasta kitchen" and offered to make it right. However, how do you make it right? I don't want a free meal, as my trust is gone and my wife is too scared it'll happen again. This is the same as if someone claimed they were peanut free, only to have a customer go into anaphylactic shock bc someone grabbed "the wrong strainer" as the owner claimed. While mistakes do happen, such as not getting all that ordered, or your drinks going empty due to a busy server, this is a life altering and highly painful mistake. As a spouse, to see your significant other over the toilet and crying for hours, simply because someone used "the wrong water" is not something you can ever make right. Bottom line, if you claim youre GF, make sure there are no mistakes that can't be easily corrected with a polite smile and an apology.