Scratch Kitchen & Taproom

This might be my new favorite spot to eat. Come hungry because you're going to want to eat everything on the very creative menu. We started with cocktails while we waited outside with the dogs for our table. Cole behind the bar was a technician with the drinks(thanks again for the suggestions). Everything that we ordered was delicious. Also the gluten free options were sooooo good. Don't skip on the apps or dessert. William was a perfect server and the manager(I think Katie?) was such a sunshine of a human to talk to about the menu. Only wish I had taken photos, but I came in starving!

Having been a fan of the Apex location, the Cary location needs A LOT of work. Our table was dirty, the hostess was rude, the waiter could not answer questions about the gluten free options, and he completely disappeared (about 20 mins) when we needed our check making us late for our next event. Worst of all though is that they mark food that can be made gluten free with “gluten free available”, but they don’t tell you that the GF option is different than the description on the menu. They also don’t properly train their staff on what the GFA means. For example, I ordered the GFA breakfast skillet. The waiter asked how I’d like my potatoes, and when the food came out the potatoes were swapped with grits. Also, the waiter initially told me that anything with “GFA” on the menu was automatically gluten free - not that it actually meant the item could be made gluten free upon request. That is a BIG difference with dangerous consequences for the customer. I questioned his statement because in my experience, the GFA designation means you have to specifically request the food be prepared GF, otherwise it will not cone out GF. He told me that wasn’t the case, but I asked him to note it anyway on the order, and as described above, I received a different meal than I was expecting based on the waiter’s assertions. If I hadn’t insisted he specify GF on my order I would have received food as written in the menu that apparently that wasn’t safe for me to eat since the item I received was different than the item on the menu (i.e., the potato version listed on the menu was swapped out with grits). I would have eaten it thinking it was safe and gotten very sick. It’s disappointing and dangerous for people with food sensitivities. I appreciate that Scratch has added GFA options to their menu, but they clearly need to train their staff on what that designation actually means if they want to keep their patrons safe. They should also inform customers what the differing items are in the GFA option instead of assuming the customer will like the substitutions (i.e., I wouldn’t have ordered the meal if I knew it came with grits instead of potatoes 🤮).

Great place and food. There are gluten free options which is great.