[minniejack]

Being newly gluten-free and on our way from the gastro, we thought we would stop at the Outback. We immediately told our server that we need the gluten-free menu and he became all flustered. Then he came back out and said they had to make a copy it would take a few minutes (turned out to be 10 minutes.)

Because I missed seeing the disclaimers about the gluten-free dressings, I asked him about them. His response????
"OH, YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT GLUTEN HERE. EVERYTHING IS FRESH." yupp--they really train their staff like they say.

Then he brought out the bread--I was too afraid to try it after his other response.

I then asked why my DD15's cheesy fries weren't considered gluten-free--he pulled the menu out of my hand and proceeded to scan it then said "If its not on this menu, then it's not..."

The meal came to $79 including tip--I can make better steak at home and not have to worry about it!

[Green Eyes]

I am so sorry you had such a bad experience. Outback is one of the few places I eat and have always been very pleased. I you are not pleased with your waiter I suggest asking for the manager. I have always been pleased with my waiter when I've gone to the Outback and they have been knowledgable enough that I don't even ask for additional help.

Jennifer

[lizard00]

Sorry to hear that. I've never had a problem there, either. But it is often the luck of the draw with your server.

My husband and I went to a very nice restaurant for our anniversary. He called ahead, there was a note in the computer with our reservation. The maitre'd told our server when we arrived, and she was great. Had her stuff together.

She got sick and had to go home. We had this wonderfully sweet replacement, who told me no problem, I'll tell the chef you can't have any glutes...

That's good... I don't like to eat glutes anyway!

I explained it quite a few times, later she told me I couldn't have something because it had soy in it... she just didn't get it.

Then the pound cake came out for desert. I think you can guess the rest of the story.

I would still probably go back. This time I'm just a little wiser.

[kenlove]

I've been to 4 different outbacks, one of which didnt have a gluten-free menu nor know what I was talking about.
I will never go back to any of them. I found their staff really bad, including one of the managers.
Outback also owns the chain called Bonefish which had given us the opposite experience from outback.
Great food, great staff and very aware of gluten issues. they also own Roys.
Ken

minniejack, on Nov 13 2008, 05:08 AM, said:

Being newly gluten-free and on our way from the gastro, we thought we would stop at the Outback. We immediately told our server that we need the gluten-free menu and he became all flustered. Then he came back out and said they had to make a copy it would take a few minutes (turned out to be 10 minutes.)

Because I missed seeing the disclaimers about the gluten-free dressings, I asked him about them. His response????
"OH, YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT GLUTEN HERE. EVERYTHING IS FRESH." yupp--they really train their staff like they say.

Then he brought out the bread--I was too afraid to try it after his other response.

I then asked why my DD15's cheesy fries weren't considered gluten-free--he pulled the menu out of my hand and proceeded to scan it then said "If its not on this menu, then it's not..."

The meal came to $79 including tip--I can make better steak at home and not have to worry about it!

[minniejack]

Okay to be fair I thought that I'd try them again after the manager called to tell about how dedicated he is to training.

We went in and immediately bought the $100 gift card so that we could get the Christmas special of $20 free.

Then we ordered...my son wanted the seared tuna appetizer...we didn't notice the extremely light text on the printed sheets from the internet that said the sauces had gluten....manager came to the table all chipper "how is everything?' I replied, "Not Good. "you're batting a thousand." He insisted that the sauces weren't brought out--he had told everyone--I told him that we had already sent it back...Then the dippy waitress came and said she didn't know who had brought out the sauces...

Rest of the night...pain diarrhea, sore throat and my son had his night terrors/sweat...

Already sent an email.

Now we still have over $50 on those gift cards..maybe use it when we go to Orlando at Christmas....

[DarkIvy]

I haven't had good luck at Outback, either. It could just be a regional thing, but the last time I went I definitely got sick, and I got the impression that they just don't get it.

I asked for a gluten-free menu, and was kind of bored by it. It seemed really halfway to me. Honestly, you can't even have the cinnamon apples in the cinnamon apple dessert. Why not just call it "ice cream"?? Because I read "cinnamon apple dessert" and really wanted some. How stupid.

When I asked the server questions, they didn't seem to understand me, and it was so loud that I'm not even sure they heard my right. I ordered things the way the menu said to be ordered, and emphasized that I was gluten free... and it just seemed to go way over their heads.

[Tim-n-VA]

With chain restaurants I don't think you can generalize too much. I've had a great variation in quality of the product from individual store to individual store.

[blueeyedmanda]

I have always had great luck at all 3 of the locations at the Outbacks near our house. I also have ate at the one home near my sisters house. All of the times I have gone to eat there I have never had an issue. the servers have always been attentive and understood. I never had to send back meals or even repeat myself. I dine with people who still do eat gluten and when they bring the bread to the table my server didn't even bring me a dish, instead she has asked me if I have brought own bread and she would bring me a seperate butter dish and a knife for me. I think that alone is a way of seeing that she knows what the whole picture is.
I have ordered things which I saw were gluten-free on the website but were not on "my menu" and the server has alerted me to changes in ingreidents. I do not have a bad thing to say about my trips there.

Like Tim said- they are chains and will vary.

[GFqueen17]

I had a very bad experience at Outback too. At first they couldnt even find the gluten-free menu....then they brought out a menu that was just the regular one with certain things crossed off. I ordered shrimp and broccolli....seems like it should be safe...but it didnt sit well with me. I wasn't severly sick but pretty nausus the rest of the night. And the food wasnt worth it. The waitor was clueless and impersonal.

[*lee-lee*]

Quote

Now we still have over $50 on those gift cards

you can buy/sell/trade gift cards...http://www.plasticjungle.com/. i've never tried it but you can get straight up cash (albeit, less than the value of the card) or you can find someone who wants an Outback card to trade for another restaurant or sell it outright.

[Generic]

I have always had great experiences with Outback as far as gluten-free goes. I have had some crappy service however. The manager will fix any problems you may have. My only 2 complaints are the prices, I think they are super over priced and they have gotten spicier with their steak seasoning.

[home_based_mom]

I've been offline for awhile due to computer and internet problems, but I'm back now (I hope) and had to throw my 2 cents in here.

I have been to Outback twice since going gluten free and both experiences were without incident.

I am really hoping to keep the string going because my friends from church are taking me there on Saturday for my birthday.

[lonewolf]

I've been to Outback three times - got really sick one time and not sick at all twice. I won't go back because it was outrageously expensive the last time, especially since we didn't get any substitutions for the non gluten-free things that were supposed to come with our meals. I think that my 1/2 chicken breast and 3 pieces of broccoli ended up costing almost $20. It was almost laughable when my huge plate came with almost nothing on it.

Does anyone know why their fries aren't gluten-free? Once we were told that they were gluten-free without the seasoning and so we ordered them plain and none of us (3 gluten-free in our family) got sick or had any problems. The next time we were told that they weren't gluten-free and that they never had been, so we didn't try.

[DarkIvy]

blueeyedmanda, on Nov 20 2008, 12:34 PM, said:

I have always had great luck at all 3 of the locations at the Outbacks near our house. I also have ate at the one home near my sisters house. All of the times I have gone to eat there I have never had an issue. the servers have always been attentive and understood. I never had to send back meals or even repeat myself. I dine with people who still do eat gluten and when they bring the bread to the table my server didn't even bring me a dish, instead she has asked me if I have brought own bread and she would bring me a seperate butter dish and a knife for me. I think that alone is a way of seeing that she knows what the whole picture is.
I have ordered things which I saw were gluten-free on the website but were not on "my menu" and the server has alerted me to changes in ingreidents. I do not have a bad thing to say about my trips there.

Like Tim said- they are chains and will vary.

WOW. I've never had someone ask if they could bring me separate butter for bread I may have brought.

In fact, no matter what, without fail, the server ALWAYS puts the bread right in front of me. I have to laugh because usually this occurs at fairly nice restaurants where they otherwise "get" the gluten thing. It happened to me the other night when I was out with my parents: the restaurant has a separate gluten-free section of the kitchen and everything, and I ordered all my stuff gluten-free, and the server stuck the bread right in front of me. My mom grabbed the basket and said it's like how cats always go up to the person that most hates cats, lol.

[ohsotired]

I ate at Outback tonight for the second time since going gluten free. Both experiences were a little iffy, but only because the staff was flustered. They didn't have a copy of the gluten-free menu handy, they printed it right off the website (both times) - but tonight, I beat them to it since I had a copy in my purse from the last visit.

But I do have to say that one of the hostesses seemed very knowledgeable about gluten free needs and answered (correctly) a couple of questions that I asked about items on the menu. The waitress wasn't that with it, but she did ask me questions that I was happy to answer in the hopes that I taught her something.

I asked about the fries (thinking I already knew the answer, and I was right): They have some sort of coating (could just be seasoning) and are fried in the same oil as things like the Bloomin' Onion, which contaminates the oil, and in turn contaminates the fries.

The food was decent and I haven't gotten sick (knocking on wood - I actually tried the flourless brownie dessert tonight). And yes, it was "decent" food with a high price tag, but sometimes I don't mind paying paying a little more since eating in a restaurant gives me a sense of feeling "normal" once in a while.