Anyone Had Luck With Olive Garden?

[MominSoCal]

I see their GFmenu, but just wondering if anyone has tried it?

[cyclinglady]

No, but I have eaten at several Spaghetti Factories and have not been glutened. I have also been in their kitchen and they cook the pasta separately.

[mommida]

We just tried a local Olive Garden.  YUCK.  It was with a large party and our food came cold (and gluten free noodles were hard and dry)  Stick to the salad, with no croutons.  My son had the salmon and enjoyed it. 

 

Could have been this location.

[cap6]

I ate at an Olive Garden in Washington and it was ok.  Just ok.  I wouldn't pick it as a return to place unless there was no other choice.  It was just sort of blah! 

[Juliebove]

Food is bleh and you really have to watch the salad.  They'll put croutons on it even when you remind them not to.  And then they'll try to pick them off!

[HumanDecency]

What would be the safest thing to eat here?

[MsMarginalized]

Food is bleh and you really have to watch the salad.  They'll put croutons on it even when you remind them not to.  And then they'll try to pick them off!

Before you send it back, throw on some katsup or scoop something else off of someone elses plate (ask their permission firs) and plop it on top.  Tell the server that you CANNOT have this bowl because you CANNOT pick all the gluten off.  The katsup/sauce from other plate should act as a marker that this is the original/glutened problem plate.

 

You can also cut meat in a strange way before sending it back if it got glutened.  (I read both of these suggestions either on Elizabeth Hasselbecks website or in 1 of her books.)

[mommida]

From my experience I would try an Outback Steakhouse, P.F. Chang's, or Carrabbarra's before going to Olive Garden.  My son did enjoy the fish (I think it was salmon).

[Rissa019]

I see their GFmenu, but just wondering if anyone has tried it?

YES! Their pasta is wonderful!! It breaks apart easily, but does not bother me as I am not picky (since you can't exactly be a picky gluten-free eater) hehe.. salads are wonderful too. I was very impressed with how well and educated the waiter was on their gluten free options!

[Kath Urbahn]

From my experience I would try an Outback Steakhouse, P.F. Chang's, or Carrabbarra's before going to Olive Garden.  My son did enjoy the fish (I think it was salmon).

I agree wholeheartedly !!! 

[Kath Urbahn]

I see their GFmenu, but just wondering if anyone has tried it?

I didn't care for it.  I thought it was kinda gross.  And yeah, the salads, they're really bad about still putting croutons on it, and then just picking them off when you repeat that you cannot have croutons.  I go elsewhere, though I used to love Olive Garden.  Before I knew they had gluten-free pasta, though, I asked them for some mixed steamed veggies, and asked them to put marinara and a healthy sprinkle of cheese over it.  They were happy to comply.  It was DELICIOUS!!!

[MindytheOrganist]

We've had good luck at Olive Garden, but we live in a small market, and it's easy for the servers to get to know us.  We usually go with a good friend who doesn't mind omitting croutons (even though both he and I can have them), so there is no confusion about the salad.  The pasta is a bit dry, but we solve that by getting marinara sauce "for the breadsticks," then giving it to my celiac hubby to add to his pasta.  We do have a Biaggi's here, and that is our favorite place to go for Italian.

[mamaw]

I  agree  with the  others  olive  garden is our  least  favorite.. There  food  is like  airline  food ,ready made  &  reheated.... I  have  eaten  there not  by  choice  ,  they  brought  me  a  separate  salad  &  dipping  oil ( I brought my  gluten-free  breadsticks) salad  was  freshly made... I  had a beef  skewer  with  veggies .... was  just  okay. Not  worth  the price... The  Pf Chang's,  Outback, or  Carrabas'  is  way  better....

[Charfet]

I see their GFmenu, but just wondering if anyone has tried it?

I tried the other day & it was very good.  I had the gluten-free Penne Rigate Pomodoro.  The waiter said that they are getting another brand of pasta in a couple of weeks & suggested I come back to try it.  Can't wait, it was so good.

[MindytheOrganist]

UPDATE!!  Our Olive Garden got the different pasta, and it is vast improvement over what they had.  Unfortunately, they have not had the time to print up a new gluten-free menu, but our server was VERY helpful.

[Sweet-Pea]

I have eaten at several Olive Gardens....St. Peters, MO, Salt Lake City, UT, and several in the Midwest. They have a new Gluten-free menu that is pretty good. The pasta was the rice pasta (I don't care for it). They had several gluten free dishes that didn't contain pasta and were pretty tasty....give them a try again.

[SMRI]

Ate at Olive Garden yesterday.  Not a huge fan but my daughter loves their soup and we were traveling with limited options.  I had the gluten-free pasta.  It was not bad and in many ways I liked it better than regular pasta, not as "thick" and gummy.  I had the Rigatoni Primivera and it had a lot of vegetables in the sauce that were fresh and not overcooked for a change.  The salad came without croutons but I thought I saw some crumbs in there--not sure if it was the dressing or not.  I didn't say anything because I have one more day to eat gluten before my follow-up GI appointment.  They have incorporated their gluten-free foods in their regular menu and are either listed as "Gluten Free ______" or have a (G) denoting gluten-free.