Olive Garden

[pinkpei77]

hi!! does anyone happen to know if olive garden salad dressing is gluten free?

thanks!

[Guest barbara3675]

Was there last week and I figure it is some kind of vinegarette so I ate it and nothing happened. However, I would not give it to my granddaughter, who has celiac disease, without checking with the chef. They have a grilled salmon with veggies on the menu that I am going to try next time....last week I ordered the T-bone with potatoes. Make sure you remember to tell them to put the croutons on the side so you can take your salad first. My family LOVES Olive Garden. Why don't you call your restaurant and ask the chef what is in the dressing. Barbara

[lovegrov]

Here is what Olive Garden said earlier this year:

Thank you for your inquiry regarding menu items for Gluten Intolerant guests. We can recommend the following items with some adjustments. Let your server know you are interested in menu items especially for Gluten Intolerance. Your server will be happy to accommodate your request.

Salads

Garden Salad - Order without croutons

Caesar Salad - Order without croutons

Entrees

Tuscan T-Bone brushed with Italian herbs and served with seasoned broccoli Pork Filettino marinated in extra-virgin olive oil and rosemary and served with seasoned broccoli Salmon Piccata in extra-virgin olive oil and rosemary and served with seasoned broccoli

While Olive Garden has made an effort to provide complete and current gluten content information, changes in recipes, and the hand crafted nature of our menu items, mean that variations in the ingredient profile of a particular menu item may occur from time to time. Therefore, we make no guarantees regarding the gluten content of any of these items. Guests with gluten intolerance or other special food sensitivities or dietary needs should not rely solely on this information as the basis for deciding whether to consume a particular menu item, and are individually responsible for ensuring that any such menu item meets their individual dietary requirements. Olive Garden assumes no liability for your use of this information. Any medical concerns regarding the consumption of these items should be directed to your physician or other health care provider. If you would like to speak with an Olive Garden representative, please call us at 1-800-331-2729.

Michael

Olive Garden Guest Relations

My bet would be that there are dressings that are gluten-free, but I'd just take my own.

richard

[jcgirl]

To me at least, it sounds as though Olive Garden's response was in the form of a 'Legal Disclaimer'.

Personally, I avoid Olive Garden, to my husband's dismay, simply because they specalize in Pasta dishes which, even if you order a salad or steak, there could be the possibility of cross contamination.

I do not believe they have a specific gluten free menu and would not want to chance it.

I do, however, recommend the Outback. They have a Gluten Free menu and I believe the founders wife has celiac so they understand the gluten-free diet.

I have actually gone to the Outback and the server brought my shrimp appitizer on the bread after ordering from the gluten-free menu. After bringing this to the server's attention the manager came over and our $70 meal was on the house. I am now their best customer

[KaitiUSA]

I used to love Olive Garden but they really are not celiac friendly so I don't go there now.

[2Boys4Me]

I have a friend who works at Olive Garden (in Canada) and she said she would not recommend anyone with Celiac eat there. I asked about non-pasta dishes and she said they put flour on everything. It's in the spice they put on the chicken and she mentioned the roasted potatoes as well. She told me to stick with Chianti's (a local celiac friendly Italian place) and not to go to Olive Garden unless I came without my son.

I am not sure how different the restaurant policies and menus are between Canada and the U.S. but I trust my friend and will not take my son there.

[CaliGirl]

My mom and brother (both celiac) had a TERRIBLE experience at Olive Garden. The waitress wasn't just rude, she was mean. I wouldn't recommend Olive Garden, either. You would think that the company would have some sort of training that it's not okay to make fun of people's food intolerances.