best restaurants for Gluten free options and vegetarian options

pmaurer74

DIS Veteran
Joined
Apr 29, 2010
I amy be organizing a grand gathering next summer of 22 people and since I am the Disney "expert" I get to do the initial research before everyone commits.

What restaurants have the best options for someone with a gluten allergy and two others who are vegetarians?

Thanks!
 
Well, I don't have any info on gluten free but I can recommend a few good veg friendly restaurants that I've eaten at:

Crystal Palace - Magic Kingdom
Narcoossee's - Grand Floridian
Tusker House - Animal Kingdom
Sci-Fi Dine In Theater - Hollywood Studios
Chefs De France - Epcot

You can check out the menus for disney restaurants at allears.net.
 
I'll be watching this for ideas on good gluten-free restaurants. Have you checked out allears info on gluten free dining? There are several good blogs. Also, check out the special diet section on the Disneyworld website. Apparently WDW is awesome for people with dietary restrictions. We're very excited about eating on our trip because of this!!
 
Disney is awesome about food allergies/issues. My daughter has a milk allergy and we just noted at time of reservation that she had a food allergy and the chef always came to speak with us about options for her.

HOWEVER, we had a bad experience at Crystal Palace during lunch where we spoke directly to the chef and he brought over dishes that had creams, milk and cheeses in it for my daughter. She has a severe allergy and can go into anaphylactic shock, so it was serious. I was angry, but thank goodness she was fine. I kept thinking... how the heck does this chef make these dishes taste so delicious without dairy?

The chef was really embarrassed and upset about his mistake. I also spoke to the managers who gave us a free breakfast the next day and that was really nice.

I'm just letting you know that anyone with any serious allergies should double check that the dishes are okay even if they spoke to the chef. Always trust your instincts... I knew the dishes were too yummy to be true, but I just trusted that they knew what they were doing and shouldn't have. Ultimately, we are responsible for the safety of our children and have to take accountability for things like this.
 


O- I know your dilemma- I had to plan a trip with people in the exact same situation! For the vegetarians in your party head on over to the Tusker House at Animal Kingdom (the vegetarians in my party raved about that pick!), Boma at AKL, either restaurant in Italy at Epcot, as well as the Moroccan Pavilion at EPCOT. And, although we did not eat there, the Mexican Pavilion at EPCOT also had vegetarian options. Also, most restaurants were very vegetarian friendly when it came to picking a place for Breakfast, there were almost too many options!

For gluten-free it is a bit trickier but it can be done. The Japanese Pavilion at EPCOT was very accommodating at all their restaurants, along with the Chinese Pavilion. Also we found many good salads and gluten-free options along the way at many quick-service stands.

One thing I did discover, even if they did not offer many of the specifics that we were looking for, was that most restaurants at WDW were very accommodating to our dietary restrictions. I simply told them ahead of time, when we made our ADRs what our needs were, and reconfirmed them once we arrived to check in. In many cases the chef came out to discuss our options with us, and in some instances even made some special items like gluten-free cakes, or a special vegetarian dish taking us all by surprise!
 
I have a deathly tree nut allergy, and so far Disney has been amazing with accommodating it. The chefs will come to the table, and prepare your food personally. However, AVOID BOMA AND THE WAVE--- both chefs were ignorant and we actually walked out of Boma bc he forgot to tell me there were nuts in one dish, cross-contamination was definitely happening, yet he still refused to make me something separate- told us to leave if we didn't like it. The wave's chef told us he gets nervous cooking for people with allergies- kind of unnerving to hear. DEFINITELY try Kouzzina for breakfast- Chef Marylin could not have been more helpful and accommodating for my allergy. Also, 50's PTC has a gluten-free fried chicken, and Crystal Palace has a gluten-free brownie they can bring you out for dessert that is amazing. I recently discovered that I have a Gluten sensitivity that will affect my next trip, but this is as much as I know.
 


We haven't gone yet but i have a food concern. I called Disney special diet number and talked to a really great guy about my concerns...he sent me a form to fill out and they updated my reservations and told me to remind the TS's when we get there. Within hours I had an email thanking me for the information and if I had any question feel free to let them know.

They want to make sure every stay is a good one.

So far the process is very painless. I'll have to let everyone know how it goes after.
 
My cousin who is 10 has multiple, multiple food allergies. Wheat and rice are the most severe. We've had excellent experiences at Disney restaurants with him. The standouts on our last trip were 'Ohana (who also did an excellent job with another cousin who is vegan), Artist Point, Sanaa and 50's Prime Time. I have noticed that the resort restaurants tend to be more accomodating than the park restaurants, and while we haven't had a bad experience anywhere the EPCOT restaurants are near the bottom of the list for me. He had something to eat at both Chefs de France and Le Cellier, but we felt like it was more of a hassle there. All table service restaurants with bread service offer gluten free rolls.
 
I would suggest going to the disABILITIES Forum and look at Post #3 of the disABILITIES FAQs. There is a large section in that post dealing with special dietary needs, as well as many related links. You can get directly to the disABILITIES FAQs by following the link in my signature.

This is a very common topic of discussion in the disABILITIES Forum.

And here is a link to the best vegetarian menu at WDW.
 

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