Garden Grill - Food Allergies

[Tbiafore]

My son has severe allergies to 22 known food items (wheat, egg, sesame, nuts, etc.) and the one thing he likes is Steak. I see that Garden Grill has "Backyard Grilled Steak with Chimichurri sauce."

He will most likely not be able to eat the Chimichurri sauce. Does anyone have experience with asking for the Steak here without any sauce or anything added to the steak for allergy reasons?

I know we can 'tell the chef" when we get there, but we have been to several restaurants where we have used the dinning plan, show up at a restaurant we booked months before, to be told by the chef, that they cant "make those changes" to something, and were already stuck at that restaurant at that time and my son gets to sit there and watch everyone eat.

I would like to prevent this situation to do my homework and try and find out BEFORE we get told yes or no once we get there.

Anyone know about the steak?

Thank you,

 

[sponica]

No direct experience with allergy modifications, but after digging through some photos, it looks like the sauce might be added after the steak is cooked and before its served in the first photo. I'm wondering if we asked for it on the side the second time around (my kids and my MIL are super picky) because it doesn't look like there's any on the second photo.

 

[sponica]

Also due to his numerous allergies, you might be better off emailing in advance.

Guests should contact Special.Diets@DisneyWorld.com in advance if you or anyone in your party has either 4 or more allergy-friendly requests, requires pureed meals, or adheres to a medically-restrictive diet (such as very low protein).

ETA: Contact us after booking dining arrangements for your visit. We request that you don’t contact us any sooner than 14 days prior to your arrival. The Special Diets team will assist you in navigating the dining process, which may include providing the restaurants you intend to visit with your information and request in advance of your visit.

 

[BrianL]

If it's just a matter of the chimichurri sauce, it should be no problem for them to leave it off or provide ont he side. Do note that everythign gets served in the same skillet, so it could touch other things that have allergens in them. They do bring the steak alone if you ask during subsequent courses and I doubt it would be a problem to get it that way.

 

[J&J]

My son has severe allergies to 22 known food items (wheat, egg, sesame, nuts, etc.) and the one thing he likes is Steak. I see that Garden Grill has "Backyard Grilled Steak with Chimichurri sauce."

He will most likely not be able to eat the Chimichurri sauce. Does anyone have experience with asking for the Steak here without any sauce or anything added to the steak for allergy reasons?

I know we can 'tell the chef" when we get there, but we have been to several restaurants where we have used the dinning plan, show up at a restaurant we booked months before, to be told by the chef, that they cant "make those changes" to something, and were already stuck at that restaurant at that time and my son gets to sit there and watch everyone eat.

I would like to prevent this situation to do my homework and try and find out BEFORE we get told yes or no once we get there.

Anyone know about the steak?

Thank you,

 

[J&J]

Surprised you had that bad experience at a Disney restaurant. Every time i ask for something different had no problem. Surprised once the chef came to our table to make sure of what i wanted. They know people have problems and they are dangerous so they try to be careful. Would not go back where they would not give you what you wanted. Steak should be easy to be careful with. Sorry you had a bad experience.

 

[BrianL]

Surprised you had that bad experience at a Disney restaurant. Every time i ask for something different had no problem. Surprised once the chef came to our table to make sure of what i wanted. They know people have problems and they are dangerous so they try to be careful. Would not go back where they would not give you what you wanted. Steak should be easy to be careful with. Sorry you had a bad experience.

They can't necessarily change everything as some of it is pre-prepared. Like the mashed potatoes might already have the milk/crem in them, etc. and you can't really take that out. However, all Disney restaurants do have allergy friendly options, though they may be somewhat limited. I suppose it's possible that a diner wouldn't like any of those options, but all restaurants offer something.

I would definitely think that with steak they should be able to just cook it and leave off any seasonings or sauces that may be problematic.

 

[Tbiafore]

They can't necessarily change everything as some of it is pre-prepared. Like the mashed potatoes might already have the milk/crem in them, etc. and you can't really take that out. However, all Disney restaurants do have allergy friendly options, though they may be somewhat limited. I suppose it's possible that a diner wouldn't like any of those options, but all restaurants offer something.

I would definitely think that with steak they should be able to just cook it and leave off any seasonings or sauces that may be problematic.

This is absolutely correct, and the problem is you keep getting told by Disney, "Just speak with the chef". Problem is, you have no idea what is pre-cooked, what options they have, or what the Chef can manage or make. So you make reservations, spend your whole day at the park, show up hungry at the restaurant and come to find out your son cannot eat at that restaurant. This has happend a few times to us now. Just imagine the thought of bringing your child to Disneyworld, he is just as hungry as everyone else, and he has to sit there and watch everyone eat, or your whole group gets up and leaves, losing your deposit since you are doing a last-minute cancelation.

Its really a poor way of having this setup. They really need to list what sort of options that the Chef can do for severe allergy folks.

Emailing the Allergy email doesnt help much. They dont give you the details you need. They just pass along the allergy list to the Chef so that once you show up, he knows your coming. They dont provide any details on what the Chef can or cannot make or any details on the restaurant.

 

[growhappiness]

This is absolutely correct, and the problem is you keep getting told by Disney, "Just speak with the chef". Problem is, you have no idea what is pre-cooked, what options they have, or what the Chef can manage or make. So you make reservations, spend your whole day at the park, show up hungry at the restaurant and come to find out your son cannot eat at that restaurant. This has happend a few times to us now. Just image the thought of bringing your child to Disneyworld, he is just as hungry as everyone else, and he has to sit there and watch everyone eat, or your whole group gets up and leaves, losing your deposit since you are doing a last-minute cancelation.

Its really a poor way of having this setup. They really need to list what sort of options that the Chef can do for severe allergy folks.

Emailing the Allergy email doesnt help much. They dont give you the details you need. They just pass along the allergy list to the Chef so that once you show up, he knows your coming. They dont provide any details on what the Chef can or cannot make or any details on the restaurant.

We had a similar experience at Topolino's, where the chef told us they couldn't accommodate plant based + soy allergy (it turns out that the chef was wrong about the sausage containing soy but we didn't find out until later).

We did have a better experience with the chef at Tusker House though, who came out to speak with us and made us separate dishes, some with soy and some without. He seemed to be willing and able to make us anything with the ingredients he had on hand.

We ate at Garden Grill and I can't remember the level of customization they had, but it did work out for us. I know the allergy email isn't super helpful (I got the same response when asking about plant based + soy) but maybe if you ask specifically about getting plain steak, they would be able to find out for you. I wouldn't want to assume, because while I'd think it would be prepared separately, there's always the chance it's prepared in advance and marinated.

All that to say, I understand your hesitation. Disney is fantastic at allergies 95% of the time. But our experience at Topolino's was awful and unexpected.

 

[Twilghtsprkle]

I personally wouldn’t be surprised if the steak comes into them pre-brined. It’s probably a cheaper cut of steak because this is AYCTE and brining tenderizes the meat and is an over cooking insurance.