Gluten, you won't stop me from eating at Disney!!

[3prettyprincesses]

This is my first gluten free dining review. We were at Disney from Sunday, Jan. 30th through Monday, Feb. 7th. And we were on the deluxe dining plan so there's going to be a lot of food here! A lot.

Let me preface this by saying that I've been gluten free since the beginning of September. I seem to react to cross contamination very easily so I was extremely nervous about eating out for 8 days at Disney. I'd read all the great reviews and comments about eating with allergies there yet I still was a bit of wreck right up until my first GF Disney meal.

For reference, here are the restaurants I ate at:

Ohana (breakfast and dinner)
Akershus (breakfast)
San Angel Inn (lunch)
Coral Reef (dinner)
Tusker House (breakfast)
Yak & Yeti (lunch)
Kona Cafe (dinner)
Crystal Palace (breakfast)
Gasparilla Grill at the Grand Floridian (lunch)
California Grill (dinner)
1900 Park Fare (breakfast)
Sci-Fi Dine In (lunch)
Hollywood Brown Derby (dinner)
Chef Mickey's (breakfast)
Liberty Tree Tavern (lunch)
Narcoossee's (dinner)
Boma (breakfast)
Grand Floridian Cafe (dinner)
San Angel Inn (lunch)
Kona Cafe (breakfast)
The Plaza (lunch)
Boma (dinner)

So without further ado, I'll begin with my 1st meal...dinner at Ohana!

 

[3prettyprincesses]

Ohana is the restaurant we always, always eat at on our 1st night at Disney. Now that I was gluten free, I was very curious how this meal would go.

First off, right when I checked in they saw my food allergy which was noted on the receipt they give you before you're seated. While our cousin escorted us to our table, she showed me the small, plastic flower that denotes food allergies and explained the chef would be out to discuss them with me. Chef Brad (who is fabulous BTW) came out promptly and had a little yellow pad to note my allergies (I'm also very allergic to avocado). He was extremely friendly, attentive and very easy to talk with. Explaining to me that the only truly GF items were the salad and shrimp, he then offered me wings without the sticky sauce and skewers of chicken, pork and beef with rice and vegetables which he said he would personally cook himself to ensure it was safe. For dessert he asked if I liked chocolate, um that would a definite yes, so he promised to bring me something delicious and special. Sounds good, bring it on!

Ugh, I'm having trouble uploading photos here. Trying to fix the problem!

Ok, I didn't take a pic of the salad for some reason but here are the wings:

These were delicious! I didn't miss the sauce at all, they were quite tasty and not as messy as the regular ones! Loved these.

This was my entree of meats, rice and vegetables:

This was really wonderful, the meats were cooked perfectly and the sauces (sweet and sour and teriyaki) were scrumptious! Rice was moist and vegetables perfect. Delish!

And now for dessert:

It was a chocolate, flourless type cake with a gooey chocolate center surrounded by a passion fruit sauce. Need I say more? It was amazing, one of the best GF desserts of my entire trip. I'd go again just for that!

 

[snorris49]

Yum, yum, and yum! I love Ohana...it's a yummy GF place to eat! Thanks for the reviews. I can't wait to see and read the rest...looking forward to hearing about Narcoosees...I'll be eating there in May! There are a few others I haven't tried GF, so I look forward to hearing about them! Thanks! Keep the great pics coming!

 

[3prettyprincesses]

When we arrived, they saw my food allergies on my ADR and promised to send the chef over. So we waited, and waited and waited some more. Finally our server reappeared to ask if the chef had stopped by yet, I told him no and then he went in back to get him. The chef was definitely not warm and fuzzy at all, he seemed annoyed and preoccupied which made me very nervous. I was polite, explained my gluten allergy and he said he'd make me my own platter of food with eggs, bacon, sausage, GF waffles (I think they were Vans) and muffins. It took a long time to get this platter (everyone else was finished eating by then) but it was delish when it came! I didn't take a pic for some reason, not sure why but it looked very much like the regular platter, minus the potato casserole thing. Overall, I'd eat here again but plan on spending a lot of time though.

 

[3prettyprincesses]

Yum, yum, and yum! I love Ohana...it's a yummy GF place to eat! Thanks for the reviews. I can't wait to see and read the rest...looking forward to hearing about Narcoosees...I'll be eating there in May! There are a few others I haven't tried GF, so I look forward to hearing about them! Thanks! Keep the great pics coming!

Thanks Sarah. Ohana was by far one my favs on this trip, we actually ate dinner here twice! Oooh, Narcoossee's was fabulous! I'll get to that soon.

 

[3prettyprincesses]

Before going GF, I loved San Angel Inn! The atmosphere alone is amazing but I also really enjoyed the food. Would it still deliver even though I couldn't eat gluten? Yup.

It was about 20 minutes before our lunch ADR but we were seated right away, fairly close to the water too! Our waitress was wonderful, she saw my food allergies on the reservation and went to get the chef. I was nervous because I knew they had avocado in several dishes which makes me very sick within minutes of eating it. So I was a little leary. But I didn't need to be! The chef was really kind, very informative and pointed out exactly what I could get off of the menu with a few little tweaks here and there. He also brought out corn chips and green salsa instead of the regular red salsa as that one had gluten in it.

I settled on the Sirloin con Chilaquiles (steak with corn tortillas, salsa verde, onions, fresh cheese and beans). This was excellent, very very tasty:

I had already cut into the steak before I remembered to take a picture! Oops, I guess I was rather hungry then. I passed on dessert since there wasn't really anything GF anyway. Overall, this meal was scrumptious and the chef knew his stuff.

 

[3prettyprincesses]

I was really looking forward to this dinner. We were seated 1 table away from the aquarium which was very cool! Our waiter was so great, very efficient and friendly! He had the chef come over to our table. I think the chef's name was Andrew. Anyhow, he told me that basically 90% of the menu could be made gluten free, so what did I feel like. I went with the Caesar salad, NY Strip with aparagus and Chocolate Wave for dessert. First up, warm delicious tapioca rolls with separate butter:

I'd never had a tapioca roll before and these little suckers were amazing! They reminded me of sourdough bread, something I haven't been able to eat in 6 months!

Then I had the Caesar salad which came with a crispy Parmesan chip that was wonderful:

My entree was the NY Strip Steak with asparagus and horseradish mashed potatos:

This was amazing! Very good, so good I managed to polish off the whole thing!

Up next was dessert, the Chocolate Wave with raspberries:

I practically licked my plate clean here! This was a phenomenal dessert!

Overall, this was one of my favorite restaurants! Everything was good (and safe!) including the service. Definitely a must-do for me from now on.

 

[mccathy]

Yummy! Those desserts look great!

We were there a year ago and that was my husband's first GF trip. He now LOVES Disney World simply because of the Gluten Free Dining Experience. (we had breakfast at Akershus and had a totally different experience than you - the chef came out quickly and my husband's platter came with the rest of our food.)

All those dishes look great.

I'm looking forward to your Yak and Yeti review - because we have reservations there next month and I'm a little nervous about that one.

I love how the chefs all come out to speak to him.

 

[snorris49]

Yummy! Those desserts look great!

We were there a year ago and that was my husband's first GF trip. He now LOVES Disney World simply because of the Gluten Free Dining Experience. (we had breakfast at Akershus and had a totally different experience than you - the chef came out quickly and my husband's platter came with the rest of our food.)

All those dishes look great.

I'm looking forward to your Yak and Yeti review - because we have reservations there next month and I'm a little nervous about that one.

I love how the chefs all come out to speak to him.

I actually had a really good experience at Yak & Yeti, and I'm gluten and dairy free, so I was pretty pleased. They had a fair amount of options and were very willing to modify things. Looking forward to hearing 3prettyprincesses's review too! All these disney food pics are making me hungry!

 

[3prettyprincesses]

We've only ever done lunch here so I was curious about their breakfast. I'd heard good things about it but it was to be my 1st breakfast buffet and I was sort of worried about cross contamination.

After waiting in line to have our picture with Donald, we were seated inside this beautiful restaurant. We had a glass of the Jamba juice which was amazing! The waitress saw my allergy noted so she sent the chef out. He was so laid back and took me around the entire buffet to show me which items were safe for GF. While we walked, he told me he could make me muffins, Kinnickinnick donuts and Mickey waffles. Score!

Here's my 1st plate of eggs, carved ham, bacon, sausage and grapes:

It was all very good, fresh and tasty! The carved ham was especially nice, very moist. It had a sauce that unfortunately was not GF so I obviously passed on it.

My 2nd plate was the one the chef brought out which had GF Mickey waffles! Oh sweet heaven, these were sooo good! They were nice, crispy and didn't have that weird after taste that some GF waffles can:

I was really pleased with my experience here at Tusker House. Everything was delicious and the chef was very informative and laid back. He came to check on me twice to make sure everything was good and answer any questions I might have. I'd go here again in a heartbeat! Success for my 1st breakfast buffet baby!

 

[3prettyprincesses]

This was one restaurant I'd wanted to try for several trips but never had the opportunity. Finally, we were going to eat here and I was really looking forward to it.

Can I just say, I love the decor here! It's so interesting. Ok, so we checked in and had a wonderful waiter. He said he'd get the chef to come over to discuss my allergies. Apparently they were pretty busy because it took awhile for the chef to come to our table. When he did, he was very friendly but not terribly helpful. I asked him what kind of entree I could have and he proceeded to tell me that pretty much everything was off limits except for some grilled chicken with rice and vegetables. I asked if there was any kind of sauce I could get with the chicken, he told me no but maybe he had some GF soy sauce he could bring out. Ok, sounds good. Here's my plate of food, I opted to pass on an appetizer:

It was very good, everything was cooked nicely. The vegetables were slightly crispy still, which I love.

For dessert he said the only thing I could have was the sorbet trio of raspberry, lemon and mango. Sounds good again!

This was refreshingly delish! I wasn't able to finish it all, they were pretty good sized scoops. Don't they look pretty in their little dishes?

Now the next thing that happened surprised me. My DD11 has an allergy to coconut, tree nut and shellfish. The chef said the sorbet was safe her, he'd dish it out himself. When hers came, it had coconut sprinkled all over it. I immediately told the waiter that she's allergic to coconut so he took it away and offered to bring her another. By that time, DD wasn't feeling too much like dessert so she passed. Obviously an oversight I'm sure. However, later that day (before I'd eaten dinner) I was ill with the oh so familiar gluten reaction. I can only guess that I was glutened there since it was the only place I ate at for lunch and didn't have any snacks or anything other than water till I was sick. So for me, I won't be returning which is a real bummer because I absolutely loved the look of this restaurant and the food was very good. Oh well, live and learn I guess!

 

[3prettyprincesses]

Unfortunately I was still feeling yucky from the previous day but I knew that eating a little something would be better than nothing in my stomach. So, after being seated, our waiter sent the chef over. Talk about pleasant, this chef was very personable and took me around the buffet to show me what was safe. He offered to make me GF Mickey waffles, donuts and muffins but I passed since I wasn't feeling too good still (you know I wasn't since I passed on the waffles!). I ended up with a plate of eggs, bacon and some fruit. Everything was great, I just wish I'd felt better. However, I will absolutely try here again!

 

[3prettyprincesses]

I was starting to feel much better by the afternoon so I thought I deserved a good snack! I'd never tried a dole whip float before but after reading the disboards, I figured I needed to! Let me tell ya, this was amazing! And huge! I couldn't believe how big this sucker was, I wasn't able to finish it! It was lip smacking good and brightened my mood considerably. Here's a pic:

I actually ordered my float with vanilla ice cream rather than the pineapple one and it was scrumptious! Looking forward to returning to Disney for another.

 

[3prettyprincesses]

Again, this was another restaurant I was looking forward to trying. The menu looked very appealing and DH thought it was cool that it was located on the 14th floor!

We had a fabulous waiter, very attentive and helpful. He said he could just tell me what I could have that was GF but I asked to see the chef instead because that made me more comfortable. So the chef came over and was so helpful! He basically said he could tweak most everything on the menu (obviously not the flatbreads) to make it GF. I went with the Caesar salad, Filet Mignon and chocolate creme brulee.

First up, more delicious tapioca rolls with sea salted butter! These were warm from the oven and oh so good!

And here's the Caesar salad which was very fresh tasting, but it came with olives which I pushed to the side:

My entree of Filet Mignon:

OMG, this was amazing! The meat was so incredibly tender I could pratically cut it with my fork. Unfortunately the sauce it normally comes with (teriyaki) wasn't GF but it didn't matter to me in least! The potatos were very light and flaky. This whole entree was probably one of my favs from the whole trip!

For dessert I went with the chocolate creme brulee as there weren't many GF options. I was not disappointed! It had a slight hazelnut taste to it and was delicious!

I just cannot say enough good things about the California Grill! I will most definitely eat here again.

 

[Jade+3]

Thankyou for your reviews, they have been very helpful. I am waiting on confirmation that I have Coeliac Disease, so am enjoying my last few weeks of eating gluten (eating gluten does not make me sick).

Sorry that Yak and Yeti made you ill.

 

[DisneyTravelers2008]

great thread! thanks for the GF info. We may go to WDW with a friend who has severe gluten allergies...this thread will be very helpfuL!!

 

[3prettyprincesses]

Thankyou for your reviews, they have been very helpful. I am waiting on confirmation that I have Coeliac Disease, so am enjoying my last few weeks of eating gluten (eating gluten does not make me sick).

Sorry that Yak and Yeti made you ill.

You're so welcome! Good luck with your diagnosis too. Yes, I was quite bummed about Yak & Yeti, darn it! It is such an intriguing restaurant, I felt like I was somewhere in Nepal. I wonder if it's something to do with it not being a Disney owned restaurant? Who knows, but for me it was disappointing.

great thread! thanks for the GF info. We may go to WDW with a friend who has severe gluten allergies...this thread will be very helpfuL!!

You're very welcome! The disboards really helped me when I was planning out my GF Disney meals (especially Sarah's gluten free blog!) so I'm more than happy to help out others in return! I hope your friend has great success while dining at Disney, they really are phenomenal with allergies. I was very impressed!

 

[3prettyprincesses]

Yummy! Those desserts look great!

We were there a year ago and that was my husband's first GF trip. He now LOVES Disney World simply because of the Gluten Free Dining Experience. (we had breakfast at Akershus and had a totally different experience than you - the chef came out quickly and my husband's platter came with the rest of our food.)

All those dishes look great.

I'm looking forward to your Yak and Yeti review - because we have reservations there next month and I'm a little nervous about that one.

I love how the chefs all come out to speak to him.

Oh, I'm 100% sold on the GF experience at Disney too! I was so nervous leading up to it because the last thing I wanted to do was be sick while there. But it was a success in my book, apart from Yak & Yeti. My favorite desserts were definitely Ohana, Coral Reef, California Grill, Narcoossee's, and Boma.

I actually had a really good experience at Yak & Yeti, and I'm gluten and dairy free, so I was pretty pleased. They had a fair amount of options and were very willing to modify things. Looking forward to hearing 3prettyprincesses's review too! All these disney food pics are making me hungry!

I hear ya on the pics making you hungry too! I could go for a couple of those GF meals and desserts right now myself. Unfortunately Yak & Yeti wasn't so fabulous for me but I'm glad you had a good experience there. Maybe it was just an off day or something. Overally, I was completely blown away with Disney's ability to make allergy safe meals!

 

[ambertides]

Thank you so much for your reviews! I'm really enjoying these posts and pictures!

I think there's always a chance for cross contamination - Le Cellier is the only restaurant at Disney that's made me sick, yet, which is a feat, since I sometimes get sick in my own kitchen just due to little mistakes.

Yay that CP has the Mickey waffles now - when I went in October, it was just Van's (which are fine, but not super awesome like the Mickey ones!).

 

[3prettyprincesses]

Thank you so much for your reviews! I'm really enjoying these posts and pictures!

I think there's always a chance for cross contamination - Le Cellier is the only restaurant at Disney that's made me sick, yet, which is a feat, since I sometimes get sick in my own kitchen just due to little mistakes.

Yay that CP has the Mickey waffles now - when I went in October, it was just Van's (which are fine, but not super awesome like the Mickey ones!).

No problem! The pics are making me want to go back to Disney! And I was just there!

True, there is always a chance of cross contamination. I have totally glutened myself as well due to stupid little mistakes. Actually DH has glutened me too several times when he was cooking (he used Coleman's mustard, the one from England that actually has wheat flour in the ingredients). So the fact that I did so well at Disney while eating 3 meals a day for 8 days is impressive! I'm already negotiating with DH for another trip!

I spent one evening after dinner talking for some time with the Ohana chef (we ate dinner there twice, it was that good!). She said that they take food allergies very seriously, run a very strict kitchen and have separate areas to cook/prepare accordingly. I was impressed by her allergen knowledge and she said she understands that guests are placing their trust in her to ensure a safe meal which she takes very seriously. That made me feel extremely confident! She was a real pleasure to speak with and said that her one job at Ohana is go to all the allergy tables, discuss them, cook safe food items and then check on the guests to be sure all is well. I was highly impressed!

And yes, the CP chef distinctly said he'd make me Mickey waffles. If I'd have been feeling better, I would have eaten them lickety split! The Vans are good too but I'd choose Mickey ones over them everytime!