Raglan Road Irish Pub -- Dinner -- Table Service -- Downtown Disney
*This dining experience took place in March 2014. It includes my gluten free & dairy free review and a gluten free & yellow food coloring review. 
'Tis the luck of the Irish that I had a chance to visit Raglan Road Irish Pub during the Mighty Festival celebrating St. Patrick's Day in Downtown Disney. Not only were the festivities really fun but it gave me an opportunity to enjoy one of my favorite restaurants at Disney.Raglan Road Irish Pub is known for their pub fare and especially for their gluten free offerings. In fact, they have continuously been voted one of the best places in Orlando for gluten free offerings. Their fish & chips are probably their most well-known gluten free dish, but they can easily make most of their fried options gluten free!On this particular occasion, I joined my friends for a meal to celebrate their birthdays. Having dietary needs as well, it worked out that they chose Raglan Road for the celebration. One thing we didn't realize though was that it was Mighty Festival in Downtown Disney and so that meant it was very busy. Add that together with the fact that Downtown Disney is under massive construction AND it was a Saturday. Well, it was nearly impossible to park here. Note to self. Do not drive to Downtown Disney any time soon.Once we got to Raglan Road though, we were able to quickly get in, despite the crowds. Of course, after all that parking and crowd navigating, a cold pint of Magners sounded perfect. I grabbed a pint of Magners Pear Cider which was newly added to the tap at Raglan Road. I'm a huge fan of the pear cider, so I was so glad to see it added. It's a little more mild and tart than the traditional hard cider and it's a nice variation. I would definitely recommend it. Ask your server for a small sample if you aren't sure you'll like it!
After ordering drinks, we moved to appetizers and we split the gluten free onion rings. Super yummy as always. And even better if you ask for a side of the sweet chili jam. You know me and my dipping sauces! I gotta have them! My friends all really liked that pairing and said the onion rings definitely needed a sauce to go with them.
I have to say that our server was probably the least on top of things Raglan Road server we've ever had. I'm not sure if it was just too busy or if he didn't feel comfortable with the menu but he didn't seem to be as adept at the gluten free offerings as most servers are there. My friend kept asking him questions and he really didn't seem to know (thankfully, I've dine there enough that I could sort of help navigate through the options). One thing the server did mention which I want to check the next time I go is that the calamari is the only gluten free fried dish that is not dairy free because they soak the calamari in buttermilk. He also said that the sausages can be made gluten free (no one's ever offered this so I'd like to check it out). If they are, I know what I'll be trying next time! Our friends got the regular version at the table and they all raved about them.
For my main dish, I got the fish and chips. You know I can't resist them. Really no complaints here. They were just as good as they always are. And that tartar sauce. Oh that tartar sauce. I wish I could bottle it and take it home with me. It's so good.
My friend go the Shepherd's Pie (which is not dairy free). And I have to say, I was surprised by the presentation. I expected something more homier looking. This was a bit "fancier" in terms of the presentation. Taste-wise two people at the table got the dish and both said it was just OK. Both agreed that the dish needed more sauce. So, it seems like this dish might just be mediocre. It's a shame because I've had some pretty stellar dishes (not just fried ones) here.While we waited for our entrees, we also took the chance to watch some of the Irish dancing. Wowie, those dancers are fast! It's really impressive to see these dancers on stage. I have several videos here that I took that night.[embedplusvideo height="500" width="700" editlink="http://bit.ly/NljlZR" standard="http://www.youtube.com/v/sGoqLmgqWd8?fs=1" vars="ytid=sGoqLmgqWd8&width=700&height=500&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=0&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=¬es=" id="ep3056" /] [embedplusvideo height="500" width="700" editlink="http://bit.ly/NljWdZ" standard="http://www.youtube.com/v/IZxYJ_kuy90?fs=1" vars="ytid=IZxYJ_kuy90&width=700&height=500&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=0&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=¬es=" id="ep9343" /]Overall, we had a good meal and a great time at Raglan Road. They sure know how to celebrate for St. Paddy's Day! A rollicking good time was had by all topped off by great fish and chips and a Magners Irish Cider.I give this visit a 7 out of 10, mostly for the lack of knowledge by the server.