*This dining experience took place in February 2013 and includes a gluten free & yellow food coloring review in addition to my gluten free/dairy free review.
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| Irish Step Dancing at Raglan Road |
Of all the Downtown Disney restaurants, this so far has been the one I've felt the most comfortable eating at GF/DF. It's only been a few months since I had been for the first time, but this was a great opportunity to go with other friends who hadn't been. I was also curious (and somewhat hopeful) that I could get something besides the fish & chips. My friend who is gluten free & also allergic to yellow food coloring was also looking forward to checking out the offerings.I will say that it gets busy here on a weekend evening! Our group had dinner slightly early (5pm) but it was still fairly full. We were seated in one of the back corners and not in the middle of the restaurant, which actually was a good thing because it gets a little loud in here with the live entertainment. I think if we had been in the middle of the dining room it would have been even harder to have a conversation. And don't worry if you think you'll miss the live entertainment--they will come to your area! We did get a chance to see the Irish step dancing up close as they do rotate areas.But on to the food and drink...the important stuff!! First up, we ordered drinks. I had planned on a hard cider since I'm not a huge fan of the Redbridge gluten free beer; however, the server mentioned that they had Omission Beer which I've been semi-curious about trying. On the one hand, I've been skeptical (it's a craft beer made using traditional ingredients but the gluten is removed during the process and tested to ensure there is no gluten), but also curious. I thought it might taste more like beer considering the process by which it's made. So I gambled and tried it. I was surprised. It tasted like beer! And I didn't get sick--thank goodness. I wasn't a huge fan of this particular lager and might try the pale ale, but I don't think Disney is serving that. The manager came out later and did mention to me that they've replaced the Redbridge with Omission which I was very surprised with. Now if they could just get New Planet Beer on the list, I'd be very happy (I love their raspberry ale!).
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| Omission beer |
Next up were the food orders. As we found out, there didn't seem to be great options for either of us with food allergies. Mine was more limited because of the dairy and I was mostly relegated to a burger with no bun (and I don't eat beef) or fish and chips. I could have had a salad but as many of you know those of us with Crohn's do not do well with lots of fresh veggies. Good thing I liked the fish and chips. My friend could have had Shepherd's Pie and a few other dishes in addition to the burger and fish and chips. Because of the concern with the yellow food coloring and some less than stellar accommodation for it, he ended up with a burger with no bun and fries. We also ordered some of the gluten free onion rings for an appetizer.
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| Onion rings |
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| Close-up of the onion rings--look at those beauties! |
The onion rings were better than they were the first time I had them--crunchy and the onions seemed more done to me. I do almost wish they had a sauce of some time (or some of that tartar sauce!). GF/DF sauce would be great (hint, hint Raglan Road).
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| Ha, this is what NOT to eat at Raglan Road--my friend's schnitzel complete with beer and malt vinegar--a GF/DF nightmare! lol But my friend said this was good. |
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| Here's the GF/DF goodness--my fish and chips with that yummy tartar sauce |
My fish and chips were good as usual. Again, I don't think they are really the best GF/DF fish and chips I've ever had (I have a local British pub who has dedicated fryers and fish and chips that kick this one's butt) but it's still a good solid GF/DF option. I really like the thick fries. But the thing that makes this dish for me is the tartar sauce. It's sooooo good. I love it. And I probably could have eaten a few dishes of it. Yum!
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| Cheeseburger minus the bun with steak fries and tomato relish on the side |
My friend got the cheeseburger, which I didn't realize until I saw it that it had Irish bacon on it (more like Canadian bacon). It normally comes with a tomato relish, but my friend got it on the side which was a good thing too, I don't think he liked it). Overall, I think he enjoyed the burger itself--as far as burgers go it looked good. I think he was more excited about the french fries. If you're GF you can relate because we hardly ever get an opportunity to get safe fries!Overall, I'd say this was an OK experience. What they do have GF/DF is limited but at least it's good. I wish they had better options or maybe could accommodate a little better, but if I know I want something greasy this is my go-to place.I'd give this a 7 out of 10. What I had was good, but somewhat limited in options.
