Diego Pops

Thanks to some recommendations I found on Eat Gluten Free AZ on Instagram, we stopped at Diego Pops near our hotel in Old Town Scottsdale for happy hour where all apps and margaritas are half off. They have a marked gluten free menu which is important to me as a Celiac.

⚠ I was told that their fryer is dedicated but flour tortillas are stored near it, so to avoid potential cross contamination, avoid the fried foods.

After being put on a 15 minute wait list, we were seated outside. The weather was fantastic so it was very comfortable in the outdoor dining area next to the bar. On the table are 6 different sauces. Try them all - my favs were the pink one and the light green serrano one.

We got a frozen house blue raspberry margarita, 2 Diego (house) margaritas, a cheese quesadilla (not GF, but my husband loved it), elote (great), a bowl of tortilla soup (12/10 it was delicious), a corn cheese dip (fine) with tortillas rather than chips to avoid potential gluten cross contamination, and a pineapple pork bowl with coconut rice (not a fan.)

Between ordering our drinks and when our food came out, it was like maybe 40 minutes. We didn't mind because the weather was good and we were chatting and had our drinks, but our waitress kept updating us that she was on the kitchen to bring out our stuff. We were like, "it's fine." She came out 2 more times and said the kitchen had lost our ticket. Whatever, we were in no rush. Stuff happens.

She was super apologetic even though we didn't complain and the manager came over and gave us vouchers for 6 free tacos and comped our entire meal!!! We told them it wasn't necessary and we could pay but the waitress said it was thanks for being so nice and understanding. That made me feel sad that they clearly deal with a lot of rude, unreasonable people. It wasn't necessary to comp our meal or give us free taco vouchers. We did tip her in cash an amount that would have been 1/3 of the original bill.

Please don't go expecting free food but if you're in Scottsdale, please go check out the food at Diego Pops and get the tortilla soup for sure.

Visited: November 2023

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Somewhat

Safety Feature Ratings

• Staff is knowledgeable and can answer questions
• Staff will clean kitchen space or change gloves if asked

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Some

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Good

Other Characteristics

• Good for dinner
• Good for lunch
• Offers outdoor seating

Server advised that chips are made in separate fryer. Also that most everything can be made gf. Menu notes already gf options clearly. Food was good, and filled the craving for tacos.

Safety Feature Ratings

• Dedicated gluten-free fryer

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu

Staff didn’t seem very knowledgeable about cross-contamination and shared fryer. Felt sick after eating and didn’t think the food was even that good.

Celiac friendly?

No

Don’t waste your time - they are not even gluten friendly. Pretty surprising to see a restaurant advertise most of their menu as GF and not have their act together. The staff didn’t seem to know. They checked w/ the kitchen and couldn’t even confirm the wings would be safe (they have a GF symbol next to them). They are cooked in a shared fryer then tossed on the grill. I highly advise to avoid this restaurant. Margaritas weren’t great either.

Celiac friendly?

No

They advertise many GF menu items. We went and as I always do, I advised the wait staff of my severe anaphylaxis wheat allergy. We were advised that they do not have dedicated fryers and that we should not eat there. I SO appreciated their honesty. However, they shouldn’t be advertising GF b/c they are not.

Celiac friendly?

No

Tacos and poke’ with a great atmosphere. Items are clearly marked. I also had mango habanero wings(yum). We’ll be back.

Celiac friendly?

Yes