Review of Fast Friends Beer Company

Long story short, this place is not safe for celiacs. Would work for those with less-severe gluten intolerance.

Fast Friends was recently written up in Eater Austin with the headline “Dietary Restrictions Get First-Class Service at This South Austin Brewery”, so we were excited to check it out. My husband and son have celiac disease so I first looked for info online about whether they take precautions against cross-contamination, and I couldn’t find anything. So I tried to track down a phone number and finally found one at the bottom of their “order online” page, but no one answers that phone, apparently. So a friend of mine physically went in to the restaurant and asked them if the food was safe for celiacs, and specifically asked if the GF pizzas are cooked in the same ovens as the gluten pizzas, and was assured that they are very serious about preventing CC and that it would be safe for us to eat there. So on Saturday we showed up and ordered, and I put in the note (you order through your phone) that two diners had celiac. Two of the chefs came out, said that they had read the note, and wanted to inform us that the pizza would not be safe for celiacs. They have a three-tiered oven but they put gluten pizzas on every tier. They don’t put the GF pizzas on pans or anything so they’re touching the same surfaces as gluten ones. We cancelled our order and they refunded our money and we left. I’m glad and grateful that the chefs alerted us that we could not eat there safely but tremendously disappointed that a restaurant that is advertising itself as a haven for people with food restrictions doesn’t take any steps to make the only entrees they offer safe for celiacs. At the very least, they should add a note to their online menu that lets people know the food isn’t safe for celiac to save people the hassle we went through.

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

— Not at all

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu