Review of Garnett's Cafe

Background: I was diagnosed with Celiac last April and have had a tough time finding places to eat where I feel safe. I found Garnett’s Cafe on the Find Me Gluten Free app, and it had wonderful reviews! I checked out the website and was so excited to see an entire page dedicated to the efforts the staff takes to ensure no cross contamination.

I was visiting my family in Richmond this past weekend and decided to treat everyone to sandwiches. I placed my order online, selected the GF option for my sandwich + noted that I have Celiac, and drove 15 minutes there and 15 minutes back to get everyone’s sandwiches. The cafe is so cute, and the employees very kindly told me that they were still working on my order when I got there. The chef was warm and welcoming. I noticed that the lady working put all of the boxes of sandwiches in one bag with the exception of one (that she put in a separate bag) which I figured was my gluten free sandwich. When I got back to my sister’s, I couldn’t find my sandwich. The sandwich in the separate bag was a normal sandwich that my boyfriend had ordered. I figured that the box at the bottom of the filled bag was mine because the bread was unlike the rest, however it was not at all what I had ordered (I ordered a gluten free Manny but received what looked like GF bread + spinach + tomato + cheese). I called the cafe and informed them that my order was incorrect and that I was also worried because I wasn’t sure it was the gluten free sandwich (it was packed with the rest, wasn’t labeled, and was not filled with the ingredients I had ordered). The employee told me that the the chef was new and that they are busy. I asked if the chef was trained in avoiding cross contamination with gluten, and she (rudely) assured me that he was. The employee said that I could some back to get a new sandwich or I could get a free sandwich the next time I placed an order. I expressed that this was frustrating because I was leaving town the next day and am rarely in Richmond and that I had just spent 40+ minutes (15 minutes to drive there, 10+ minutes waiting after it said it was ready, and 15 minutes to get back) to get a sandwich I didn’t order and to be worried about cross contamination. She did not apologize, offer a refund, etc. I drove back to get the correct sandwich, however my boyfriend went in to get it for me. The employee told my boyfriend that I was extremely rude and that I called them incompetent. This is absolutely not true - I simply asked if the new chef had experience with avoiding cross contamination (because I was worried and did not want to get sick). My boyfriend then went to open the box to check if the order was correct and said that the employee was extremely offended by this, placed her hand over the box so that he would not open it, and said “the order is correct and there was not cross contamination.” I found this to be extremely unprofessional. The sandwich did end up being wonderful and my family enjoyed theirs, however I did get sick the next morning (this could have been from several factors - I cannot guarantee that it was from the sandwich). Although the food was wonderful, it was overall a terrible experience and I will not be returning when I am back in Richmond.

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

— Not very

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Most/All

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

— Good