The Old Spaghetti Factory

Loved it. They had a gluten free menu, and when you got the food they put a gluten friendly flag on.

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

— Very

Safety Feature Ratings

• Food comes out flagged or marked gluten-free

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Separate gluten-free 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?

— Excellent

I ordered pasta and clam sauce from the gluten free menu. I became sick within 30 mins of eating here. I think the GF pasta was cooked in the same water as the regular pasta.

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

— Not at all

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Separate gluten-free menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Not Much

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

— Poor

This place is very easy for gluten free pasta. You basically can only get the options in Classic Entrees, which is basically the gluten free pasta with one of their sauces: Marinara, Rich Meat, Mushroom, and Mizithra Cheese & Brown Butter. Their gluten free pasta is one of my husband's favorite pasta as it tastes like normal (glutenous) pasta, and he's very particular about his pastas. The sauces are all pretty good. We love the Mithras Cheese but it's too much for us to get a whole plate of it so we often do the Manager's Special (which is their pasta with two different sauces). In addition to the pasta, and included with the meal, are a salad and a scoop of ice cream. The gluten free options for salad dressing are a vinaigrette and a ranch (called a pesto). The gluten free ice cream options are vanilla and spumoni.

I have Celiac Disease that definitely can't handle more than 20ppm and yet I've never been sick here. I've been here many times since they've opened in Colorado Springs, approximately once a week, and every server I've had has been knowledgeable. I'm not sure why it gets such bad reviews. The reviewer who had the Alfredo sauce obviously didn't see the gluten free menu, which they have but you have to use your phone to do the qr code.

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

— Very

Safety Feature Ratings

• Other dedicated kitchen equipment (oven, toaster, pots, pans, utensils, etc.)
• Staff is knowledgeable and can answer questions
• Food comes out flagged or marked gluten-free

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Separate gluten-free 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 dairy-free
• Good for dinner
• Good for kids
• Good for lunch

Good choices on gluten free menu and sauces. Delicious and my daughter had no reactions. Mention celiac and they take more precaution in the kitchen since it is not a dedicated gluten free kitchen. Would give it 5 stars but it’s not dedicated so can’t guarantee you can’t get cross contamination.

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

— Somewhat

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?

— Excellent

They have a gluten friendly menu not gluten free. I chanced it and ordered gluten friendly noodles with Alfredo sauce. I got pretty sick on our ride home. I do not recommend eating here. I have a gluten sensitivity, not celiac.

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

— Not at all

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Separate gluten-free menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Not Much/None

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

— Good

Old Spaghetti Factory is an old restaurant chain with a new location in Colo Springs. Long ago and in a galaxy far, far away when I lived in a different city and hadn't even heard of the words "celiac disease," my to-be husband and I loved to eat at OSF. So now that we have one practically in our back yard, we wanted to re-live and share the experience with our children. I was so happy to see a GF menu on their website!

Dining at OSF is a 3 course affair. 1st course is minestrone soup (w/noodles) or salad (GF without croutons) and a warm loaf of crusty bread arrives on the table with butter for your table to cut and enjoy with the soup or salad. At this time there is no GF alternative for the bread (other than requesting no bread for the table). 2nd course is the pasta and OSF has 1 kind of GF noodle and a choice of GF sauces and sides. 3rd course is ice cream which is GF.

Before making a reservation, I called the restaurant to inquire about the kitchen practices. I spoke with a kitchen manager who said he came out from Portland to help open this restaurant. He explained that even though it is a shared kitchen so that it cannot be guaranteed that cross-contamination won't occur, the kitchen is set up such that they are able to do a really good job keeping things separate. The GF pasta is prepped and prepared completely separately from their regular pasta. When I made the reservation, it had a spot to leave a comment. I included in there that I had celiac disease. I actually got a phone call from the restaurant the afternoon of the reservation to confirm that I was aware of the shared-kitchen. I was very impressed with their attention to detail in this matter!

My whole family really enjoyed the food, atmosphere, and 3 course meal experience. I told our server that I needed GF food when I made my order. She was knowledgeable about which choices were GF ones. The menu has a QR code for the gluten-friendly menu, so I had my phone open as well. My salad came out without croutons, and my pasta was labelled "Gluten-friendly." The pasta tasted good and wasn't overcooked or falling apart. Way better than when I make GF pasta at home! We did get the bread for our children. Our kids are very good with cross-contamination mitigation, and I was able to eat my own GF meal without getting sick.

While my impression of OSF is that they do a really great job in accommodating the gluten-free community (5 stars overall), it is definitely possible to get glutened, primarily by the bread and bread-cutting that happens at the table. I gave it 4 stars for safety, but I think how you handle the bread is the biggest safety factor. We debated asking if the bread could be brought to our table pre-cut, but forgot to ask before it came out to the table. Something to consider when dining with folks who may not be so aware to limit crumb-spread. I would also recommend sitting in an end chair/spot so no one tries passing bread over you or your food/plate/utensils. I'm sure you could always ask for no bread if you've got messy or careless eaters at the table.

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

— Somewhat

Safety Feature Ratings

• Other dedicated kitchen equipment (oven, toaster, pots, pans, utensils, etc.)
• Staff is knowledgeable and can answer questions
• Food comes out flagged or marked gluten-free

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Separate gluten-free 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?

— Excellent

Other Characteristics

• Good for dinner
• Good for kids
• Good for lunch
• Good for takeout
• Good selection of healthy options
• Good with other allergies
• Offers delivery
• Offers online ordering
• Reservations recommended

We had a very enjoyable dinner and experience. Jasmine was knowledgeable, attentive and so kind. Salad, pasta and chicken were all gluten-free! Ask for gf menu.

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

— Somewhat

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Separate gluten-free 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?

— Excellent

The food was just ok, but the staff seemed knowledgeable, and my food did arrive with a “gluten friendly” marker.

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

— Somewhat

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Separate gluten-free 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?

— Average

You wouldn’t think a place called the spaghetti factory would have a gluten free menu, but they do.

Plenty of options to choose from.

https://www.osf.com/food/gluten-friendly/

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

— Somewhat

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Separate gluten-free 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

Definitely not gluten free. The food comes out tagged “gluten friendly”, but it definitely contains gluten or has cross contamination.

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

— Not at all

Safety Feature Ratings

• Food comes out flagged or marked gluten-free

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Separate gluten-free menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Not Much/None

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

— Below Average

Other Characteristics

• Good for takeout

I ordered the gluten free Alfredo and salad. I was okay after eating the salad, but once I got partially through the pasta, I felt like I wanted to throw up. I did share with the server I had Celiac Disease and she confirmed that they could accommodate and it was made separately. It tasted like they used the pasta water for the Alfredo sauce. I do not recommend this to anyone even if you call and ask which I did.

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

— Not at all

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Separate gluten-free menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Not Much

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

— Poor