Review of Bateaux Parisiens

I want to summarize my experience by saying this place is absolutely unsafe for those with gluten allergies. I read the mixed reviews on this establishment before I booked. So I emailed the establishment to see if they could accommodate gluten allergies before I made my reservation. Their representative wrote back saying they have a gluten free menu. I made the reservation and emailed the representative again who confirmed that gluten free menus were added to our reservation.

We go to the boat for the night of the cruise, and they placed vegetarian menus on our reservation instead of gluten free menus. We alerted them of this mistake, and the receptionist assured me that we would receive gluten free menus. We were seated, and our waiter makes no mention of a gluten free menu, but he says that they can modify anything on the regular menu to make it gluten free.

So we place our orders. My wife has an extreme gluten sensitivity so we stressed to them the importance of having gluten free food. I even ordered gluten free that night as well to assure no confusion or cross-contamination. Well, the waiters and kitchen had no idea what gluten free meant. They brought me out a dish with pasta although I asked for gluten free food so I had them send it back. They proceeded to bring my wife out steak covered with gluten containing onion ring crumbs, and my wife had to educate them that it contained gluten so she sent it back. The waiter actually argued with her that it was safe for several minutes before reluctantly taking it back. They brought back the meal with gravy (that likely was made with flour, and they could not assure us whether it was safe or not) two more times. The green beans were also smothered in gravy. We asked to speak to the manager who said the only thing she could eat was a vegetarian meal. We had to educate him that gluten free and vegetarian are two different things. We assured him that if he brought her a steak without the crumbs or gravy then the food should be safe. She finally ended up with a plain steak, unseasoned, on a plate.

For dessert, the waiters has told us that any dessert could be made gluten free. My wife knew that this broad statement was extremely unlikely, so chose a dessert that was least likely to contain gluten. The waiter decided just to bring us cut up fruit instead to ensure my wife’s safety. We did file a complaint with the head receptionist when we finished. And I even sent an email to the complaint department. But no one has contacted us back. This establishment misrepresented the fact that they could accommodate gluten allergies—it was an extremely unsafe situation. I highly recommend for those with gluten allergies to stay away. Go on a regular river cruise, then eat dinner at a safer restaurant.

Celiac friendly?

No