Review of Gibsons Italia

I will start by saying I was dining with a group of 8 at lunch. However, the number of people in my group should not excuse the poor service received. Especially by a restaurant of this caliber. Many of these issues stem from poor training of wait staff (management take note). I ordered the strip steak salad entree and my server confirmed it was gluten free. So far so good. The group ordered the arancini (individual cheese balls) as an app and I declined my order with her only because I don’t care for cheese. She entered our orders with the kitchen and returned to see if anyone would like to order side dishes because entrees do not come with anything. The group put in several side orders to share for the table and I asked her which ones are gluten free. She asked if I had an allergy (not sure why this is just being questioned now and not when I asked her if the salad is gluten free) and said she would double check with the kitchen to be sure. She returned and began explaining all the components of the dish which contained cheese (???). I stopped her and told her I don’t have a cheese allergy, I have a gluten allergy which is why I asked her specifically if the sides and salad contain gluten. She brushed off my questions (shared fryer, etc) and said I should be fine. But that I just can’t have the meatballs. The food comes out a bit later and she proceeds to try to serve me meat balls on my plate. I told her she just told me they weren’t gluten free?? Further, when her and the bus-boy would refill the water glasses, they would then place my glass down in front of the person to my left or right. So I drank out of the wrong water glass several times during the meal. Again, all completely inexcusable. And to top it off I don’t feel great now, which is very upsetting because I eat out at restaurants in Chicago all the time which are far more progressive, educated and service oriented. So this rarely happens. It will take a lot to convince me to return here.

Celiac friendly?

No