Outback Steakhouse

We tried to eat here one night after my wife was diagnosed with Celiac's. Ordered off their "gluten-free" menu, and her shrimp was served on top of a piece of bread.

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

— 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?

— Below Average

No gluten free markings on new menu. Hostess nor waitress even knew what gluten was. We left.

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— No gluten-free information on the menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— None

Celiac friendly?

Yes

Experience was pretty awful overall. We had a party of four and three had food allergies. Server obviously didn't care, kitchen didn't care. Manager didn't care enough. Had to send all three allergy meals back at least once. Had to send the celiac's salad back TWICE.

Other Outbacks my be fine, but this one is terrible.

Celiac friendly?

No

Manager always makes sure my gluten free meal is cooked correctly & with care! They train & inform their employees on what eating gluten free means!! Love this place just wish they were open for lunch!

Celiac friendly?

Yes

Outback off Laskin Rd in VA Beach: ordered a ribeye and shrimp (usually no issues). Plate came out with bread under the shrimp despite waitress clearly noting a gluten free order. Sent plate back and it came back, couldn't tell if it was the same plate just without bread or not but decided to risk it. Kitchen definitely just removed the bread and swapped plates, felt sick within the hour.

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

— Not at all

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?

— Poor

Outback was one of the first chain restaurants to offer gluten free items over a decade ago. When traveling, Outback is a go-to safe place to dine. I really like their steaks and baked potatoes! Many items are gluten free but not bread or fried items.

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

— 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

The staff here is always knowledgeable and careful. They have a dedicated GF menu and for a chain, do a great job! Highly recommended.

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

— 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?

— Excellent

Oh, lord, I really hate having to write this. I’m so sorry to the waitstaff, who were all *wonderful* during the process, but I have to say that my overall experience was truly terrible, both gluten-wise and in general. For reference, I am the celiac of our group, and the other three members of the party are related to me but without the celiac genes. The meal started out on the wrong foot, even from when we ordered beverages. My mother ordered a rum punch, and when it came, she took a sip from the top and came away with glass in her mouth, cutting her tongue. Even worse was that her beverage glass was unbroken, so the glass shard had to have come from elsewhere. This was already a bad start, but she was given another rum punch without glass and we went on with our meal, since this could only be a fluke. Then, the salads came out. Mine had croutons. Fun. So we sent that back, and a new blue cheese salad came out for me, which looked fine. However, towards the bottom of my salad, there was a blue cheese crumble. My salad did not come with blue cheese crumbles. Blue cheese crumbles were not in the dressing. That has to have come from one of the salads that did have blue cheese crumbles, *all of which were gluteny*. Great. But, clearly, it couldn’t get worse, so we felt fine to wait for the main courses. My alice springs chicken then had almost raw bacon on it. It was… bad. We got through the entire meal, but by the end, I had definitely been glutened by something. I’m not sure what, but the symptoms are exactly what I would expect. To be clear, everything not mentioned was perfect. However, this number of issues shouldn’t happen, no matter how many other items are ordered. To the staff’s credit, our waitress was *hugely* apologetic and horrified, and she got the manager to comp us the *entire* meal, such that we paid $8 out of ~$100. However, overall, the experience was awful, and I can’t say I’ll trust this particular branch again. Celiacs, do not attempt. It can’t end well.

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

— Not at all

Safety Feature Ratings

• Staff is knowledgeable and can answer questions

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 dinner
• Good selection of healthy options

I ordered a salad off the gluten free menu and specified I was ordering off the gluten free menu and specifically told our server to “please tell the kitchen I have celiac disease”. She completely ignored me, and my salad came out with fried chicken strips. I will say that once the manager took over, everything was fine and I didn’t have any reactions from cross contamination

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

— Not at all

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