The employees had no knowledge of what gluten free is. The manager said he is celiac and said the only guaranteed gluten free item on the menu is the chicken. I ordered the chicken and double order of white rice, and they put a roll on the plate. Attempting to make it gluten free, they used the same tongs for the chicken as they did for the rolls. They were very friendly and tried to correct the situation, but didn't understand gluten free and cross contamination. The Sprite was great though! 😁
They do not understand what a gluten allergy is here so I recommend just letting them know you are allergic to bread. Pollo tropical is one of my favorite places in Miami/ South Florida because it is hard to mess up the order and is free from cross contamination if you stick to just the chicken platter with a side of black beans. Make sure whatever platter size you order you say no bread or “no pan” so they understand not to add the bread in (which comes with the platter). I usually ask them to change their gloves and explain that I am allergic to bread and they always listen. I would recommend to anyone visiting the area and virtually any pollo tropical location can be safe because it’s really chicken from the grill going straight to your plate. I recommend sticking with the black beans only for the sides because other sides can be open to contamination (beans are in a closed pot in a separate area). Meals are also extremely affordable so this is a good fast food option for anyone!