Sanibel Fish House

The food was out of this world! We shared my celiacs with the server and she was on top of everything. We had broiled seafood as an entree, salads made perfectly, crab dip and ceviche that came with corn flour tortillas that were fried separately just for us. Nothing short of amazing.

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

— Somewhat

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— No gluten-free information on the 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 kids
• Good for lunch
• Good for takeout
• Good selection of healthy options
• Good vegan options
• Good with other allergies

They no longer have gluten free menu items like they used to, they changed the crab stuffing mix. We got the in house smoked fish dip (abs I’m using crackers I brought) and steamed shrimp to play it safe. We’ll see what happens. I’m disappointed because this was one of my go to places for several great options.

Celiac friendly?

No

Their menu says crab cakes and a few of their items stuffed with crab meat are gluten free, but when you get there they tell you that they’re not. They have one gluten free thing on their menu! Not worth the visit.

Celiac friendly?

No

The menu clearly has gluten free options marked. Amazing food! I will defiantly return. The service was also amazing!

My travel partner looked up this place on the phone. they said the comments/reviews were good and that there were GF things on the menu. Plus, hey, it's a fish place, so it *shouldn't* be that hard to get a gluten free item. Throwing in a wrench though, I'm also soy free--that means no soy spread/margarine/oil.

We walked in and I let the hostess know that I am GF (celiac) and soy free. She said the waiter would be able to explain what items I could have on the menu. Sounds great.

Waiter comes and he's quite stiff/uncertain. When I inquire about GF/SF options, he grabs my menu and looks at it as a book from his perspective, turns the page and points out things I can have. I can't see any of this, since he has my menu. I asked if the manager or chef could come out. It was not busy. It was about 11:30am on a Sunday. I was told the manager could come over, but that i couldn't speak to the chef.

Manager comes over and proceeds to share that there are a handful of items on the menu I can have. I asked about a couple and she said I could not have them because they have cheese. I asked what they do to their cheese to not be gf or sf. She has no answer, she says I can't have it because it has cheese in it. I said, okay, that's weird. I said that some places put flour in cheese they shred themselves to make it not stick, but that cheese is dairy, not soy and not gluten by nature. She said I couldn't have some things because they had butter on them. I said butter is gluten free and soy free. Further questioning she said that they have dairy butter and soy butter. UGH that's a margarine then. Margarine. don't say butter if it's margarine. (Whereas butter is made from the butterfat of milk, modern margarine is made mainly of refined vegetable oil and water, and may also contain milk, Wikipedia)

Manager points out a couple other things. Pushing, the spaghetti squash sofrito which has veggies with it. (great, a veggie meal with veggie sides). Dining partner asked about the steamed shrimp on the appetizer list (manager had skipped appetizers and salads). Manager said that I could not have the steamed shrimp appetizer because they use Florida Old Bay. Dining partner asked what that was, if it was different from Old Bay. Nope, the Manager says it's the same thing. Um, okay, but Old Bay doesn't have gluten or soy in it. No, Manager says steamed shrimp isn't an option. Manager leaves us to browse the menu, comes back and I ask about the entree listed as Salmon, Mahi Mahi or another firm fish which I can't recall. She says no, I can't have that. I ask why, it just says fresh fish. Finally she says they use a wine sauce on it and that they use their butter. I said butter or the margarine spread. She says it's their not dairy butter. At this point she rants about other 'gluten free' people who were in her place the week before and were okay to eat french fries. How is that even relevant to my butter question?

What kind of fresh fish place on the Gulf of Mexico doesn't even have fresh fish without sauces galore to serve. I can see that some of their fish dishes may have sauces. I cannot fathom that they just can't leave off the sauce. I can't fathom that plain steamed shrimp isn't an option.

I end up ordering the vegetable combo "meal" of spaghetti squash and veggies with side of shrimp (somehow the shrimp on this can be done gf/sf). It comes with some red sauce in a side bowl. I ask the waiter what that was as it was not even mentioned in the conversation with the Manager. He says that's the sofrito sauce. Uh, how is that neglected /not mentioned??

I have better experience in my Iowa town getting fish at a $$$ place than I did at this establishment. I had FAB experiences in Hawai'i getting delicious fresh fish without gluten or soy. I can't understand why this place says they can do things and then can't. The experience was almost like they have their fish products come prepackaged and they just reheat them.

Two stars because I actually got to eat something. Too bad I was flying home later the same day and that was my 'real food' for the day. My dinner was sliced cheese, sliced ham, and crackers I had left from my trip down, plus a Tanka bar when my delayed flight out made it so my connecting flight was missed for the evening.

Celiac friendly?

No

There is one item on the menu listed as gluten free HOWEVER "Jorge" was very helpful with suggestions on how to make a number of different menu options gluten free. I asked if they could combine two menu items into one dish. They did and it was great, very fresh and well cooked. Grilled Mahi Mahi with spaghetti squash and fresh veggies. I highly recommend you give them a try.

Celiac friendly?

Yes

We went for a late lunch (not as busy) and even though my mother had previously asked about being celiac safe I wasn’t too sure if I would be able to eat at one of my old favorite restaurant but knew I would be able to drink. The menu designated the gluten free items and after talking with our waitress she assured me that they take cross contamination seriously. So I ordered the crab cake entree (appetizer crab cakes are not gluten free) with a baked sweet potato and a side salad. Our waitress double checked which dressings were gluten free. Crab cakes were good but not the best I have had. The sweet potato came uncut in foil with packets of butter. My salad was good but the key lime dressing was great! I got an extra side to go with my crab cakes!