Review of Tavola Rustica

I was looking forward to eating here because of other reviews, but was thoroughly disappointed. I didn’t get to eat anything since the staff screwed up our entire order, and made nothing celiac safe. (They did comp our meal, which I do appreciate!) First, the waitress expressed frustration that we were even ordering gluten free food, and seemed to be unaware of their options at all. The waitress eventually told us they could make pizza on a gluten free crust or gluten free pasta.

Our waitress told us the pasta was not made in separate water and told us they could accommodate today only because they were having a slow evening. We pressed for specifics on avoiding cross contamination, and she kept repeating that they could only do so much (common enough, but she seemed frustrated by our asking.) The manager came over to talk to us about gluten free options and said something incomprehensible about oven temperature and the live cultures in flour? We said we weren’t getting anything from the oven which shut that conversation down.

When we ordered, my partner and I both said we had celiac/an allergy. We got our caesar salad without croutons which was great, but when our entrees came out, they only brought out my partner’s dish and not mine. They said they only had one order of gluten free pasta left so they could only make my partner’s order, which they didn’t tell us until they were bringing the entrees.

They then said “no allergy right?” to my partner—we had to press to learn they put her pasta into the glutened water, even though the manager said he’d watch them make the meal and supervise himself. Someone else at our table compared the “gluten free” pasta to the gluten pasta and they said the two tasted identical, so we’re unconvinced the dish was even gluten free.

They offered alternatives to the meal I’d ordered but we decided to just leave. They did comp the full meal which we appreciated, but my partner and I have to find dinner elsewhere. Unfortunate!

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

— Not at all

Safety Feature Ratings

• Staff will clean kitchen space or change gloves if asked

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— No gluten-free information on the menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Not Much/None

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Poor