From their allergen list: We have worked diligently to remove wheat gluten from all our sauces, dressings, and proteins. Natural glutens remain only in our flour and wheat tortillas and in two desserts--tres leches and key lime pie. This means that we offer "oceans of gluten-free options" in our menu. All of these items are gluten-free: all enchiladas, all tacos, all salads (without the flour or wheat tortilla), all nachos, and our chicken tortilla so up...which uses corn strips.
— Very
— Most/All
— Excellent
— Somewhat
— Most/All
— Good
I love the gluten free sweet pork quesadilla from costa vida. Its so far been the best place for me to go out to eat. Other places I’ve tried haven’t been helpful.
— Very
— Some
— Excellent
Super yummy! I’ve never had a problem here. Ask them to change their gloves but they are very accommodating! The food is lovely!
— Somewhat
— Most/All
— Excellent
Love this location! They are pretty good about changing their gloves but you definitely have to ask
— Somewhat
— Most/All
— Excellent
All of their sauces are gf (according to their website) and take extra precautions, like switching gloves and wiping cooking surface/using tin foil, for corn tortilla if you say it is for an allergen. I haven't gotten sick here and feel very comfortable.
— Very
— Most/All
— Excellent
They were very away of celiacs and changed their gloves the second I mentioned something about it
— Somewhat
— Most/All
— Excellent
I used to live it here, but for the past few years I have been consistently disappointed. The servers cross contaminate everything by rubbing the spoons and tongs around on the tortillas. I hoped I could get past this by asking if it would be possible to scoop from a fresh pot, but they just dumped the same food into a fresh pot. I won't be going here again.
— Not at all
— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu
— Not Much
— Excellent
I always say my order is gluten free and they change their gloves to avoid cross contamination. There are separate corn tortillas that they use. All of the Sauces are gluten free.
— Somewhat
— No gluten-free information on the menu
— Most/All
— Good
They always change their gloves
— Yes, the establishment is dedicated gluten-free
— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu
— Excellent
I eat at this location frequently and they are always very accommodating and try to be as safe as they can.
— Somewhat
— Most/All
— Good
Great experience- manager went out of his way to answer questions, explain to the person serving food how to keep things safe, and charged us for less since my son is picky and only wanted chips/cheese.
— Very
— Most/All
— Excellent
Do not trust this place if you have celiac’s. Yes, they did change gloves but everything touches-spoons, tongs, and the surface that they prepared the food on is not clean.
— Not at all
— No gluten-free information on the menu
— Not Much/None
— Poor
They change gloves and are very knowledgeable about crosss contamination. Very safe herr.
— Very
— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu
— Most/All
— Excellent
I have Celiac and never gotten sick there. Their staff and managers are great about avoiding cross contamination as much as they possibly can. You just need to let them know and they will instantly wash their hands and change their gloves.
— Very
— Most/All
— Excellent
I have Celiac and never gotten sick there. Their staff and managers are great about avoiding cross contamination as much as they possibly can. You just need to let them know and they will instantly wash their hands and change their gloves.
— Very
— Excellent
We like the flavor options, which are different from Chipotle, and they have flan.
— Somewhat
— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu
— Some
— Excellent
Great experience! First spoke to girl at register and she already knew about gluten and said yes they know how to handle "gluten allergy". So i went to the guy at the counter and just said i have 2 orders and both have a gluten allergy. He immediately changed his gloves without being asked. After confirming what i wanted, he asked if i was okay with it going through the oven. He was careful not to let the chips touch anything, and also laid one special green chip on top -- i assume this must be their code for gluten allergy. Then when it went to the next lady, same thing, i said gluten allergy and she changed her gloves and was very careful. Both of us have celiac and both felt fine afterward! And it was delicious!
— Somewhat
— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu
— Most/All
— Excellent
I am changing my review. The last few times I’ve eaten here I haven’t felt so great, I thought maybe it was just too spicy. I tested some leftovers after feeling bad for hours and sure enough, gluten was found.
— No gluten-free information on the menu
We enjoyed this restaurant. We had the grilled chicken nachos without any upset. The fresh pico was great. Queso also very good. The staff was somewhat knowledgeable about celiac. They do make fresh tortillas here but everything else is GF. No other fried food in the fryers but chips (I think). Maybe some risk of contamination as they are making tortillas from scratch, but we did not get sick.
— Very
— No gluten-free information on the menu
— Most/All
— Excellent
When I told the server I was gluten free he explained that everything except the flour tortillas are GF. He removed his gloves, washed his hands, and put on new gloves. I was super pleased with my experience. I love the food!!
— Very
— No gluten-free information on the menu
— Most/All
— Excellent
I have been to costa Vida multiple times and multiple locations and have never gotten sick. You just have to ask for gluten free before you order. 10/10 would recommend!
— Very
— No gluten-free information on the menu
— Most/All
— Excellent
I’m newly diagnosed and not highly sensitive, so I can’t say for sure whether or not I was glutoned here; however, this place had plenty of GF options and from one I read online had gone through the process of making sure that everything except the flour tortillas are GF. If you order online, the tortilla options for the enchiladas are “flour, corn or corn (gluten friendly).” There’s also a check-box that says “make my meal gluten-friendly.” I’m passing through town and was happy to find a place where I felt comfortable ordering food. The enchiladas were quite tasty, too.
— Somewhat
— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu
— Most/All
— Good
Lots of cross contamination potential.
— Not at all
— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu
— Not Much/None
— Poor
I eat here occasionally for lunch and they’ve always been careful about my gluten free order. Lots of gluten free options too!
— Very
— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu
— Most/All
— Excellent
my fav thing here is a sweet pork baja bowl. every time i go i tell them i need it to be gluten free and they even change their gloves too so there’s no contamination.
— Very
— Some
— Excellent
So safe! When I said Celiacs they knew right what to do, they changed cloves before I could even ask! SF Costa Vida has my vote!
— Very
— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu
— Most/All
— Excellent
This is one of the very few places I trust. Food is great, and staff is careful about cross contamination.
— Very
— Most/All
— Excellent
They were so nice and welcoming when it came to my gluten allergy. They asked me if I had an allergy, offered to change their gloves and keep everything safe!
— Very
— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu
— Most/All
— Below Average
Good food but a cross contamination nightmare. Unless you can convince the employee making your food to get new stuff from the back (which never happens in my experience), it’s all going to be contaminated. Good for gluten sensitivities if the cross contamination doesn’t bother you, but avoid it if you have celiac.
— Not at all
— Not Much
— Average
Staff was super careful about cross-contamination, and very accommodating while also treating me respectfully. Except for flour and wheat tortillas and desserts everything is gluten-free.
— Very
— Most/All
— Excellent
I've loved their chicken salad even before I was diagnosed with celiac. I was please to find that they took my gluten free order seriously and everyone who handled my food changed their gloves first.
— Very
— Some
— Excellent
Went in and asked if they had gluten free options and they were so kind and helped out with so many options. After I ordered my enchilada they all changed their gloves and put foil down under my corn tortillas to ensure not cross contamination on the warmer. What a great experience. This is all new to me and it’s been difficult to eat out.
— Very
— Most/All
— Excellent
Good food but cross contam is likely and the staff isn't knowledgeable.
— Not very
— No gluten-free information on the menu
— Some
— Good
Great service, very accommodating. Even washed hands and changed gloves without rolling their eyes.
— Very
— Most/All
— Excellent
I’ve never gotten sick at a Costa Vida. They’re a pretty safe and delicious chain, and most of their food is gluten free. I said I needed it Gluten Free, and all the employees changed their gloves. I ordered a chicken salad, and they used corn tortillas from a separate covered container. Their chip strips are also safe on top of the salad. Delicious. I’d definitely come again.
— Somewhat
— Most/All
— Excellent
Three trips, three different answers to my allergen questions. On a positive note, they were always friendly and happy to “help” and the food was good. Sometimes sick sometimes not. I recommend asking for the manager to help you.
— Somewhat
— No gluten-free information on the menu
— Some
— Excellent
My mom went through the drive-thru, ordered me a gluten-free burrito, and confirmed two more times that it would be gluten free, and they made it with a flour tortilla. I called and spoke with the manager, who was very nice and very apologetic. She said she would speak with the person running the drive-thru and put me on a list for a replacement meal. I will give them one more chance.
— Not at all
— Not Much/None
— Poor
I was very disappointed with my experience here. I had high hopes that it would be safe because of the good reviews and was sad that was not our experience. My son has a dairy allergy. I selected “no cheese” and stated that there was a dairy allergy when ordering. After picking up our food, I was disappointed to find cheese all over my son’s food. I have celiac and was hesitant to eat after they ignored my sons allergy info, but decided to risk it anyway because it was late and I was starving. I wish I hadn’t. I got super sick after eating. Summary: they don’t care about allergies and you are taking a risk by eating here. Taste wise, it wasn’t great. It tasted old and a little soggy. Definitely not worth it in my opinion.
— Not at all
— Not Much
— Below Average
— Not very
— No gluten-free information on the menu
— Some
— Average
Highly likely to cross contamination
— Not at all
— No gluten-free information on the menu
— Not Much/None
— Below Average
I have gotten sick from cross contamination here twice. Once I had a chicken salad with corn tortilla and the second time I had just a chicken salad and still got sick.
— Not at all
Costa Vida is in our regular rotation! We get the gluten-free enchiladas. with the mild sauce beans and rice.
— Very
— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu
— Some
— Excellent
I'm extremely sensitive and have eaten here multiple times and never gotten sick!
— Very
— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu
— Most/All
— Excellent
I eat here frequently and have never had a problem. They are good about changing their gloves. I usually get a salad without the tortilla.
— Very
— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu
— Most/All
— Excellent
They were very knowledgeable with gluten allergy. I had the best quesadilla ever. Queso was excellent as well.
— Very
— Most/All
— Excellent
They are safe with your order and change gloves, BUT, don’t order anything with cheese or lettuce because they use their hands to add item. Even if the gloves are changed for your order they already cross contaminated from previous orders.
— Somewhat
— No gluten-free information on the menu
— Some
— Good
Good, usual Costa experience
— Somewhat
— Most/All
— Excellent
Wonderful! Even places gluten meal in a box to separate from the gluten free meal ordered. Very friendly and they highlighted the modifications and gluten friendly request in highlighter to emphasize. All without any special request to highlight it. Was very friendly staff too at the time. (Wednesday evening)
— Somewhat
— Most/All
— Excellent
This location usually does a good job of not making me sick. I recently acquired a NimaPartners gluten sensor, and my chicken salad tested as gluten free, so this is a safe location for people with celiac and other gluten intolerances.
— Somewhat
— No gluten-free information on the menu
— Some
— Good