Gluten-Free Penne Rigate Pomodoro at Olive Garden
I recently learned that Olive Garden has added some gluten-free options to their menu. I was not in Seattle yesterday, and so my gluten-free restaurant options were a bit more limited than usual. Lunchtime was nigh and I was hungry, so my boyfriend and I decided to give the gluten-free menu at Olive Garden a try.
I asked our hostess for the gluten-free menu before we were shown to our table. This can help gluten-free dining to go more smoothly as it saves the wait staff or host a trip, and it gives the host a chance to alert your server that at least one of your party is of gluten-free status before they even get to your table and introduce themselves. It also gives them the option, if they choose, of assigning your table to someone more experienced or well-versed in the gluten-free options on the menu.
Their Gluten-Free menu was not huge, but there were enough choices available that I did not feel limited. It also had a lot of choices for those of you that are dairy-free as well. I chose the Penne Rigate Pomodoro, and my boyfriend went with the Herb-Grilled Salmon.
The hard copy of the menu we were given listed the salmon as herb-crusted, just like the “regular” menu. The online description, “brushed with Italian herbs” is more accurate. The Boyfriend still thought it was good, but it wasn’t quite what he was expecting.
I went with pasta, mostly because I was curious about what type they would use and whether the texture would be up to par. There were two pasta options on the gluten-free menu, I went with the one that sounded like it had the chunkier sauce. It was actually pretty good. I believe they used a corn-based pasta. The texture was not as good as some of the brands I cook at home, but it was certainly passable and it was fun to order pasta in a restaurant.
Of course we had to order the salad (I mean really, why else does anyone even go to Olive Garden?), we simply had it without croutons and I ate my usual embarrassingly large amount of it. As in, more than one serving-bowlful. I didn’t even miss the croutons.
We also took advantage of a new wine serving size they offer (don’t judge us, it was a snow day!). It’s called the Quartino, and it’s basically a glass and a half of wine for only 2-3 dollars more than the glass price. We split two of those, so we didn’t have to get an entire bottle, and we also saved some cash.
Overall, eating there was a good experience. They seemed well-prepared for gluten-free patrons (and believe me, in the town I was in that is definitely not always the case!), I felt safe simply ordering from the gluten-free menu, and I left full of decently tasty food and wine. It’s always nice to have a few chain restaurants in my mental gluten-free restaurant inventory for times when I am not in a region that has fully embraced the fact that gluten-free diners are here to stay. I would definitely go to Olive Garden again in the future.
Thank you for posting this about Olive Garden! My husband and I were not aware they had gluten-free menu options. We’ve tried Romano’s Macaroni Grill for lunch before and they offer a gluten-free pasta also. My husband enjoyed it. Although, like you mentioned in your post, it wasn’t quite the same as the brand we use at home, but close enough to go back. Thanks again for sharing!
No problem! It seems like Olive Garden is trying to build some word-of-mouth buzz in the gluten-free community before advertising their gf menu. I was certainly suprised when I found out. Always good to have more options!
I went there a couple of months ago … yummy! So nice to have another place to safely eat out.
My feelings exactly! Even though I don’t really like the idea of chain restaurants all that much, I want to support their efforts to be accommodating. And really, sometimes they are the only safe option! So much better than stressing out about getting sick.
I completely agree. While I love small, independent restaurants, I’ve discovered that since going gluten-free I have a whole new appreciation of chains because I already know what’s on the menu, so I know if it’s safe.
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Wow! this is great to know. I love olive garden and was not aware that they had a GF menu!
I’m glad you know now!
Hopefully they’ll expand it a bit once they realize how many people are happy about it!
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So glad to hear this!!!!! I think restaurants are starting to get better with GF….Carraba’s is another chain with a GF menu. So nice to be able to go out for dinner again and not just have a salad!
I use Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Homemade Wonderful Bread Mix to make bread in my breadmaker all the time. I love it. The hubby even eats gleutn free bread with me. I use Blue Diamond Almond milk in mine, I like the flavor of it best. It looks like your bread turned out great! Good job! Happy Baking
I was recently diagnosed with Celiac and struggling to eat gluten free and so happy to find restaurants are accomodating us folks with this serious eating problem. Has taken me 4 mo to get used to this sudden change in my life and surprised to find out how many people have the same problem.
I have not been diagnoised with Celiac yet, but found out I have a lot of the symptoms. I already had an appointment made with my health Care Provider with the 2 months so I will ask to be tested. I hope I test negative, but I do have a lot of the symptoms and some no one has been able to cure in years such as my IBS, and I am on calcium and magnesium for week bones and am tired a lot. I have a co worker I talked with about it and she seems to have several of the symptoms also such as being tired, gas, bloating, low iron and she has Thyroid problems which make her loose too much weight so she is going to check it out with her Dr. to see if she has it also. I hope I don’t, but want to know how to be satisfied with the foods I eat if I have to be gluten free and how to be around people who are not gluten free and want to eat what they want and want me to go with them out to eat or when I go to my daughter’s home out of state and try to eat gluten free when they don’t have many of those kinds of food in their house. I read that cutting down on gluten won’t help. You have to be completly free of it. That is a lot a work and expense and I like good tasting food. I see they have magazines out on foods you can make that are gluten free. I just hope I don’t have it.
We were in Olive Garden yesterday and since I have multiple food allergies the waiter gave me a chart listing some common allergens as well as a gluten-free menu (5 items). The only item that is listed as both gluten-free and dairy-free is salmon. It contains soy unless you order it without glaze. It was okay after I added lemon. (Last time I ordered it there it was dry and cold so this was an improvement.) They had no starch that I could safely order.
I have tried their other gluten-free items in the past, stripped of the sauces that contain other allergens. The steak was tough, the chicken had an off-flavor, and the pasta was gritty. So all I’ll order there is the salmon. (I would never go back but my husband loves pasta.)