ChelseaJans.com

I have never been to the Elephant Bar before, but I was told they had a good mix of Asian Fusion Dishes.

Average Price Per Entrée: $12-25 USD
Good for Groups: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Attire: Casual
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for: dinner or lunch

Before we were seated I asked for a Gluten free Menu. The hostess, Jamie, was very kind and said she would bring it right away. The place was clean and decorated with a kind of Safari theme. As I watched entrees go buy I noticed the portions were giant, so for the price it is a very good deal, although to me it seemed more on the scale of other chain restaurants like Applebee’s, Ruby Tuesday and Chili’s.

Safari themed restarant serving Asian fusion dishes.

When our waiter, Muneed, arrived with drinks he kindly looked directly at me and said your gluten free menu will be right out. I thought that was very considerate of him to pay attention to who needed the gluten free menu.

Initially, I was handled a regular menu with at least 100 different choices from appetizers to desserts. Also in the back they included the nutrition facts. I thought that was nice and I glanced it over while I waited for the gluten free menu.

When it arrived, however, I was very disappointed. There were very few options available. In addition to few choices, the menu (printed on computer paper) also said that all of the entrees and salads could not be eaten with their perspective dressings or sides.

Very few items on the gluten free menu.

I was disappointed but not that hungry so I settled for a salad. The salad was very good, even without the dressing.

Gluten Free Cobb Salad, a huge portion.

The wait staff said that the company is working on their allergy menus, and this was just a temporary fix. They were very apologetic and tried very hard to understand the needs of a gluten free diet.

I knew they had not clue what gluten was and the hostess and the waiter both stated in a kind of robotic and scripted way that they cannot control if some gluten gets into the food. They didn’t know the word cross-contamination, but that is what they were alluding to.

Although, the waiter and the hostess did not know exactly what I needed, they were so kind and even had the manager come over and apologize for the state of their gluten free menu. Also, I was given a free appetizer that they tried to make gluten free, but since it is an Asian fusion restaurant I knew the soy sauce factor was present.

I accepted the invitation for the appetizer and I was right. The chicken had soy sauce. I took it too go because the salad I had was quite good even without the gluteny dressing and I was full. My family did say they enjoyed the chicken when they ate it later in the day.

The free appetizer they gave me was not gluten free, but my family liked it very much.

All in all. Elephant Bar gets 1 out of 5 stars for availability of gluten free menu options, but 5 out of 5 for their out standing effort to accommodate my needs and make suggestions. I really appreciated that.

I am looking forward to when they do have a more legitimate gluten free menu. I am not a fan of any chain restaurants, but I would not mind returning at all simply because of the wonderful service.

If you have dined here as well. Let me know about your experience in the comments section.

Cheers, Chelsea

Gluten Free Flour Mix