Work Christmas lunch today and we went off to Degree in the Viaduct. Degree is known for its stone grill dining but also has a fairly complete menu. As far as I could tell, all the stone grill offerings were gluten-free. However, I have a prejudice against paying to eat at a restaurant and then cooking my own food, so I spent some time looking through the menu. I was very pleased to see this:
Gluten-free pizzas - hurrah!
Sadly it was all downhill from there. Not a single mention of anything else gluten-free, no hints on the menu, no helpful friendly notes to say “dishes with an * can be made gluten-free”. I feel like I’m a broken record, constantly harping on this topic, but it really isn’t that hard to cater for the gluten-free amongst us!!
The food that came was nice. I took a punt on some ribs which potentially had soy sauce in the marinade but they tasted great. The wedges were sadly coated in something which was doubtless flour based, but the fries were OK. The pizza bread at the start all looked lovely but was just on normal pizza bread. If I’d seen the gluten-free note earlier, I would have ordered one of the yummy onion relish and cheese breads as gluten-free.
So nice venue, great and quick service especially given how many people were there. Food was good, Viaduct prices, so not great value for money. Just get some gluten-free labelling people!!! Sheesh!
Being Gluten Free in NZ 
I have to agree, it’s not hard for them to label their menus with gluten free items, or if an item can be made with a gluten free option. Interesting in this case that they obviously know about gluten free as they have gluten free bases for the pizzas but just don’t mark other items. Frustrating as hell!
So pleased I’m not the only one that this frustrates! As always, I’ve sent a link to this post to Degree, so it will be interesting to see if they respond! Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
Always pays to complain. Maybe email the Coeliac Society as well? I did that when I got nowhere with a local cafe that had gluten free food in the warmer with non gluten free pies above them and crumbs from the pies all over the gluten free quiches! In the end they removed the gluten free food and no longer have it but it was pointless having it like that anyway.
I always feel that if I’m prepared to post something in such a public forum, I should be prepared to tell the place directly. And that goes double if I’m saying really good things!
Hi Lisa
Firstly. Thank you for taking the time out to give us feedback. As ken before you has said it does pay to complain- or to put it nicely give us feedback- because it help us steer our business in the right direction.
Secondly I’m really glad about the comments on our service and quality of the food you could eat.
Now on to our menu… It is deceptively gluten free friendly. There are lot’s of meals we can adjust to a range of dietary requirements. Most things we can make gluten- free, dairy- free and vegetarian by swapping items and replacing them with something else tolerable. But it does take some advise from your waiter. Our chefs have extensive knowledge of our ingredients and there is also a allergy chart back of house that wait staff can use as a reference.
I agree we could be more helpful by highlighting these items on the menu. My only excuse is that with so many dietary requirements having (GF) (Lactose free) (V) (Vegan) after every option on the menu it can become over crowded. Also if we can take the order personally it gives the chefs a little more freedom of creation when they are challenged with a variation.
I can understand your frustration and on the Winter 2012 menu I will look at adding symbols to make our menu friendlier to the less conversational of our guests.
So I encourage anyone who is restricted by the food they can eat to let us know and we can find a yummy solution to their taste!
I look forward to seeing you again in the new year- if not before-
Kind regards
Sair Mckeown
Restaurant Manager
Thank you so much for such a prompt and complete reply Sair! Maybe to get around the multiple menu options, you could simply have a note at the bottom of the page which says “We are happy to offer many of these meals to suit your dietary needs. Please talk to your waiter.” Normally I would have spent a bit of time doing this, but there were 15 of us, and several other very large tables and I didn’t feel like making a fuss. Thanks again!
Yes, thanks for the reply! We don’t dine out very often, hardly ever in fact, After seeing the effort you guys are making to accommodate people with allergies like myself, a full on sufferer of Coeliac, I will try to make an effort to dine with you guys in the new year!