Dining at Disney's California Adventure: The Wine Country Trattoria

Today we present a special article from Heather King over at The Gluten-Free Girls blog. Here she spotlights gluten free dining at Disney California Adventure’s Wine Country Trattoria. Enjoy!

Earlier this week, I was spoiled with a date night at Disney’s Annual Passholder Event. Before we headed over to Disneyland for an evening of all the rides I love (for once, not my kids’ favorites) with almost no lines, we stopped by the Wine Country Trattoria in California Adventure for an early dinner and parade view.
I was on my last few days of a doctor prescribed gluten binge, but my husband eats gluten-free… It was the perfect chance to scout out the gluten-free menu, and I mean a literal menu… The Trattoria has a separate “Allergy Friendly Menu”, which lets guests know which items from the regular menu are free from specific allergens (some require modifications, such as gluten-free pasta). Make sure to read the correct column for your dietary need. We found ourselves accidentally looking outside of the gluten-free column a couple of times. Oops! While, in our experience, Disney chefs are well-trained and careful about cross contamination, careful enough that I trust them to feed Miss E, they do have a disclaimer on the bottom of the menu.

The osso buco, served with polenta  and seasonal veggies, is gluten free.
The osso buco, served with polenta
and seasonal veggies, is gluten free.

There was one notable difference eating with a gluten-free diner (hubby) versus a celiac, gluten-free diner (Miss E). With no medical condition, the chef was “missing”. We simply asked for the gluten-free menu and the server took care of everything. In our previous gluten-free, Disney dining experiences with Miss E, a chef comes to the table when we mention celiac disease to the server. As a mama bear, I appreciate that Disney takes serious dietary needs seriously. I highly recommend mentioning to the server if you are requesting a gluten-free menu due to a medical condition like celiac disease or an allergy.

We are huge fans of oil, vinegar and house bread when eating at Italian restaurants, so the Trattoria was off to a great start when the server surprised my husband with gluten-free rolls before our entrees were served. Hubby ordered osso buco off the gluten-free menu, which was delicious. Fortunately, he’s a great “sharer”. I especially enjoyed the polenta. The price was impressive, I have not seen osso buco priced this low anywhere. At $19.99, it was almost the same price as my gluten-full penne bolognese. Special menu, taste, service, price, bread…. all gluten-free… the Trattoria had it all… even a warm fudge brownie on the menu, for which we sadly did not save room. I guess we have an excuse to go back with Miss E.IMG_3925

You can read about more of our gluten-free, Disney dining experiences in my previous post: Disney’s Pixie Dust is Gluten Free. Tell me about yours! With my new (as of today) celiac diagnosis, I am on the hunt for more gluten-free, Disney dining treasures for Miss E and me.

*** Special thanks to Heather King for letting us share her article. Thank you!***