Houlihan's - Not Gluten Free

The worst experience I have had since being diagnosed with Celiac was at Houlihan's at Hamilton Town Center.  Given that pre-diagnosis, Houlihan's was a favorite restaurant for me, this was an even bigger let down.

I first ordered soup; it came with tortilla chips.  I asked the waitress if they made the chips and if so did they have a dedicated gluten free fryer.  She informed me that they do make their own chips and the fryer is not dedicated gluten free.  Well then the chips are out so I ordered the "gluten free" soup without the chips.  After eating a couple of bites of the soup, the waitress came by and literally snatched the soup out from under my spoon.  When asked why she said that "the cheese in the soup was packed in FLOUR".  Wait what?!  By the time the meal came I was extremely leery of eating anything they served....so they sent the manager over.  You know that guy that is supposed to go over and above to satisfy the customer?

He informed me that well, the "gluten free" menu was not really a "gluten free menu but really more of a gluten light menu".  Wait...what did he just say?  I've never heard anything so ridiculous.  So I thought maybe he needed a little education.  I talked to him about the fact that the chips were not really gluten free because they didn't have a gluten free fryer.  I said that clearly cheese packed in flour had no place on a gluten free menu.  He then proceeded to reiterate that it was really a "gluten light menu and not a gluten free menu".  Excuse me?  It does say gluten free menu on it.  ...feeling like I've entered an alternate universe I mention this to him and he says "Well no one has ever complained that they've gotten sick".  I said "We don't complain, we just don't come back"...and I won't be.  I did get sick that night from the two bites of soup I took.  I just thank goodness it wasn't more than that.

I don't recommend that anyone eat there if they have a true allergy or Celiac.  If...they fire that manager and change their practices, then by all means let me know.  I won't be back until and unless I'm convinced the menu and the management has undergone a major overhaul.

I would love to hear from anyone regarding the Castleton location to see if they've had a similar or different experience.  Until then, Houlihan's is on my 'gluten free no way in hell list'. 

Noblesville Houlihan’s
14065 Town Center Blvd.
Hamilton Town Center
Noblesville, IN 46060

317-703-1025

Mon-Wed 11am-10pm
Thurs 11am-11pm
Fri-Sat 11am-12am
Sun 11am-10pm

On that note, I think my next review needs to be Tucano's Brazilian Grill in Noblesville.  That will be a tough one.  No one in town tries harder than they do but still manages to get it so wrong.