Today’s Pick is…
Batata Cafe:
Located on Fort Salonga Road (25a) in Northport
I had high expectations for this establishment given some feedback I have had from other people, However I was definitely disappointed. I went when it was not too busy. The atmosphere was great it’s a very small not so busy store that is full of organic products, candies you can purchase and art from local artists. Upon speaking to the first girl working there she seemed clueless and disinterested in assisting me. Had I not been with friends I would have walked out then, however the second girl working there was a saving grace and gave me a gluten free list of ingredients but that was the end of her service. Given that they do not clean their equipment for GF customers I opted to choose a salad. I purchased their Mediterranean Salad, which was of high quality, delicious and at a decent price:
The salad came with chips and salsa. Upon asking if they were gluten free I was flat out told in a very rude manner “I have no Idea” by the initial girl who assisted me. She then proceeded to turn around and fill other orders as I stood and waited for her to turn around. I gave up after about 2 minutes standing there, I did not say anything because I wanted to see if she would engage me again or ignore me. In terms of overall price and food quality my non-gluten free friends were unsatisfied. Their meals were very small and highly priced while my salad was large and decently priced. As a result of this both price and food quality did not get full scores.
Overall on my shamrock rating:
Gluten Free Options: .5
Atmosphere: 1
Price: .5
Hospitality: 0
Food Quality: .5
Suggestions: Improve education of all staff, improve cleaning of equipment to draw in those who are gluten free due to health reasons as opposed to a life choice.
Overall Batata Cafe gets a rating of 2.5 Shamrocks.
I have hopes that had other individuals, with more experience, been working that the experience would have a been a bit more satisfying and I will give them another try in the future.
Celtic Celiac @ http://celtic-celiac.blogspot.com/