Red 36 - MYSTIC

Red 36 is an amazing restaurant located on the Mystic River. With its beautiful views and amazing service, and great food I would highly recommend coming here if you’re looking for a nice casual meal.

Gluten-free eaters, beware. I have Celiac Disease. I can’t have gluten, full stop. When I walked into Red 36, I saw a sign on the wall identifying not only the 9 major food allergies, but also the safe handling practices a kitchen should follow for each one. Great! This is a sign that tells people with intolerances that we will be taken care of here. Once seated, I told the waitress about my intolerance, and she immediately brought me a gluten-free menu. Another good sign. I ordered the gluten-free tuna burger, which (according to the gluten-free menu) is supposed to omit the bun, fries, and anything else containing gluten. When my plate came out with fries, I knew something was off. I asked the waitress, and she apologized, confirmed that the fries were not gluten-free and offered to bring me a side salad instead. Separately, I started eating the tuna, but was surprised to find (buried beneath the fish and a pile of coleslaw) crispy egg noodles. I stopped eating and again asked the waitress if my order was gluten free. She returned to the kitchen and informed me that, (1) the crispy noodles were not gluten free, (2) despite having apparently put “gluten free” on my order, the whole meal was not gluten free, (3) the same thing happened at the table next to ours, despite having notified the kitchen accordingly. So, having unknowingly eaten gluten, I now have to wait out a week or more of painful symptoms of my Celiac Disease. I expect a lot more from restaurants that purport to exercise care for people with food allergies. It’s one thing if a kitchen is not equipped to cook according to dietary restrictions—I can manage my expectations. It is quite another when a restaurant is equipped to safely serve people with intolerances, communicates this to the patrons, and then fails to do so twice in a matter of an hour. There’s a lot of trust I have to put into restaurants, and I regret doing so in this instance. I’m beyond grateful that my intolerance doesn’t send me into anaphylaxis. I hope that, wherever the breakdown happened between ordering and serving, it gets resolved before other folks with food intolerances get sick. TL;DR gluten free diners, proceed with caution. Dietary restrictions: Purports to be gluten-free. See review.

The atmosphere of this restaurant is great, but for what happened to me while I was here, the entire restaurant gets a 1 star. I have celiac, which I disclosed at the beginning before ordering. My family came here because it was recommended to us that the restaurant was safe and we confirmed on Find Me Gluten Free. Our waitress provided us a gluten free menu. We ordered from it. Our food came and i ate a lettuce wrap with the sauce offered. The waitress returned, apologetic, and stated that the manager had told her it wasn’t gluten free. As someone with a major intolerance, going out is a big deal. Feeling safe is a big deal. The manager did not bother to come and apologize to us but allowed the waitress to deliver the difficult news and continue apologizing. Don’t come here if you have allergies. This restaurant does not understand how serious allergies can be. You won’t be taken care of.

Had an awesome time and amazing meal at Red 36! Started with a crab cake that was just perfect and loaded with crab, then moved on to a beer-battered cod sandwich with fries. Everything was absolutely delicious—crispy, flavorful, and super satisfying. The atmosphere was amazing too. The views of the harbor and boats were so relaxing, and it made the whole experience even better. The service was great—friendly and on point. If you're looking for tasty food with a view, this spot is definitely worth checking out!

Soooo good. My husband and I just left this restaurant and the food was incredible. We sat by the water and enjoyed the breeze. Our food included the BBQ duck tostado, lobster carbonara, and scallop risotto. All were excellent. Our server was great and the dessert OMG. Get the SMores parfait! You won't be disappointed. We will definitely be back when we come back to Connecticut. We loved this place.