Mad Radish l Healthy Restaurant & Catering — Restaurant in Ottawa

I am super bummed. I just arrived to Ottawa today from the US. I am unable to eat gluten or dairy so when I find a venue that offers gluten and dairy free options I get super excited. I was over the moon to try this place. Everything looked fresh, tons of variety, I was thrilled. I told the staff immediately that I couldn’t have dairy or gluten, they explained the menu and gave recommendations. I actually wanted to try a different salad but I decided to follow their recommendation. I got back to my AirBnb and took a bite of the salad they recommended to me and my heart immediately sunk. I called the restaurant to confirm the salad was dairy and gluten free - took some back and forth between staff before they finally told me my salad actually had dairy in the form of feta cheese. What the heck?!? Seriously? I spoke to multiple staff members about my dietary restrictions, up front and repeatedly. How does this happen? She asked if there was a medical issue. I told her I’m not deathly allergic but that dairy causes internal digestive bleeding - long story. She said she was sorry a couple of times and then the conversation ended and she hung up. The apology sounded sincere but there was no offer to provide a refund, no offer for me to come back and have them make me something else. And this salad was the single most expensive item on the menu. Not cool. I don’t know what else to say. The experience speaks for itself. I had planned on going here daily during my stay. I’m a bit heartbroken and I won’t be back. If you have any dietary restrictions I would strongly caution you to not eat here. UPDATE: After the seemingly sincere reply to my review, I decided to give this place the benefit of the doubt. I followed their request and emailed them at the address they provided. I sent the email just after midnight on Tuesday. It is now late Saturday and still no response. And now I’m back in the US. I hate to jump to conclusions but it seems the response I received to my review was simply to keep up appearances. Don’t be fooled by the replies from the owner. My recommendation to avoid this place if you have dietary restrictions stands firm. ...

A very disappointing experience overall. I ordered for takeout the Mad Caesar, Maple Farm Bowl, Coconut Curry Soup and the Moroccan Chicken Soup with the Plaintain & Guacamole Side.

Firstly, it's important to understand that reviewers are entitled to their own opinions and preferences on food. While I'd understand if dressing is added accordingly per order to be enough, I specifically requested for extra dressing on my caesar salad since I prefer my caesar salads to be saucier, yet the salad was still dry and barely sauced. The portions are quite small and upsetting considering the steep prices. This is especially the case with the soups, which already the coconut curry chowder was not similar to the pictures at all, as if it was overly carroted. The guacamole was just not that great. Overall, overpriced and not worth it.

Secondly, the overall atmosphere was very unwelcoming. The staff seems to not be trained enough on customer service despite the numerous replies of the 'Co-founder' that they will ensure and review employee procedures. Walking in, I was not greeted, despite the shop being completely void of customers, until I said "Hello" first. The employees themselves gave the impression that they don't want to be there and look miserable. It's sad to see that reviews from years ago are with the same issues I saw today, despite the replies from the 'Co-founder'. Another off day with the many others?

Lastly, seeing the robotic replies and lack of sincerity of the co-founder on many of the other poor reviews is alarming to the legitmacy of this company. From the looks of it, I wouldn't be first to believe this company does not look for a "Customer First" approach. I too agree with many of the others reviewers, that it is odd and unprofessional that Stephanie doesn't present her last name in those message. Alas, I suppose it's not hard to find Miss Howarth with a google...

I completed an order online for a salad, and when asked if I suffered from any allergies, I specified that I was allergic to pumpkin seeds. When I received my salad, I noticed it was filled with pumpkin seeds - fortunately I did not ingest any of them, so I avoided going into anaphylactic shock, or dying. When I called the store, the employee let me know very casually that "oh ya this has happened before when you order through the app - when you write down an allergy, it shows up on our end as a request to add it, so we add it". I did not order through the app, I ordered this through their website. This means that ordering from either will result in Mad Radish adding said food to your meal.

I asked if there was a chance that they could send me another salad via Uber Eats. She initially said no, and that it was not possible, but I could get credit for the salad if I come back in. I told her this was not an option for me, and she finally agreed to resend the salad via Uber Eats, on her own account, but that it could only be done this ONE TIME.

I do not think that they realize how bad this could have been for their store if I actually ate the salad they gave me, and had to be rushed to the hospital to avoid dying. This is an extremely serious matter, and one that should never be taken lightly. I am so disappointed with Mad Radish, and it is extremely unfortunate that they know about this ongoing issue, and still have done nothing...