Oga's in Natick -- Delicious, But Be Wary of the Staff

Since I've lived in Natick, Oga's on Route 9 has been one of my favorite restaurants. I always mocked it, seeing as it's located in a Blockbuster plaza, but when I found out that the Japanese Red Sox players were going there to eat, I knew it must be something special. It's beyond special. It's literally one of the best restaurants I've ever been to, anywhere. The spicy tuna tostada (spicy tuna served on a "tostada" of rice wrapped in seaweed pounded flat then tempura fried) and the gindara saikyo-yaki (broiled cod marinated in miso and sake) are two of the best dishes I've ever had. The gindara saikyo-yaki is also gluten free!

However, I hadn't gone since my celiac diagnosis. I am always a little wary of places where the staff doesn't speak English well, because it's hard to translate to them what "gluten" is. This is an example of how some places just don't get it.

I went with my siblings there, and explained that two of us (my brother also has celiac) cannot have gluten. The server brought over gluten-free soy sauce for us, which is always a good start. She said that the chefs recommended we avoid the rolls and stick to the straight up fish, just to be safe. We started off with the sashimi platter, which was beautiful. White tuna, mackerel, salmon, oysters, octopus, etc. However, it came drizzled with a ponzu sauce. I asked the server if there was regular soy sauce in the ponzu, and she said "yes." So I said, "I told you, I cannot have gluten, so I need this remade." Her response? "Well, can't you just eat around it?"

No. I cannot eat around it. It took all of my self control to not lose it on her right then and there. I said, "No, even if I eat a little, I will become very sick. Can I have this made again without the sauce?" At that point, she got a little hesitant, and says "But we already made this one." I don't know if maybe she thought she was going to get in trouble with the chef or management. Either way, I asked her to go find out if "another one could be made," and she left the plate of sashimi on our table while she went to go find out. For at least five minutes. We stared at it, wishing we could eat it, because we were starving. She finally came back and took the plate away and brought back a clean plate with no ponzu drizzled on the sashimi.

The rest of the meal was fine, but I was beyond furious at the gall of saying to someone "Well, can't you just eat around it?" In retrospect, I really should have asked to speak to the manager. I generally avoid it, as someone who worked in the food industry and understand that mistakes can be made. But if nothing else, this girl needed to be trained on food allergies, and it's clear that she wasn't. I just didn't want to raise a fuss because I want to keep going back for the gindara saikyo-yaki. So do I recommend this restaurant? Yes, the food is always delicious there. It's very legit Japanese food, and the chefs are incredibly creative and consistent. However, BE CAREFUL if you have food allergies. The staff is clearly not trained in dealing with them. Normally, I've had great service at Oga's. This was the first time it was this bad, and it makes me a little scared to go back.