When you go out to eat, what do you do to manage your food allergies and stay safe?
As someone with food allergies, I would say that the #1 most important thing to do when eating out at a restaurant is to be prepared. Over the years, I have been developing my own “protocol” for going out to eat. I know what I need to do in advance of going to the restaurant and what I need to say to my waiter when I am there.
Here’s what I do to stay safe at restaurants broken down into two parts:
Prep in Advance
- For casual restaurants: Look online at the restaurant’s menu. I check to see if they have a separate allergen menu. I’ve noticed that most chain restaurants such as Chipotle, Sweetgreen, Cava etc, list online allergen/ingredient menus. In some cases I still have to be wary of cross contamination, but it is still helpful to know what ingredients the restaurant is using overall.
- For more formal restaurants: I call the restaurant beforehand to inform them of your allergies. In my experience, restaurants are much better at accommodating food allergies if they know in advance, and can inform your waiter/chef. Nevertheless, I ALWAYS remind the waiter of my allergies when I arrive. Sometimes if I want to be extra prepared, I’ll ask about the ingredients in a specific item from their online menu, so that I already know of a dish that is safe for me when I get to the restaurant.
At the Restaurant
- I ALWAYS inform my waiter of my allergies and ask them to alert the kitchen and minimize cross contamination. Before I order, I go over the ingredients in the dish I have selected, and if there are any questions I ask the waiter to talk with the chef in case any substitutions need to be made.
- If my dish arrives and it looks like there’s something on my plate that shouldn’t be, I always ask the waiter to double check on ingredients. That is probably my biggest piece of advice: don’t be afraid to double check if you are worried!
Comment below with any tips you have about eating at restaurants with your food allergies, or any restaurant experiences you’d like to share!
If you’re interested in responding to this post but aren’t sure where to start, I’d love to hear your thoughts on any of these questions:
What foods are you allergic to? How severe are your allergies? Do you find that that some allergens are more easily avoidable than others, and if so, which ones?
Do you have any stories of good/bad restaurant experiences that you would like to share?
How do you stay safe if someone at your table wants to/is ordering a dish that contains an ingredient you are allergic to? What do you usually do in this type of situation?
Do you have recommendations for any specific restaurants/places you like to eat that are particularly good at accommodating allergies?
Do you have any questions for me? I'm happy to answer them! :)