What makes eating out a pain in the 🍑 ?!

[Edible]

Tell us: what makes eating out with dietary restrictions so darn difficult?

This thread is our chance to show the world just how challenging it can be. The more we share, the stronger the case for making dining out inclusive for everyone.

[mikchen]

Feeling like such a burden to the staff. It SUCKS being on the receiving end of an eye roll when you’re just trying to not be stuck on the toilet for the rest of the night lol

[Leo1993]

being told they’ll try their best but ‘can’t guarantee’ I won’t end up sick… it’s just hard to feel at ease with that

[PastalessPrincess]

When the menu says GFOA but leaves you guessing what the gluten-free option even is

[paul]

@PastalessPrincess I hear ya on this one! Most gf options just take the gluten out and don’t replace it with anything

[Priya]

It’s hard to know which places actually train their staff to handle food allergies and which are just winging it

[millerlite]

I feel like someone else is deciding what’s safe for me without giving me all the information, especially when the allergen info is not written down

[AllergyAware]

I’ve pretty much given up on taking my kid with food allergies out to eat, it’s just too much of a drama with the whole back and forth between me and the staff. Maybe in a few years we can try again

[Kirsten]

I eat a low FODMAP diet and not everyone knows what that is, or what foods are excluded from my diet. That are some menus that don’t include every ingredient and you don’t find out until the food has been served. Or you ask for something with sauce on the side or to be excluded altogether and the kitchen either don’t get or ignore the instruction.

It’s not that easy to list the foods I avoid and I feel really awkward bringing my own list to restaurants, so I tend not to be very adventurous with trying new dishes or new places to eat.

I’ve eaten at events where the caterer simply says they’re creating something that’s suitable for my diet but we all know the anxiety that creates. I’d feel far more reassured if they told me what they are preparing and gave me a list of all the the ingredients.

I was once half-way through eating a meal when the server interrupted me to apologise that there was, in fact, cream in my mashed potato. It’s sometimes hard to trust that what’s on your plate is safe to eat.