2015 List of Top Allergy Friendly Restaurant Chains – Do You Agree?

AllergyEats, an online guide to allergy friendly restaurants in the U.S., has released its 2015 list of the Most Allergy Friendly Restaurant Chains nationwide. The list was created based on AllergyEats customer feedback. The rankings are divided into “large” restaurant chains (those with 50 or more restaurants) and “small” chains (those with less than 50 restaurants).

There is quite a bit of debate about this list and some of the restaurants on it. Someone’s experience with how “allergy friendly” a restaurant is can vary greatly, depending on what allergies you have. For example, while Red Robin may be allergy friendly to people with food allergies, those with latex allergies would disagree – they have latex balloons present in all of the restaurants. Also, while some restaurants may be very friendly to those with dairy allergies, it may not be friendly at all to those with peanut allergies.

Personally, I love Chipotle and would consider it to be gluten free-friendly. However, I’m not so sure I would allow my dairy allergic son to eat something from there. (He has no interest thus far so I haven’t tried.) The ingredient containers for their foods are all right next to each other. When employees grab a pile of cheese to put on a customer’s burrito, that shredded cheese can easily fall into the salsa and lettuce bins (and I’ve seen that happen). Same goes for the sour cream. The risk of cross-contamination for dairy products seems way too high for someone with severe allergies. But, I haven’t talked with anyone at the restaurant about steps they take for a customer with a dairy allergy. Maybe they can get salsa from a fresh container to ensure no cross-contamination? I’ll have to explore further.

All of that being said, here is AllergyEats 2015 list of the Most Allergy-Friendly Restaurant Chains. If you agree or disagree with any of the entries, leave a comment below.

Most allergy-friendly large chains:

• Chipotle Mexican Grill (4.41 rating)

• P.F. Chang’s China Bistro (4.39 rating)

• Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (4.39 rating)

• Outback Steakhouse (4.32 rating)

• Mellow Mushroom (4.29 rating)

Most allergy-friendly small chains:

• Maggiano’s Little Italy (4.74 rating)

• Burtons Grill (4.69 rating)

• Legal Sea Foods (4.64 rating)

• Joe’s American Bar & Grill (4.63 rating)

• Not Your Average Joe’s(4.63 rating)

So what do you think? Have your experiences with these restaurants been good or bad? Please share, and let us know of any other restaurant chains that you think should have made the list!

And don’t forget to enter to win FREE TICKETS to the Gluten Free & Allergen Friendly Expo on July 25, 2015! Time’s running out!