More Restaurants

This list is neither comprehensive nor authoritative, but since there are so few truly tree nut–free restaurants out there, I’ve found it incredibly helpful to hold onto the names of some of the other places at which I generally feel safe. (These are, then, “places I at which I generally feel safe,” and not necessarily “places that serve good food.”)

First, though, a few notes:

The places I’ve listed under “no nuts on the menu” don’t call themselves tree nut–free, nor do they make any guarantees on the matter, but they don’t knowingly serve anything that contains tree nuts, and they shouldn’t have any tree nuts or tree nut products lying around in their kitchens. Of course, cross-contamination is still theoretically possible, as these restaurants usually aren’t decidedly tree nut–free, so they don’t tend to collect much information on their vendors’ facilities, etc.

Sometimes, I’ve been given specific information on a given high-risk ingredient (say, bread) at a particular restaurant. In those cases, I’ve included that information in the list below. But my parenthetical asides aren’t at all comprehensive, and it’s ultimately your job to think about what’s going into your dish and to use your own judgment to determine whether that dish might call for some further questioning.

The same applies to the places I’ve listed under “nuts on the menu.” The only difference, then, is that these restaurants do cook with tree nuts—but if the restaurant’s listed here, then I’ve found that those tree nuts generally don’t pose much of a cross-contamination risk. Usually, the nuts are confined to certain parts of the menu (like the desserts, or the salads), so they don’t end up coming into contact with much else. Or, in some cases, they’re all over the menu, but the folks who work at the restaurant are particularly allergy-aware.

Anyway. Many of these are places I’ve found to be workable (for me, at least) by eating their foods for myself. So take my recommendations with a grain or two of salt and please remember to do your own research, vet these restaurants on your own, and eat only where you feel comfortable eating. (Also: please note that this list applies only to tree nuts, and that some of these restaurants do, in fact, use and serve peanuts with abandon.)

No tree nuts on the menu

Tree nuts on the menu

  • Bar Moga (They do a bunch of drinks that contain nuts, but none of the food does—except the Curry Doria, but those are peanuts.)
  • Barneys Bone Broth (There actually aren’t any tree nuts used in anything that’s sold at Barneys Bone Broth, but their kitchen’s shared with White Oak Tavern, so technically, there are nuts present. I’m told the Barneys stuff is prepared in a separate area, though.)
  • Baz Bagel (They have almond milk to use in coffees, and I’m not sure where their desserts come from or whether they’re safe, but everything else is fine.)
  • Blue Collar (There are no nuts in any of the food, and the buns—Martin’s—are safe, but they do sell a Nutella shake.)
  • Blue Smoke (There are nuts in a few dishes, but Blue Smoke is extremely allergy-aware.)
  • Boston Market (They have a few nut-containing desserts, but I’m told they aren’t made near the rest of the food.)
  • Butterfunk Kitchen (They sell pastries, including one with almonds, at their connected daytime location, Sumner’s Luncheonette. But those pastries come from an outside bakery, and shouldn’t come into contact with any of the food at Butterfunk, where there are no tree nuts used in anything.)
  • BZ Grill (a salad contains walnuts)
  • Charles’ Country Pan Fried Chicken (They sell a carrot cake with nuts in it, but they don’t make it themselves.)
  • Charley’s Grilled Subs (a salad, and a dessert is processed in a facility that processes nuts)
  • Cheryl’s Global Soul (a cheese plate)
  • Chick-fil-A (oatmeal toppings, salads)
  • Chirping Chicken (They don’t cook with nuts, but they do sell some nut-containing desserts, made elsewhere.)
  • Chloe’s Soft Serve Fruit Co. (toppings, sundaes, breakfast bowls, smoothies—but the plain soft serve fruit is nut-free and safe. Chloe’s is also dairy-free, gluten-free, and vegan.)
  • Cote (There actually aren’t any nuts on the menu, but there are nuts in the bar snacks.)
  • Davidovich Bakery (Their bagels are made in a nut-free facility. They do offer Nutella as a spread, but each spread has its own knife, I’m told. All I really know for sure is that the bagels themselves are safe.)
  • Dō Hwa (There are pine nuts on one of the salads, but they’re just used as a garnish, and thus shouldn’t come into contact with any of the other food.)
  • Domino’s Pizza (a salad, a dessert)
  • Dos Caminos (a few dishes, I’m told—but they’re very allergy-aware)
  • Emmett’s (There are walnuts in one of the salads, but I’m told they’re kept separated. The bread comes from Orwasher’s Bakery; it isn’t safe.)
  • Hanamizuki Café (There are no nuts in the kitchen, but they do sell some pre-packaged cookies—made elsewhere—that contain nuts.)
  • Hansol Farm (I actually have no idea about whether this place has any nut products in their little food-prep area—it’s just a standard deli—but I’m sure they have something I’m allergic to back there, even if it’s just Nutella or almond milk or whatever. Regardless, I’ve been eating their wraps and sandwiches for as long as I’ve had teeth.)
  • Hatsuhana (desserts)
  • Isabella’s (There are a few dishes that contain nuts, but the folks at Isabella’s are capable of handling allergies.)
  • KFC (desserts)
  • Kossar’s Bagels and Bialys (Nothing baked in their kitchen contains nuts of any sort. Their baked goods, made elsewhere, may contain nuts, but they come into the store prepackaged. They also have a few spreads that contain nuts, but I’ve been assured that the bagels and bialys, sans spread, are safe.)
  • Mamoun’s (The desserts are pretty nutty, but I’ve been told by an employee that Mamoun’s is trained in preventing cross-contamination.)
  • McDonald’s (desserts, salads)
  • Mexican Radio (a few items, but they’ve assured me they can handle nut allergies)
  • Momofuku Ko (The bread is made in house, and so should be safe. One dish contains pine nuts, but I’m told they’re careful with allergens.)
  • Mr Bing (There’s a Nutella Bing, but it’s prepared in its own area. Also, their chili sauce might be cross-contaminated.)
  • My Little Pizzeria (ice cream)
  • Nish Nush (There are nuts in a few of the dishes made at the back of the house, but the falafel sandwich, sabich sandwich, and falafel trio platter are all nut-free and prepared separately, up front.)
  • Nom Wah Tea Parlor (Nom Wah Tea Parlor, which is in Chinatown, sells almond cookies, but they’re made off-site. Nom Wah Nolita, listed above, is a separate restaurant that doesn’t have any tree nuts whatsoever on-site, though they do offer a peanut-based dressing.)
  • Oiji (One salad contains pine nuts, but since it’s just one salad, I’m told there’s no chance for cross-contamination to happen.)
  • Osteria Morini (There are nuts around, and lots of them, but the folks at Osteria Morini are ridiculously allergy-aware.)
  • OTTO Enoteca & Pizzeria (a few dishes—but they’ve assured me everything else is safe for those with nut allergies)
  • Pisticci (I’m told there are nuts in some dishes, but that the folks at Pisticci are very allergy-aware. Do note, though, that their bread is made elsewhere and probably isn’t safe.)
  • Potbelly Sandwich Shop (a salad)
  • Qdoba Mexican Grill (a dessert or two)
  • Risotteria Melotti (There are walnuts in a few dishes, but they’ve assured me that they know how to prevent cross-contamination.)
  • Rosa Mexicano (There are nuts in their mole, which they use in one of their enchilada dishes.)
  • Shake Shack (There are a number of things to avoid, but they have a really in-depth allergen information page that even accounts for ingredients that come from shared facilities.)
  • Sons of Thunder (They use Nutella in their shakes, but none of the hot food goes anywhere near the shake-prep area, so the Nutella’s not too big a deal. They use Arnold hot dog buns.)
  • Souvlaki GR (a few desserts)
  • Subway (cookies)
  • Sushi Azabu (There actually aren’t any nuts on the menu, but I’m told there are nuts stored in the kitchen. They aren’t currently used in anything, nor have they been for a while, but you’d be wise to double-check on that, because I’m sure that’s subject to change.)
  • Sushi at M2M (Though I’ve never actually asked, I assume there are nuts somewhere in that kitchen. Maybe I’m wrong.)
  • Sushi at Whole Foods (Nuts own Whole Foods, but I don’t think there are any at the sushi counter.)
  • Sushi Yasuda (a dessert or two)
  • Tajin (There’s Nutella in a dessert.)
  • Umami Burger (a salad—but cooks and servers are trained to prevent cross-contamination)
  • Vanessa’s Dumpling House (a smoothie)
  • Wendy’s (salads)
  • White Castle (a packaged oatmeal topping—and some desserts have a “may contain” warning)
  • Wogies (The only nuts on site are those that top the cinnamon rolls, but they’re just used as a garnish, and they shouldn’t have any chance to come into contact with anything else in the kitchen. Also, Wogies bakes all their own bread in house, and it’s all safe.)
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