Annual List Spotlights Restaurant Chains That Excel at Accommodating Food-Allergic Diners
AllergyEats, the leading guide to allergy-friendly restaurants in the United States, has just released its 2017 list of the Top 10 Most Allergy-Friendly Restaurant Chains nationwide. The chains on this prestigious list hold the highest ratings on the AllergyEats app and website, per feedback from the food allergy community. AllergyEats restaurant ratings are based solely on how well restaurants have accommodated food-allergic diners, and not on other factors, such as ambiance, service or food quality.
“We’re pleased to announce the 2017 list of Most Allergy-Friendly Restaurant Chains in America,” said Paul Antico, Founder and CEO of AllergyEats. “These restaurants have demonstrated a superior willingness and ability to accommodate guests with food allergies. We applaud their commitment and their exemplary efforts around food allergy protocols, education, and training, and we congratulate them for earning a place on this prestigious list. We are particularly pleased to see such a breadth of different restaurants make this year’s list – fast food, casual dining, Mexican, Italian, American, seafood, sandwiches, pizza, and more.”
AllergyEats’ Top 10 Most Allergy-Friendly Restaurant Chains are grouped into two categories – large (50 or more restaurants) and small (under 50 restaurants). Results were based on diner feedback from the AllergyEats app and website through December 31, 2016. Ratings are based on a 1 through 5 scale, with 5 being the most allergy-friendly.
Most allergy-friendly large chains:
- Maggiano’s Little Italy (4.80 rating)
- Chipotle Mexican Grill (4.36 rating)
- Mellow Mushroom (4.33 rating)
- In-N-Out Burger (4.28 rating)
- Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (4.20 rating)
Most allergy-friendly small chains:
- Burtons Grill (4.80 rating)
- Legal Sea Foods (4.70 rating)
- Flatbread Company (4.68 rating)
- Rainforest Cafe (4.67 rating)
- Not Your Average Joe’s (4.56 rating)
Some of the restaurant chains on the 2017 list, including Maggiano’s Little Italy, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Burtons Grill, and Not Your Average Joe’s, have earned placement on the AllergyEats Top 10 Chains List consistently for several years. New to the list this year are both Flatbread Company and In-N-Out Burger, the first fast-food chain to earn a place in the Top 10.
“We are truly honored to be recognized by AllergyEats users,” said Carl Van Fleet, Executive Vice President of Planning and Development at In-N-Out Burger. “This recognition is especially meaningful to us because it is coming directly from our customers. Our customers are everything to us and, since our inception in 1948, we’ve always made every burger to order and have always strived to accommodate our customers’ special requests. Thank you for this great recognition.”
“The AllergyEats Top 10 Most Allergy-Friendly Restaurant Chains list – and the growing number of AllergyEats ratings of all restaurants around the country – helps the food allergy community make more informed decisions about which restaurants to visit and which to avoid, based on how well or poorly they’ve accommodated other diners’ food allergies,” Antico explained.
AllergyEats (www.AllergyEats.com) is a free app and website using a crowdsourced model where people find and rate restaurants based solely on their ability to accommodate food-allergic diners. AllergyEats lists more than 850,000 restaurants nationwide, which people can rate, and also offers user comments, web links, menus, directions and more. Restaurants are easily searchable by geographic location, so people can find allergy-friendly establishments around town and around the country. The app, website, and related social media forums help families with food allergies reduce the guesswork and the anxiety surrounding dining out with food allergies.
