I had the pleasure of visiting Montreal, Canada recently for a business trip. Montreal has been on my food allergy radar for a while because the restaurant Zero8 is there. It’s a hypoallergenic restaurant free of gluten and free of the top 8 allergens, which are dairy, egg, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish. It’s not easy traveling with a food allergic child, and I was thinking that Montreal would be a good destination for a family road trip because Zero8 is there.
I shared with my Facebook group that I was having dinner there, and immediately a flood of comments came in, which got me even more excited:
- It’s fabulous!
- We drove there from Ottawa just for lunch when it first opened. Delicious food and the owner was just wonderful.
- You’ll LOVE it! My son is allergic to eggs, nuts, peanuts, mustard and says it’s his favorite restaurant. No stress for parents either… And it’s delicious too. Enjoy
- You’ll love it! They’re amazing. It’s easily in my top three favorite restaurants. Enjoy!
- I love them! They catered my wedding and were fabulous!
The restaurant is located in the Latin Quarter of Montreal, and when I walked in, the first thing that struck me was that it’s spotless. So many restaurants just aren’t clean enough, in my opinion. Given that many people with food allergies also have asthma, maintaining a dust free space makes good sense.
The next thing that caught my attention is a freezer near the front of the restaurant with take out meals in it. I had no idea that Zero8 sells prepared food both at the restaurant and in Quebec grocery stores. It has no MSG, no trans fat, and is free of all top 8 allergens and of gluten. Many allergic families have to avoid prepared foods and cook everything themselves, so being able to buy allergen free frozen meals is most welcome.
When I began to review the menu, I was struck by how it was thoughtfully prepared, not only for people allergic to one or more of the top 8 allergens. I noticed for example that there are game meats on it, like venison and guinea fowl. These are excellent choices to include, since many people are allergic to the standard beef and chicken you see on menus everywhere. I noticed as well that they make their own Zero8 ketchup, which is mustard free.
Zero8 is completely free of dairy, egg, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish and any grain containing gluten (barley, oat, rye and triticale). They’re also sesame free. They have excellent protocols in place for customers who are allergic to other foods, and I was informed that they cook for individuals with as many as twenty different food allergies. I have confidence that they can handle special requests better than anyone.
Having said that, I am puzzled by Chefs who promote their restaurants as allergy safe, but keep extremely high risk foods on the menu. A while ago, I eagerly checked out the menu at Chef Ming Tsai’s Blue Ginger restaurant when considering a trip to Boston. He’s a food allergy ambassador and he speaks to the issue of safe dining with food allergies, so I was very surprised to see Asian vegetables and chopped peanuts on his menu, sesame macadamia caramel nut tart, chocolate ginger pecan cookies, and cashew butter crispy bars. I expect that Chef Tsai has excellent protocols in place for food preparation and ingredient disclosure, but I always feel concerned (a controlled level of terror actually) when I know that my son’s allergens are being used in the kitchen. I truly appreciate that Zero8 excludes the top 8, since it truly makes dining worry free.
I tried the chickpea bread, which was grilled and very tasty. I’m vegetarian, and I ordered the tagliatelle with tomato and basil sauce. The pasta was excellent – I loved the texture of the noodles and the flavor of the sauce. My friend tried the fries with venison bolognese sauce and the garlic stir-fried green beans. Both were well prepared.
Before dessert, I took a moment to freshen up in the restroom. I came back impressed: Zero8 uses gluten free soap in its dispensers! This strikes me as incredibly thoughtful. I carry my own unscented liquid castile soap because fragrances and chemicals irritate my skin. I don’t expect to find soap I can use in a public bathroom, but Zero8 has it.
I had the warm chocolate cake for dessert, which was excellent. It had a strong chocolate flavor, and there was no graininess or loss of flavor from being gluten, dairy, and egg free. It really was delicious. I even found the cappuccino thoughtfully prepared, since they use coconut milk in it, instead of dairy.
To top the evening off, the owner Domique Dion stopped by just to meet me. He told me that he became ill some time ago and improved his health by becoming gluten and lactose free. His journey to health not only benefitted him, it benefits the food allergic and gluten free community, since it inspired him to create Zero8, the only gluten and top 8 allergen free restaurant in North America. Thank you, Dominque!
Click here to visit www.zero8.com
