Talking Allergies

What a great restaurant. I really hope that Montrealers and allergic tourists help make it a long-term success. I hope they expand to other cities as well!

We had an allergen-free dinner there last week. Their fries seem to be hand-cut, and are just delicious. The food was excellent, and the service was -- as others have said -- exceptional.

Any other Montrealers want to meet me there for lunch?

I am envious! How wonderful to be able to dine out without worries. It would be great if they could have more restaurants like that although the few we eat at are very good about the allergies but I still worry each time.

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me: allergic to crustaceans plus environmental
teenager: allergic to hazelnuts, some other foods and environmental

We just had our wedding reception recently at Zero 8 and it was an absolutely amazing experience. Amazing on so many levels so here's a recap on the reasons why.

1). The service was exceptional. I can't stress enough how on point the staff was with taking care of our guests in ensuring that each person was attended to and made to feel welcome. Special kudos go out to Aline, Olivier and Dominique and for working with us in planning our special evening. The gang signed a card for us wishing us well and provided us with top-quality champagne on the house. Top-notch and very touching.

2). The food was superb. Every single person in our party was considerably impressed with their meals - from entree, main dish and dessert.
We all joked that the braised beef shank was of 'Flintstones' proportions as it was huge and resulted in many wide-eyed onlookers! The corn pasta amazed many of my friends as they couldn't believe that corn pasta could taste as good as it did.
The sweet-orange rice pudding which 'le chef' devised for us was so good that my mother scarfed down 2 martini glasses full. When mom's attack desserts with such ferocity, you know you're onto a good thing.
Zero 8 were able to turn out a large volume of allergen-free dishes in good time without scrimping on taste or quality. We all left with the feeling that we enjoyed a quality gourmet meal full of flavour and quality local ingredients.
We'll be back and I can guarantee that many of my guests will return as well based on both the food as well as the service.

3). I was the only person in our dining party with severe food allergies so we wanted to hold our reception in an area where I would feel safe (seeing as weddings are all about kissing, handshakes and showing affection). Zero 8 provided us with a setting which was warm, modern, welcoming but most of all, safe.

All in all, our experience with Zero 8 was the best experience I've ever had in any restaurant, including those which I've eaten in before my food allergies set in.

Congratulations on your wedding! I'm glad that you were able to find a restaurant that could cater to your needs and that everyone enjoyed the meal.

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Moderator
Daughter: asthma, allergies to egg, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, most legumes (not soy) & penicillin. Developing hayfever type allergies.
Husband: no allergies
Me: allergies to some tree that flowers in May
Cat: allergic to beef, pork and lamb

TMcG,

That's fabulous. And congratulations to you.

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Allergic to soy, peanut, shellfish, penicillin

Congratulations TMcG!! That is how your wedding day should be, good food, good friends and exceptional service. How wonderful that you in particular were able to relax and not worry about food other than to enjoy it.
I agree, the braised beef shank is quite something MMMM, another trip to Montreal might be in our near future.

Sounds like Zero 8 once again has once again outdone themselves.

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DD 12 yrs -no allergies
4 yr old DS - asthma/eczema Anaphylactic to Peanuts, all tree nuts, sesame , all pea/lentil legumes, gelatin.
Allergic to trees, grass,ragweed, feathers, dander, mold and dust.
Outgrew eggs, fish, shellfish

Congratulations on your marriage! How wonderful for you to have such good memories that you will no doubt remember for many years.

I hope that other restaurants realize the market for safe dining.

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me: allergic to crustaceans plus environmental
teenager: allergic to hazelnuts, some other foods and environmental

Great piece on Zero8 on Global TV last Friday:

http://news.globaltv.com/video/index.ht ... 0XCO7opjCG

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Allergic to soy, peanut, shellfish, penicillin

Congratulations, TMcG! I'm so happy for you. Wishing you many years of happiness together!

Hope to see you again soon.

If you go to the Zero 8 website and click on English it will translate everything for you.

I went back to Zero8 the other day , still sooooo good! They are putting together new services in the new year... ordering food in coolers. So "take-out"! From the Montreal restaurant delivered to Ottawa

It's weird to say that the good thing that happenned to me allergy-wise in 2009 was... eating at a restaurant! Now I can't wait to order "take out"

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anaphylaxis (even to smell): fish
severe allergy: milk, carrots, pineapple, kiwi
moderate allergy: soy, mango, avocado
oral allergy syndrom to most fruits
(partial list only... and does not include food intolerances)

I will have to look into the new 'take out' option!! Thanks for posting Zero 8's new service Mylene.

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DD 12 yrs -no allergies
4 yr old DS - asthma/eczema Anaphylactic to Peanuts, all tree nuts, sesame , all pea/lentil legumes, gelatin.
Allergic to trees, grass,ragweed, feathers, dander, mold and dust.
Outgrew eggs, fish, shellfish

We were at Zero 8 twice during our vacation in April. My 8 year old daughter was so happy to be able to order off the menu on her own without me having to request special instructions or make inquiries about the food. The food was delicious for all four of us, and I hope they open Zero 8s across Canada. I know it's a smaller market for those who have food allergies but once people get the concept that the food is incredibly delicious but safe for those with food allergies, the audience will grow. We all need to support such restaurants that are accommodating for food allergies.

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7 year old child with dairy, egg, and peanut allergies.
Mould, dust, grass, cats, eczema, asthma

Thanks for re-raising this thread, Rhonda.

Has anyone tried the takeout service?
I'm thinking of trying, and wondered if any of you had an opinion on frozen offerings and delivery.

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Allergic to soy, peanut, shellfish, penicillin

Gwen -- I've had the frozen take-out carrot-ginger soup on a few occasions. It was delicious.