Talking Allergies

KDUFOUR, How was your Valentines Dinner?

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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

Our dinner was AWESOME!!! My daughter pigged out on shepard's pie and my husband and I enjoyed nice "grown up" meals (him, a roast beef and fried potatoes, me marinated chicken on a mushroom risotto). As for her mustard allergy, we mentioned it when we made our reservation, and when we sat down, our waitress explained to us that it was present in only one dish, and the chef and kitchen staff will make sure there is no cross-contaimination! WOW!!! It was soooo nice to have allergy-aware staff in a restaurant! It was the first time we went with my daughter without bringing her own meal from home! What a joy! It's not a family restaurant per se, but they do have a children's menu and crayons, so we felt at ease and welcome with our 2 year old. And for sure, we will be going back and spreading the word! The restaurant itself is well decorated and has a nice ambiance, everything was delicious and employees very courteous! We couldn't ask for more! I really recommend it to anyone!!!

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Me - Kim - No allergies
DH Ben - 31 - Allergic to nuts and peanuts, lots of environmental allergies.
DD Anne - 4 - Asthma. Allergic to dairy, eggs, mustard, kiwi, peanuts, wheat and barley... for now...
DS Francois - 1 - No allergies so far...

Good news is spreading fast! I emailed the restaurant's details to my sister in Montreal (her son also has allergies) and she forwarded them to other moms with allergic children. One of them went to the restaurant and provided this review. I was given the OK to copy the text in this forum:

Hi there,

Well, we went to the new “allergen-free” restaurant last week, and I am happy to report that we thought it was very good!
http://www.zero8.com/index.html

It is in a very nice newly renovated location, very “hip”, in the prime strip of St Denis St between Ontario and deMaisonneuve. (which of course means that parking is a bit of a hassle). It is casual, so you don’t have to over-dress. The people were VERY friendly – our waitress was “Sandia”, and she was great. We also had the opportunity to meet the chef and the owner (he suffers from food intolerances, so he understands).

As for the food, it is good “homey” food, and very well priced, especially considering the location. We paid $113 (including taxes, but not tip) for two people, including two appetisers, two main meals, two desserts, two espressos and a bottle of wine. Choices include a good selection of interesting appetisers, corn-based pastas, various meat dishes (duck, chicken, lamb, beef) and various sides (fries, lentils, risotto, various veggies). They do NOT serve any fish or seafood, but they do have a few vegetarian options (soups, veggie-chili, pasta, stuffed peppers).

For appetisers, we had the rillettes de porc which were very good, and served with EXCELLENT grilled baguette slices (gotta get the recipe for that bread!). Also had the smoked duck which was pretty good. For mains, we had the entrecote de boeuf (a bit dry, but very tasty) and the lamb shank (pretty good). Both were served with lentils. A banana-based dessert was not great, but the apple-gingerbread dessert was very good. We had a Lebanese red wine called Massaya which was very good (and cheap, I think about $35). For the beer-lovers out there, they offer gluten-free beers.

The are currently only open for dinner, but expect to open for lunch within the next month or two.

I thought it was very interesting that they offer a children’s menu: pasta, chicken drumsticks or a third item I don’t remember. The restaurant opens for dinner around 4pm, so the families come early and then the couples come later.

I hope that the allergy community supports this restaurant – we need to see more places like this open! Please feel free to forward this to anyone that you think may be interested.

Enjoy!

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15-year-old son: peanuts, nuts, raw egg whites, asthmatic
Self: allergic rhinitis, fragrance/chemical sensitivities, oral allergy syndrome

Our family decided to take a drive today to Montreal and have an early birthday lunch for our daughter. I am pleased to say that it was well worth the trip and we will definetly be back.
The customer service was exceptional!!! I emailed yesterday to say we were coming for lunch and to confirm that our son would be able to have something prepared for him to eat. Being an allergy conscious restaurant I couldn't bring in any snacks from home for him, a fact which I well appreciate and respect as it keeps a strict control on what food products go into the restaurant. I sent an exact list of our son's allergies and the owner discussed the issue with the chef and promptly replied to my email. We came up with a veggie which was already used in the restaurant menu and that our son does eat.
We arrived for lunch and were greeted by the host who not only was expecting us but who had also been advised of all our son's allergies. Before we were seated the staff did an extra clean on our table even wiping the chairs again as well as under the table (where little 17 month old hands tend to reach).

Within minutes of having sat down the head chef came out to meet and inform us that the kitchen staff had all read my email regarding our son's allergies. He invited us to view the kitchen. The kitchen was designed purposely in a semi open concept to allow patrons to really feel comfortable that the kitchen is clean etc. The kitchen even after having just served a large lunch group was very clean and organized. The time the chef took in making me comfortable with the preparation of our son's meal impressed me. It was the first time I've ever trusted someone else's food preparation to feed to our son, that says A LOT especially as lentils and other foods he is allergic to are still prepared in the same kitchen.
Our waitress was superb and as the menu isn't quite done being translated into english yet she patiently went over it with us. We all shared an appetizer platter with a variation of smoked meat, meat pate, a lovely red cabbage and a few other items. Very different but excellent and I'd absolutely have it again.
For our main courses we ordered a side of ratatouille, shepherd's pie made with duck, a beef rib on a bed of lentils and a glazed chicken on risotto. Everything was excellent. We especially loved the beef rib and lentils and the risotto. We were so pleased that our daughter loved it all. The food was well worth the drive. (and oh yah, we are FULL!!! ) The shepherd's pie was very tasty and if you didn't tell a child it was duck they never would have guessed.
Since we were making it a treat day we ordered three desserts to share. All three were delicious but our favorite two were the espresso mouse like dessert and apple dish on a very different but wonderful cake. Our meal came to a VERY reasonable 90 dollars with tax (before tip). Portions were very good and the service was excellent. The place is very modern yet homey. Even if a person didn't have family/friends with allergies they would find the food wonderful and very appealing.
The servers were very attentive to us and the owner came and said goodbye when we left. We will absolutely go back. I wish them all the best.
If they ever open up a location closer to home I think I'll have to take up running again to compensate for all the good meals we'll be going out to eat.

**The owner mentioned that CTV was there last week. I can't wait to read/see the article.
**Tthe two owner's attention to detail is amazing. Even the soap in the bathroom is gluten free!!

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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

I am so impressed. I just received an email from the owner thanking us for driving out to visit his restaurant and wishing again happy birthday to our daughter.

I forgot to mention that there is a proper kids menu now. I have no idea what was on it but it did look like there was several options. Our daughter wanted to share meals with us and I didn't want to ask the waitress to translate it 'just because'.

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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

I'm looking forward to visiting this restaurant. Thanks for the reviews...

How were legume allergies treated as I see they have plenty of them on their menu?

Hi,
it's been a while since I dropped by and see I'm not the only one to have tried the restaurant. I went there for my first restaurant meal in 6 years!!!! I was there on February 13th as I was in town for that night and it was PERFECT!

I sent my list of allergies and they had e-mailed me back with the list of things I could eat. Milk, fish and soy are part of the zero 8 policy, but I also have a few others that can be hard to deal with in a restaurant. My allergy to carrot was the one that excluded most of the items on the menu as it is used in broths and sauces, but they were able to guide me towards what I could eat and what they could change on there to accomodate me When we got there, they mentionned that they had double-wiped my table and took extra care with everything and the lady had a copy of all my allergies that she re-confirmed with me.

I'm actually counting the days until my next restaurant experience and it's getting really close! 2 weeks!!!! I'll be in town for a couple of days and hopefully will be able to finally invite my friends out for dinner! Being 31 it is diffenrent than having a kid with allergies, I was actually looking for restaurant to have a great dining experience with some friends and I found it! (and will have to control myself not to eat there for lunch and dinner everyday when I'm in town )

Mylène
p.s. the duck steak is just great!

Hi!
I went back to Zero8 twice last week! The food is just excellent and the owners and people working there are great!

Just a quick note for those considering going there... please don't bring any food into the restaurant! Or if you do, at least consier what the policy of the restaurant is! If you expect them to be respectfull of your allergies, you need to respect the other people's allergies too! The restaurant has a ban on the top 8 allergens for their entire menu and entire restaurant which makes it a safe place for us... and on Friday when I was there, a family was there with their allergic kid and the lady got parmesan out of her purse! Realizing I had milk on my list of allergies, the owners were really quick to respond and offer to sit me somewhere else (I was sitting right at the next table!), and felt sooo bad about this lady's mistake... but I just can't understand how someone dealing with allergies and going to a restaurant specially made to be safe for allergics would actually put someone else's life in danger!!!! I feel sorry for the owners who had to deal with this and all just because of one person who had disrespectfully pulled some cheese out her purse! (I just can't imagine what went through her mind... I just hope she realized the extent of her mistake!!!! )

Dispite this little incident (it wasn't their fault and took action right away!), I feel really safe in that restaurant and am looking forward to eating out next time I'm in town! They are part of the 4 people that can prepare food that I am willing to eat! (mom, sister, cousin and Zero8!!!! )

Wow, the restaurant dealt well with that scene...makes you wonder how often it can happen.

I'm so glad you have a place that you can go out to. I think this would be a great place for those who want to plan business lunches or staff Christmas lunches.

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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

That is wonderful that they treated you so well. It must feel liberating to know you can safely eat out!

Hopefully that other person will be wiser next time. If she thought to have parmessan either she is very picky or very dense since that would be a banned item.

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

it was the 1st (or was it 2nd) time it happenned that someone brought some food in. But most "normal" people don't carry food in their purse, normally it's allergic people carrying safe food around... but safe food for you may not be safe for me. Just like my jar of peanut butter, perfectly safe for me, but not for others... but wouldn't think of walking in to that restaurant with some non-permitted food... just like I don't walk into a vegetarian restaurant with a ham sandwick but stick to having a salad in my lunch.

And yes, it is just wonderfull to be able to eat out again... spent 6 years without eating "restaurant" food... Only vegetarian restaurants were safe for me to walk in as they did not have fish, but they had too much milk in their buffet for me trust any of them for any food items. But I think I would gain a couple of extra pounds if they would have one closer to home

I'm getting really used to eating out again I'm going back in 2 weeks with my mom this time. We'll be passing through Montreal around lunch time so great excuse to stop by to eat She has some allergies too, but all covered under the big 8 so she'll be able to pick anything out of the menu without worry

Mylene have a wonderful meal out with your mom. Knowing how seriously they take allergies at Zero8 it must really give you a new found freedom to be able to go out and eat/socialize.


*I see that the website has been partially translated into english now.

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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

I've been trawling the internet looking for safe places to eat on my holiday in the USA, looks like I should be coming to Canada next year. This restaurant sounds a great place to eat, it would be nice not to be an oddity.

Lulu

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Allergic to Soya, peanuts, tree nuts, almost all raw fruit and raw vegetables, asprin, non-steroidal inflammitories, enteric coating on medication, sulphites. Dust, Cats, tree pollens (Birch +++) flower pollens, feathers, cigars. Asthma

I'm thrilled to hear about this new restaurant! Thanks for posting about it.