#EasytoAsk? or is it??? Eating out with Food allergies...

I've seen a fair few tweets recently with #easytoask. They're aimed particularly 16-24 year olds, with food allergies. It's encouraging them that it is OK to ask about their allergens when they're out somewhere and ordering food. Those tweeting, are recognised bodies, with whom I don't like to quibble, BUT...

Personally, I don't like to put a damper on it, but I'm not so sure that it is so easy to ask!!

I was at a birthday party on Saturday. It was held at a local pub. Everyone else but I was eating. I was not eating by choice. I quite frankly couldn't face the bother. It was a large party and the order had being placed in advance 'en masse' by the friend's husband, and I simply didn't want to risk anything going awry. I'm not normally so cautious, as to not eat altogether, but recent events shaped my reactions...

Not so long ago I went out to eat for another friend's birthday, where I was expecting to eat, quite safely, as the restaurant is quite expensive and I thought they would be cooking to order. 

'No problem,' thought I, 'I've eaten here several times before. Whenever I've checked beforehand, it's all been fine.' 

So, a little complacent, perhaps, I turned up on the day, without my usual checks. I simply scanned the menu for something that looked pretty safe and when the waiter came, I asked for advice about the dish I had spotted. It looked to be a fairly simple sea bass dish - they are often my best bet.

He was a foreign waiter, but seemed to understand me. When I asked whether it would be free from gluten, dairy, soya etc. he wasn't all that sure; he thought it would be fine, but would check. 

All seemed to be fine, so the order was placed. Another friend ordered the same dish. As both were brought out at the same time (and not by the chap who had taken my order), I asked if the one I had been given was gluten free (always my starting point, as that's the one to which I'm most sensitive). 

Confusion flitted across their faces - this was obviously news to them.

'I'll just check!' one said, and off she went. When she returned, it turned out, no, mine wasn't gluten free, but they'd take it away and do it again. 'OK fine,' I thought, 'better safe than sorry - better that they have noticed and put it right, than I eat it and suffer later.'

I waited quite a while longer, before the dish returned, I started to peel away the wrapper (it was 'en papillote' - baked in a sealed package)... when suddenly a waitress rushed out to stop me!!

Oh!! 

Apparently this dish wasn't right either! They were going to do it again!! I was slightly peeved, and by now hungry! My friends were already pretty much finished with their main course, by then, and I was lagging behind. Other diners had come and gone in the meantime, but I thought, 'better safe than sorry'. 

Finally!

Finally the dish arrived and as no-one returned to say it wasn't suitable, I cautiously tucked in. Only by this time, my side order of fries was cold and so was the side dish of greens (which had also had to be returned as it hadn't been done correctly first time either - I'd asked for it to be cooked in oil rather than butter). Oh, and my friends, who I had instructed not to wait for me, were just finishing their dessert!!

One friend's comment really resonated with me. It was to the effect that she could now see why I don't eat out as often as she. (Only she used more colourful language, that I've edited out.) 

See my point is, it MAY be 'easy to ask,' but it's not always easy to get the right answer!



What are the potential problems?

1. Langauge barrier 

If the waiter/waitress/server does not speak English as a first language, it's difficult  to know if they completely understand the message that you are trying to convey. It's the reason why I tend to go self-catering when I'm abroad - if I read labels myself and prepare food myself, I feel much more confident of a safe outcome.

However, in this country it is also quite common to come across staff who don't have English as a first language, and some of those are in positions of management too. It's all very well and good if they are proficient in English, but slightly concerning when you need to get an important message across and are not sure that it IS getting through.


2. Lack of knowledge 

Unless you live with food allergies yourself, or have been trained thoroughly there may be gaps in the person's knowledge. The number of times I've been told, 'Oh, but there IS egg in it!!' when I've tried to confirm whether something contains dairy!! Of course, you and I know, that when I say 'dairy', I mean milk and the products made from milk. Milk (usually, although not always) comes from cows. Eggs come from chicken - completely different animals!!

By the way, I usually use the term 'dairy' as it is a much broader term than 'milk'. If I use the term 'milk' people do not always make the connection between  milk itself, and other products made with milk, such as butter or cream, or yogurt, or cheese etc.


3. Chinese whispers 

You may communicate perfectly well with the waitress/waiter, but what is the communication like in the kitchen? The more times the information has to pass through other people, particularly in a busy pressurized environment, the more chances there are that something can go wrong. 

I was particularly impressed with the Disney restaurants in Florida (you won't get the same service in Disneyland, Paris - just so you know), because the moment the server heard the phrase 'milk allergy,'( in regards to my daughter, who was still allergic at the time), they summoned the chef to the table and the chef actually CAME to your table and talked everything through with you. There's not many other places where we've been treated with anything like that care and attention! 

Reliable Rockfish!

It's also one of the reasons I love restaurants that will repeat back your allergy information as they serve the dish, or stick a label in that says 'dairy free' or 'gluten free' - a la Cote or Rockfish. It's not something that they are required to do by law, but that 'best practice' reiteration of the essential knowledge, gives you more confidence that hopefully the message has really got through!


4. Societal pressure 

Eating out with friends and family, or standing in a queue with other people who are are hungry, you can be horribly aware that by asking all the questions you may feel you need to ask, in order to be 100% confident about the food, you are keeping others waiting. Sometimes you get that little shuffle behind you, a sigh, a glance at a watch... Even as an adult, I hate it and feel the need to get it over and done with as quickly as possible. How much more so must many a younger person, especially when peer pressure comes into play??

Only a few months ago, The Hub's nephew (who has been known to be allergic to peanuts and sesame, since he was tiny, and fits into the 16-24 age bracket) had his first serious anaphylactic  shock. It was the archetypal teenage error. He was at a party with friends, didn't think to check what was in the dip - it was humus, which he had no idea was made with sesame. He wasn't carrying his Epipens - because never having experienced a serious attack, he'd become complacent. Fortunately, his poor mother was only minutes way, was able to get there, with his medication, in minutes, and the ambulance didn't take long to get there, either. Otherwise, he could have become another statistic.



5. Human Error 

Going back to my recent experience, I have no idea what caused the mix-up in the restaurant, it may have been multiple factors, but sometimes these things happen. You just have to hope that they notice in time to stop you taking your first bite. And this is not the first time this sort of thing has happened - although this was the first time it took the best of three, to make it right!



In Conclusion...

I think we need to be honest here. It is NOT always 'easy to ask,' but for your own safety and well being, the message we need to get across to our young people is... you simply have to be prepared to ... 

#AlwaysAsk!!

Oh and if you need an Epipen...

#AlwaysCarryTwo!!

Please note: 

This post is not an advert. I have not been paid to write this post. I am not sponsored in any way, even by advertising. I do not receive products free to review, although I have often been offered them. This is to try and maintain an unbiased approach. Any products listed in this post are here purely because they genuinely are the products we have used and enjoy consuming. They are included here merely to point people who are new to suitable products that they too may enjoy. All views expressed are my own (unless I've asked for The Hub's or Kiddo's). I try to tell is 'as-it-is'.

Related posts:

Eating Out - Mission Possible

Rockfish Totally Rocks!

Dinner with Leon

Why you won't be left feeling blue at Indigo...

Rockfish Totally Rocks!

Recently, we went on a short holiday to Devon. The hotel in which we stayed (supposedly five star, but that's another matter) was such a disappointment, but thankfully Rockfish provided a much needed highlight to our stay. Finding Rockfish online, was a total Godsend!

Rockfish actually have a number of restaurants dotted around the South coast of Devon (see here for a map), but the one which we visited was situated in Torquay, right by the harbour. I wasn't sure what to expect, as I haven't been to Torquay in about 30 years, but I had heard that almost everything on the Rockfish menu (see here) could be made gluten free, so it had to be worth a visit!

It is a fairly small restaurant, decorated in a laid back contemporary beach shack chic kind of style, which I really liked. There's no parking, but there is a public car park just up the hill, a short stroll away, from the restaurant itself.

Great for dining casually, but nothing to stop one dressing up!

When we arrived, we had not booked, but as the place was almost empty, that wasn't a problem and we were soon seated, by efficient and friendly staff. The restaurant filled up as the evening went on, so if you wanted to go in the future in high season, I would definitely phone ahead to book.

Kiddo's entertainment!

Drinks soon ordered - mine a locally sourced, absolutely delicious apple juice, Kiddo was issued with a children's pack, the like of which I've never seen before in any restaurant. It wasn't just your bog-standard and over too quickly colouring sheet with word search, oh no! It was instead stuffed full of all kinds of educational and fun activities - including a kind of fishy Top Trumps, which we all enjoyed playing whilst we were waiting for our food! 

Fishy Top Trumps was really quite fun!

The boast that almost everything could be made gluten free was not an empty one. I soon found myself gleefully tucking into a plate of calamari - a starter?? An almost unheard of luxury for me!! And, oh my word! It was so good - the best I've ever tasted.

The Hub's starter - Vegetable Tempura - also came gluten free, so we all helped him out with his veg. - even the Kiddo!

I had to avoid the soya dip, but otherwise, the tempura was also suitable for me.

Kiddo has a number of choices to choose from, but, much to my surprise, stuck to cod and chips. It arrived in the form of goujons and she was soon tucking in.

Kiddo's meal

My main meal, was the Fritto Misto - minus the soya sauce and replaced with a seaweed dip instead (I didn't have to ask - what a measure of excellent service).

Fritto Misto

This I had accompanied by a lovely, lightly dressed, side salad. I could have had chips, but mindful of all the batter I was consuming, I decided to behave, and settled for pinching one of Kiddo's!

In reality, if I had put more thought into it, my main was a bit similar to my starter, but heigh ho - it's so long since I've been able to enjoy calamari in a restaurant, I was simply making up for lost time! ;)

Dessert was a little more tricky for us, but in the end we simply had no room for any more food anyway, but am pretty sure I made up for it - certainly calorie-wise - by sampling their wonderful Prosecco. 

From start to finish, this was a wonderful place to visit and the only shame was that it took so long to get there, from where we stayed, otherwise we would have been back for more! 

During our visit, we met some wonderful friendly locals, who recommended their other restaurants and said they were equally as good, which is good to know. As they seemed quite accustomed to fine dining, I would take their word for it. So if you're gluten free and find yourself in South Devon, you know where to go! You'll be doing yourself a favour by the visit.

And one other thing, it was all so reasonably priced! Our combined food and drink bill (two adults, one child, two courses) came to around £60.

Point to note: 

I have to say, this restaurant totally lived up to everything that I had hoped for. I took a bit of a gamble assuming that if they could do gluten free, then dairy free also wasn't a problem. Indeed dairy free was possible, but please note, you need to make this clear, as the standard batter they use contains milk, whereas the gluten free doesn't. The gluten free flour is also soya free - bonus!!

Rockfish have worked hard to fully comply with Coeliac UK standards. See here.

Further posts about Eating Out can be found here.

And you can also find further reviews by me, of restaurants, days out and hotels on Trip Advisor, under the same name as this blog. I am beginning to build up a list of places I have been recently, because when I was away, Trip Advisor was far more useful than any other site for finding suitable places to eat - so I think it's only fair to pay back, or even 'pay it forward', and help others.

New to me - the Whole Foods Market

Last time I posted was pre-move. I was feeling the ties of our old environment and beginning to wonder why we were putting ourselves through all the stress. Now we've moved, I'm feeling some of the advantages -  a dishwasher, the garden, being closer to family and... to London.

London is one of those places that I love to visit and dip into, before retreating to the clearer air and space of home. Where we live now, we are close enough to do just that.

Today, The Hub suggested visiting Clapham Junction and the Whole Foods Market. I was up for that. I knew that there was one in Kensington, that I've been keen to visit, but Clapham is nearer and, with Baby, more 'doable'.

It wasn't 'til I got there, that I realised I'd been there some years before with my sister, when she lived just up the road. I'd written it off then as being a bit of a trendy hippy haunt (not my thing), but today, I got to see it with new eyes.

I had a hazy memory of a cafe, combined with a kind of health food store, and yes, it was pretty much as I remembered it, but what did it have in store for me now?

What a treat! A small tub for the journey home!

The first thing I caught sight of was the ice cream cabinet, which stocked all four flavours of my favourite dairy free ice cream. This was soon  to be followed by The Hub locating the only Genius loaf that I can get along with - the old style (unsliced) white. Great start!!

There was a goodly array of fresh fruit and veg. but I passed these by and went straight for the chiller. I was after Co-yo - a coconut based dairy free yoghurt. Yup! It was there! Being unable to tolerate soya, I was delighted to get my hands on this.

Next to the chiller was the freezer. I was slightly disappointed that the only Amy's  Kitchen's macaroni cheese in the cabinet wasn't dairy free - I'm still waiting to get my hands on this one, having passed up the chance at The Allergy Show. I picked up a Burrito though - I'm interested to see if my stomach will take to these.

It was by the freezer, that The Hub noticed that they sold insulated bags, for the transportation of frozen goods. Yippee!! However, it was just as well we bought our cold stuff just before our train was due to leave. The insulated bag claims that food can last up to three hours (depending on how much frozen food you buy) but our ice cream was definitely quite soft by the time we reached home (an hour later). 

As for the rest of the store, the place was a veritable Aladdin's cave. There was so much packed into the space, that I found it difficult to scan the shelves for things that I could have. Funnily enough, having yearned to be able to pick my goodies from the same shelves as everyone else, I found myself wishing for a 'Free From' section, so I could highlight the stuff that was relevant for me! 

Couldn't see this at Whole Foods Market - what a shame!

Unless I was missing something, the chocolate section was sadly lacking. Whereas Booja Booja was well represented, Moo Free seemed to be merely represented by a few of their chocolate bars - there were none of the yummy Organica vegan (but may contain traces of milk) chocolate bars that I used to be able to get in the health food shop near my old home. However, Lucy's egg, gluten, nut and dairy free chocolate chip cookies were a great find! They're sooo moreish!

My selection of goodies made (apart from the cold stuff) the only thing left to try was the cafe.

This proved to be tougher than I thought. There was a disclaimer concerning allergies, so if you're really sensitive or coeliac, you'd probably want to give it a miss. More of a concern for me personally, was whether I would be able to tempt the ever-fussy Baby into eating anything at all.

She wasn't interested in the roast potatoes, or the salmon that I had selected - they had 'bits' on them. I knew the green beans were also going to be a no-no for her, but I selected those, purely for my benefit. Baby did eat some of The Hub's turkey slices, but apart from her share of a slice of a rather yummy vegan raw chocolate dessert, by inspiral, called 'Blackout Tart', that was it, as far as she was concerned. 

Impressive! Blackout - a yummy vegan dessert that is gluten, dairy, egg and soya free. Not nut free though!

Mind you, I couldn't blame her. The potatoes (meant to be hot) were lukewarm and the meat, fish and veg were all from the cold food section - definitely not a winner for her. She did love looking out of the window though - I must say, it was good fun people watching!

I was rather tempted by some of the other hot dishes and was interested to spot that you could buy food to take away, but Baby was never going to let me hang around for too long and so soon we duly departed.

Altogether, it was an interesting visit. I probably wouldn't eat in again - not with Baby anyway. We ended up buying her fries from Kentucky Fried Chicken across the road (you add your own salt - marginally healthier than the very salty fries you get from Mc Donald's) As for the shop, I would definitely go again, for the variety of food stuff you can buy. There's still some things that I've yet to try!!

By the way, the shop is sooo close to the station at Clapham Junction, that if you find yourself making a train connection there at any time (and aren't carting around ridiculous amounts of luggage with you) it would be a shame not to pop in. I've already got The Hub working out how he could pop in there on the way home from work sometime and I didn't even have to ask :)

Why Wagamama's Works for us

I'm surrounded by boxes. I think I've mentioned that we're moving soon. Part of me is hugely excited - we're moving from an out-grown flat, to a house and garden. Part of me feels daunted. 

Where, I am at the moment, I feel safe in my own environment - I know where the best shops are for sourcing my various dietary necessities and luxuries. A move means having to source those all over again. That includes places to eat, when we're out. Some of the chains with which we've become familiar and with whom we feel reasonably safe, aren't represented as well in our new area. One such is Wagamamas. 

In case you never been to Wagamama's, it's basically, a South East Asian restaurant chain. The interior is minimalist and noisy. The staff are efficient and busy as bees but friendly and helpful, for all that. I'd never been inside one, until a few years ago when I came up to London with The Hub. I think he wondered where I'd been all my life!

Dairy Free
We first discovered Wagamama's potential to cater for us some time ago, not too long after I first became dairy free. The immediate attraction was that many South East Asian dishes are, by nature, dairy free.


Online Menu 
Even better, The Hub discovered that we could find out which dishes were safe, by looking at their menu online - and that includes dietary requirements although, oddly enough dairy free dishes are listed as 'lactose intolerant.' Strictly speaking, of course, 'dairy free' and 'lactose free' are not the same thing, but if you follow their instructions to ask your server about dishes, then there should not be any problem.

By perusing their online menu, The Hub soon found that I could have their Chu Chee Chicken Curry. It was so yummy, that I did not feel that I was missing out on anything, by being dairy free. 

Chicken and Prawn Cha Han

Gluten Free
Despite the fact that a lot of dishes are cooked with gluten containing ingredients, they do seem to have some dishes that are suitable for me, now that I'm avoiding wheat/gluten. However, I'm merely intolerant, not coeliac, and I know that I have wondered how really gluten free the food is - especially since soy sauce is present in a lot of South East Asian cooking and everything is cooked in woks. 

If, like me, you're avoiding wheat/gluten as well dairy, then it's the same old story, there's only one suitable main - in this case, Chicken and Prawn Cha Han. It's basically an egg-fried rice dish, with a small side of pickles and soup. If you don't like this, then you're stuffed!

Important Update: The allergy listings have been changed and this dish is no longer listed as cereal (and therefore gluten) free.

To be quite honest, It's not my favourite dish in the whole wide world - it's nowhere near as moreish as the Chu Chee Chicken Curry, that I used to enjoy. The problem was that the Chu Chee Chicken Curry wasn't listed as wheat/gluten free anyway, and when we 'need' to eat out, it's become quite nice to know that I have any option at all!

Little Ones
Wagamama's provide great high chairs. We loved their Phil and Ted high chairs (that suspend from the tables) so much that we went out and bought one! They also provide the pretty much obligatory  restaurant colouring sheets and crayons, to keep little fingers busy, but we have found it far more useful to have short videos on The Hub's smartphone - to keep Baby amused whilst the food is prepared.

Mini Ramen

The children's menu has expanded a little since we first started visiting Wagamama's. There's a few options Baby can have. We used to order the cod cubes (sauce comes as aside, so no worries if your little one doesn't like the sauce) but currently her 'usual' is a 'Mini Ramen' - basically a noodle soup, with huge chnks of chicken. 

It's really a bit too big for a child her size, and we tend to cut up the chicken and noodles, to make them more manageable for her, but we're not too fussed if she doesn't finish it, as long as she's had enough.

The noodle spoon is ridiculously large for a little one and their children's chopsticks look cool, but Baby has not yet developed enough dexterity to use these, so we usually just ask for an extra spoon.

My 'usual'.

Healthy Fast Food

One of the attractions, for us, is that the food should be better for you than Mac Donald's (although I'm not sure how much salt is used) and it's still usually served fairly rapidly, which is important, when you have Baby around! 

I say usually, if you arrive at a peak time, then despite the best efforts of the staff, food can be a little bit slower to arrive. 

The other thing to bear in mind is that dishes come as soon as they are ready, rather than all together at the same time, so if you have a little one, it's a good idea to pack a few bread sticks!

Order Takeaway

Another thing that we like about Wagamama's is that that you can order online (on the computer or via smartphone app) and pick up it up as a takeaway, at your own convenience. This has worked well for us, when we've been travelling with Baby.

Of course, you can't cover dietary requirements online, but if you get to know which dishes are okay and are not too worried about cross-contamination, then you should be okay. We've never had any problems, ordering this way.

Drinks

If you're after a 'cheap date', Green Tea is free. I'm not all that fond of Green Tea, so my 'usual' is elderflower. It's light, with a sweet hint and refreshes the palate, quite nicely. Sometimes we get Baby the Apple Juice, but really she's much more happy with her own water.

Dessert

Anyone for a 'natural fruit ice lolly'? To be quite honest you can get these at almost any restaurant now and, no thanks, I really don't want one!

Prices

Their prices are pretty good, I think. Ours breaks down, as follows:

Sparkling elderflower £2.20

Chicken and Prawn Cha Han £7.55

Mini Juice £1.65

Mini Ramen £4.35

Update November 2013:
Whilst others I know are happy to eat at Wagamamas, we no longer do so. This is because I started to get reactions after eating there, even though I used to be fine. Although they apparently wash their woks, it appears that this has been insufficient for me. The last reaction was so severe that I couldn't eat properly for a few days. I no longer want to take the risk.   :(

Other posts about eating out dairy free:

Eating Out - Mission Possible

Dinner with Leon

Eating Giraffe Food

Supping at Strada

Hanging out in the Roof Gardens of Babylon

Eating out - Mission Possible

There's always chips!

Where there's a will...
I'd be lying if I said it was easy, 'cos it's not. But, it is indeed possible to eat out dairy free - sort of. I kind of feel you have to be brave, take the plunge and give it a go. Okay, you might not have such a big range from which to choose (as you used to) and you may have to forego a few puds, but if the worst comes to the worst, you can usually find somewhere that does chips (as long as they don't stick some coating on them)! 

It's easier, of course, if you're able to cope with that magical phrase, 'traces of milk,' than if you're not. The main thing is to plan ahead and do your research. Unfortunately, a number of times we've thought we'd covered our bases, and done our research, only to come unstuck. However, usually this has been down to misinformation, rather than our lack of preparation. Fortunately, for us, it has not been life-threatening but it has been upsetting nonetheless.

Of course what is possible all depends on the kind of establishment at which you're planning to eat. If you're planning on fine dining (where they cook to order) I think there's a bit more leeway, especially if you phone ahead and warn staff in advance. However, if you're planning on dropping in on a high street establishment, (without naming too many names) here's a few things we have learned through bitter, and some not so bitter, experience:

Never be afraid to ask

Remember never be afraid to ask. I've had to become a lot more assertive. There's nothing to be lost by asking. I've been places, where they've agreed to cook my order in oil rather than butter, which wouldn't have happened if I hadn't asked what they could do for me. Ultimately, if staff can't answer your enquiries, then, 'If in doubt, leave it out,' definitely applies!! 

Make your needs clear
Make sure waiting/serving staff understand your requirements, especially if the nature of your need is such that the smallest particle of dairy is a problem. A restaurant that truly caters for the allergic customer will understand the need to avoid cross-contamination and will cook/prepare your food using separate utensils.

It is possible to get cards, which list your dietary needs, to hand to restaurant staff, in order to make things clear. I've not used them myself, although I think I would almost certainly use them if eating out abroad. I did look into them at one point. You can buy them online, although some sites also offer them for free. 

Don't turn up at the last minute

If you turn up when you are all hungry (and your child is at their most fractious) only to find that the staff can't accommodate your needs, small children won't understand. At that moment in time, their hungry howls will make your life even more miserable than it is already.

Research in advance

Visit restaurants when you/they are not busy to find out what they can do. Phone ahead. Check out in advance which chains publish their menu online. Most do, but they may not make it clear what they can offer in the way of dairy free. McDonald's do, but the website is a bit unwieldy - you have to select an item and then look up it's nutritional information. 

Wagamama's also have an online menu and we find it really helpful. Being based around South East Asian cuisine (which tends not to use dairy) there's quite a fair choice of milk free main dishes to choose from. We look online and choose before we go (speeds up the ordering process too). Don't expect too much of their desert menu though - sadly mostly dairy!

The other thing we like about Wagamamas is that you can also get take away. If you have internet access you can order in advance and pick it up when you get there. Even better, if you have a smartphone, you can (as they say) 'get an App for that!!'

The only thing to watch is that some chains with online menus seem to want you to provide a location, when you try to examine them. This may well mean that they don't have the same options available in different places - something to watch out for, if you're travelling around.

Be aware that claims made on the phone, online or even on the door may not match up to your experience! 

The ability to deliver what you want/need/expect may depend on whether the staff have been properly trained/briefed in regards to what they can/cant deliver. Or it may depend on how much food has been prepared in advance. If it has just taken out and reheated, then, even with the best will in the world, there's not much anyone can do about it. 

At one Italian chain I encountered staff who gave the impression that they understood my needs (when they were trying to coax me through the door) only for me to find that they only had one suitable option for Baby on the children's menu (pasta with tomato sauce - hardly what I would call a balanced meal). Not only that, although I had clearly stated that I couldn't have wheat/gluten, the waitress still brought me complimentary breadsticks!

Choice of cuisine can help! 
Asian

As aforementioned, South East Asian cuisine (Chinese, Japanese, Malaysian, Korean, Thai etc.) tends not to use dairy (not so good for the gluten or soy free though). In which case, Ping Pong, Cosmos, and Wagamama's are all good options. However, not all Asian food is the same as Indian cuisine, on the other hand, does use quite a bit of dairy. 

Continental
I find French restaurants, are sadly not a good choice, as much of their food tends to be made with an awful lot of dairy, in the form of butter or cheese. Italian tends to be better, as a lot of heir sauces are tomato-based, although I have noticed some bolognese sauces contain milk, too!

At one large French chain I thought my luck was in when, on enquiry at the door, I was handed an allergy information chart. After a fair amount of study, I discovered there was pretty much nothing on their menu that I could eat apart from olives, nuts and salad (mind you, I'm not just dairy free)! Thankfully I was only scouting them out at the time and wasn't relying on eating with them there and then!


Pubs/Carveries
Good (and I stress 'good') pubs can be a good place to grab a bit to eat but beware of hidden dangers! Once you think you've made a fairly safe choice, don't forget to ask staff whether food is cooked/basted/roasted in butter. We've made the mistake in the past of thinking that a roast is a fairly safe bet but there can be pitfalls - chicken gravy may contain milk and so may any sausages that arrive on the side. 

Once I ordered the roast, only to find that it was impossible to separate the meat from the gravy. However, usually I order the roast and ask them not to add gravy. Then (being wheat/gluten free as well) I ldon't have the accompanying sausages/Yorkshire pudding.

Another thing to watch out for, is that sometimes chefs add a small knob of butter to veggies to glaze and flavour them slightly. This occurred at a carvery which we visited once. It only became evident when Baby had  reaction - our fault, on this occasion, for being unprepared. It did explain, though, the unusual amount of enthusiasm with which Baby ate her carrots! 

Some chain pubs you might want to consider are places like Table Table, Beefeater or Harvester. Your choices may be fairly limited (I'm usually chicken and chips at a Harvester) but it's better than nothing. Avoid carveries though, in my experience, as everything is produced en masse - not much room for manoeuvre and buffet style eating comes with additional risks from your fellow diners - mixing up the serving spoons or inadvertently spilling food from one dish into another. 

Deli style sandwich bars

These are the kind of places where they assemble the food in front of you. Depending on the establishment, they can be quite good for grabbing a light bite. In the pasgt, I've asked staff to leave off spread (and mayonnaise, if staff are unsure) and just give me the bread and the filling. One drawback is that some breads are made with dairy, so you need to check this out with staff too, but also there might be cross-contamination between the pots of fillings - which are usually uncovered.

Deli style bars often offer things like soup and baked potatoes too. However, check the soup ingredients and when ordering baked potatoes make sure they don't put the butter in the potato before serving it to you. Tuna and mayonnaise jacket potato has become a good lunchtime friend of mine - some places, it's the only thing on the menu that I can eat. Mayo can be dairy free - Hellman's Original is, whereas their light version isn't! Quite often, when I ask, staff offer me the tub to check the label for myself.

Supermarket Restaurants

I've not tried many, but the Sainsbury's near us can be quite useful. The only guaranteed Free From food they currently sell is a chocolate brownie by the till, but if you can cope with 'may contain...' then they have a folder to inform staff about the ingredients in each dish. Usually, the staff come up trumps and produce it for you. Best done, when the restaurant is not too busy, in my experience!! 

Fish and Chips
However, if nothing else is available, and you're dairy free, good old-fashioned fish and chips can usually be found on most high streets. The only thing to check may be the ingredients of any sausages or batter and whether they share the fryer with any other items that contain dairy. I'm just guessing, but I suspect the pies are a complete, 'No, no!'

Medication
If you have been prescribed antihistamine or an epipen, you're probably already only too  well aware that you need to have this on hand - just in case!!

And finally...
Relax (if you can) and enjoy (what you can)!