Eating Out - The Keto Restaurant Guide

[gecko2424]

Here are some from my experience, please add what you've found.

Some of us love what keto can do, but also like to live a little more than canned fish and caesar salads. Here's a basic guide of keto friendly restaurants.

Note: if a restaurant is listed as (no keto), there is always the option of getting a chicken sandwich or burger and not eating the bun.



SouperSalad:
Can make a salad but good protein is lacking. A little cottage cheese (yes carbs) and ham squares may help. If you can do a meal with minimal protein, SouperSalad works, but is expensive for a salad.

McDonalds:
Salads, but be careful. The ranch dressing alone has 9g carbs, caesar 4. The chicken bacon ranch (grilled) and the caesar are the best choices at about 12g of carbs (+ dressing) Eat around the shredded carrots. Oddly, the same Newman's Own Dressing at the store is much lower in carbs. The McD's formulation has more....

Burger King:
(no keto) - while some food items will fit into your diet, BK still uses trans fats. In fact, if you never want to eat there again, read the ingredients on their site. French Fries, you think, would have a couple ingredients, not a paragraph of chemicals. Everything at BK has junk added to it except...the whopper (no bun) the whopper beef is actually beef.

Sonic:
(no keto) - while Sonic has salads, they are adorned with carby items like corn, beans, onion rings, carrots etc. Yes you can eat around them, but you end up with iceberg lettuce (for the burgers) + dressing. Not worth it with other options.

TacoBueno/Taco Bell:
(no keto) yes, i tried, even scraping the meat off a taco is too much work. In general, avoid these places, unless you want a taco salad with no shell, no beans, no corn, no dressing in a plastic container....

Subway:
(mostly no keto) they got rid of their low carb wraps. Yes, you're stuffing yourself with at least 55g carbs (veggie) before you even get to the toppings. The only thing i've seen is people asking for a soup bowl of tuna+mayo. Not a meal, and they charge the footlong tuna price for it. Subway's salads are OK, but the dressing choices are minimal and designed for sandwiches.

Jason's Deli:
My new holy grail of keto - the salad bar is top notch: eggs (whole egg, not shredded or chopped), olives, sliced almonds, real bacon, good cheeses, good dressing, great veggies. To top that off, you can add tuna salad (mayo, tuna, eggs), turkey breast or chicken breast for $1.49 and it's a good amount. People give me a funny look when i walk by with a salad with 4 whole eggs sitting on top.

Texas Roadhouse:
Steaks - any, grilled or roasted chicken, pork chops
Sides - fresh veggies, caesar or house salad (no croutons) and green beans (you get 2 sides)
+ the bucket of peanuts to munch on while you wait

Chilis:
(mixed) Chili's has some good salads, but they have carbs. I suggest going to chilis after a good workout where carbs are less of an issue. The buffalo chicken salad with no tortilla strips has carbs from the crispy chicken and buffalo sauce, but has yet to kick me out of keto. They have a grilled chicken caesar, a good cobb salad and some other options.

Chinese:
(no keto) even the meat is cooked or covered in a starchy sauce. Getting the food cooked for you, where you choose the ingredients and watch, you can get away with it. Just avoid the buffet.

Japanese:
Sashimi and maybe tako salad... your options are limited.
+green tea

Indian:
It's hard to say, the meats are great, coconut milk is good, curry is OK, but at a restaurant you never know what they put in the food. Some restaurants will have good options.

Mexican:
If you can't avoid the chips, don't go. Otherwise, fajitas with no tortillas are a good keto choice. Many have fish or grilled chicken options too, but will come with rice/beans. Also, salsa = tomatoes, but most don't need to be that strict. Just eat the salsa with a spoon. Don't go overboard though.

Greek:
You can eat Gyro meat all you want, but even the yogurt sauce has carbs

Brazilian or Mongolian BBQ:
Eating meat off a sword is priceless. It's something every real man would want to do. Just make sure your sides are veggies/salad.

Hooters:
Great caesar salad (chicken), but otherwise there's few options.

Buffalo Wild Wings:
I think the quality has gone down while prices have risen. The naked tenders with a judicious amout of sauce (self applied) are OK. The legs (wednesday) aren't bad, just ask for the sauce on the side. Remember, the chicken is fried, even though not coated. Even if there aren't carbs, nobody's body wants too much BWW. They have a cheap side salad, but it's only tolerable.

Chipotle:
(no keto)

Starbucks:
Coffee, tea...plain, that's about it

Pizza places:
you can eat the meat/cheese off the pizza, but without a salad bar, you're going to leave less than satisfied.

Applebees:
sucks

Outback Steakhouse:
Steak is always good, but the majority of their sides will try to sneak some carbs in. Be careful.

Carls Jr:
You can get any burger made low carb, wrapped in lettuce. Be carefull about toppings on some of them though. Low Carb Breakfast Bowl is 950 calories of keto goodness; eggs, cheese, sausage, bacon + an omlet. If you eat them often though, you'll get sick of them... same with any fast food.

Johnny Carinos/Olive Garden/Any other italian:
You're crazy. It's not worth watching the others indulge in carby goodness while you nibble a salad (no bread). Go somewhere else. On carb day, get some pasta.

Wendy's:
Full sized salads can have carbs, so be careful. Stick with the Chicken BLT or Caesar. The $1 caesar though is keto gold. The 5pc chicken nuggets have 12 grams of carbs in a pinch.

Arbys:
Has good chicken. Unfortunately if your order the chicken salad, it's fried. You can ask for grilled, but that may be a challenge that the minimum wage staff can't handle. (from experience) The dressing also sucks. In the vein of Chilis, if you can have extra carbs, their salad is a good option.




Note: most restaurants now go to the ingredient level with nutritional information, so you can see what leaving the carrot strips out will do for you


I'm done typing for now....

[Eileen]

In McDonalds, ask for the sour cream dip instead of the standard salad dressing. Higher fat and lower carb.

[gecko2424]

??? not on the menu/nutrition list. Is it regional?


Edit: wait, you're in ireland That would make sense.

[Andrew69]

Nice work Gecko.
I expect an Aussie version from you by the end of the month...

[Jim K]

In terms of fast food places (McDonalds/Hungry Jacks/Kentucky Fried) don't they have sugars and preservatives in their meat anyway?

So ordering a burger from hungry Jacks that has bacon and cheese all over it, taking away the bun and just eating the meat/bacon and cheese still wouldnt be beneficial because the meat has preservatives and sugars in it anyway right?

[Shattering Fast]

Did I see Chipotle as (no keto)?

Burrito bowl with meat, lettuce, sour cream, cheese and a side of guac. Come on now.

[Knux]

Originally Posted by Shattering Fast

Did I see Chipotle as (no keto)?

Burrito bowl with meat, lettuce, sour cream, cheese and a side of guac. Come on now.

Holy crap, I'm going to eat this tomorrow!

Brilliant!

[thepointman]

So basically, you're screwed everywhere.

[Jim K]

What about Kentucky Fried Chicken??

An original recipe breast has the breakdown at 58 fat/30 pro/12 carb according to calorie king.

[Eileen]

Originally Posted by Jim K

In terms of fast food places (McDonalds/Hungry Jacks/Kentucky Fried) don't they have sugars and preservatives in their meat anyway?

Over here, McDonald's doesn't. Beef and salt. They provide nutritional and allergy info on the back of all the tray covers, and definitely no sugar or rusk.

I've found that the sort of burgers you buy frozen from supermarkets are much more likely to have added sugars and other junk.

[ferak]

Pizza places generally have wings but not all their sauces are that safe. Its also not that hard to order a burrito from taco bell and jsut have meat/cheese/sour cream in it and eat it with a fork. If you have to eat out eating stuff without the bun is allways a good bet youre better off eating something with some preservatives/trans fats than going 8+ hrs with no food or just a crappy salad.

[Jim K]

Originally Posted by Eileen

Over here, McDonald's doesn't. Beef and salt. They provide nutritional and allergy info on the back of all the tray covers, and definitely no sugar or rusk.

I've found that the sort of burgers you buy frozen from supermarkets are much more likely to have added sugars and other junk.

Yeah, the nutritional info on the mcdonalds packets (frie packs/burger wrappers) are in all mcdonalds these days around the world, arent they?

I might google my way into finding a burger wrapper from macca's and seeing what it says for ingredients in the beef.

[Caseyface]

Originally Posted by gecko2424

Applebees:
sucks

made me lol.

[Galt]

I'm gonna go check out the local Jason's Deli tomorrow. The only eating out I've ever done on since I've been on keto has been wings from pizza hut when I'm feelin lazy. 0 trans according to their website, and just 1 carb for every 2 hot wings.

[gecko2424]

How did Jason's Deli go for you?

i'm a new fan of mushrooms...

[Phoenix/Rising]

Most mexican fast-food places:
Get the fajita taco salad without the taco shell. Typically at Taco Cabana (you can probably get the same thing at most places), I get it with grilled chicken and instead of guacamole, I have sour cream (it never knocks me out of keto, and I *hate* guac).

[joey93turbo]

I sure hope that's not true about BK beef here in the US. Today I had three Whopper Jr.'s with cheese, minus the bun and ketchup. They were AWESOME. Last time I was on Atkins I'd buy taco supremes from Taco Bell and ask for a bowl, then empty the contents into it. It got me through lunch just about every day at work.

[Greek_Elite]

i just googled gyro meat nutrition and found this: http://www.thedailyplate.com/nutriti...teak/gyro-meat

and i just ate about 4-6 oz of it.. dont know what to expect since its only my 3rd day of keto.. i also took about another 7oz home w/ me and havin my rents bring me back more too.. i hoope its ok i love this stuff... finally found a diet that works w/ my culture's foods

[weezyfbaby]

bump

[JC480]

BD's Mongolian Grill
They have a "salad bar" with nothing but meat section...lamb, squid, shrimp, eggs, ny strip, pork, etc etc Put it all in a bowl and take it up to the grill...they grill it for you in about a minute and it is VERY tasty...zero carbs unless you add some greens to it. Costs about $13/person and seconds/thirds/more free.

[Knux]

Originally Posted by JC480

BD's Mongolian Grill
They have a "salad bar" with nothing but meat section...lamb, squid, shrimp, eggs, ny strip, pork, etc etc Put it all in a bowl and take it up to the grill...they grill it for you in about a minute and it is VERY tasty...zero carbs unless you add some greens to it. Costs about $13/person and seconds/thirds/more free.

Might have to try this. Good find.

Uh...

Tacos Del Mar:
Taco Salad w/ lettuce, cheese, sour cream, meat (I got double steak); obviously don't eat the shell and you're fine.

Old Country Buffet:
Great place to go. Don't eat the sausage or the hot dogs, but c'mon; all you can eat steak, chicken, bacon, eggs, ham, turkey, roast beef, etc. How could you avoid it!?!?

[Greek_Elite]

Originally Posted by JC480

BD's Mongolian Grill
They have a "salad bar" with nothing but meat section...lamb, squid, shrimp, eggs, ny strip, pork, etc etc Put it all in a bowl and take it up to the grill...they grill it for you in about a minute and it is VERY tasty...zero carbs unless you add some greens to it. Costs about $13/person and seconds/thirds/more free.

that sounds so friggin good i wish there was on by me.. as soon as i read it i had to look it up.. www.gomongo.com if anyone wants to know

[phabphour20]

I'd like to add basically any steakhouse to the list...

I know this list is made up of more budget-friendly places, but I ate at steakhouses three nights this week with different people. They are perfect for keto (except for the cost, of course).

I had a nice tasty ribeye, with a big side of either grilled asparagus, steamed spinach or steamed green beans. Throw in a glass of red wine... a near-perfect keto meal and you don't end-up looking like a freak at dinner. Avoid creamed spinach though as a lot of places add brown sugar... not worth the risk IMHO.

Go to Outback, get the Victoria Filet with blue cheese on top and tell them you want a Caesar salad in lieu of potato... yum.

Have a good one...

-PP

[WaistofSpace]

How does IHOP Steak and Eggs on the cheap. or Denny's with the build your own breakfast get left off. Diners rock too. Also, Houlihan's has a carb free burger option.

[Northman69]

NE 1 ever hear of perkins, when I did keto brown rice and salmon for cheat meals omg and a blueberry muffin. Tasted good and had no ill effects from it.

[luckykris]

What about just ordering a couple regular roast beef sandwiches from Arby's and tossing the buns? **** I do this all the time... No good???

[Greek_Elite]

Originally Posted by luckykris

What about just ordering a couple regular roast beef sandwiches from Arby's and tossing the buns? **** I do this all the time... No good???

from what people have been telling me on here, some deli meats have sugar carbs.. i know black bear turkey breast that i got thinkin it would be ok has 1g carbs from sugar per 2 ounce, so the sugars would cause a insulin spike which is no no (hopin im gettin the info right, kinda spittin back out what ive been readin/told by the actual knowledgeable people

check their website cuz they might be preparing the RB a certain way that would add sugar carbs for preservation/taste.. i looked at blackbears website and their RB is carb (and sugar obviously) free, so maybe go buy a pound of that and take w/ u n save some $$ too for a steak when u go out haha

[AchillesEvent]

Originally Posted by gecko2424

Here are some from my experience, please add what you've found.

Chipotle:
(no keto)

Chipotle is Keto GOLD!!

I have a burrito bowl all the time.

Chicken, no rice, no beans, only a LITTLE pico (tomato salsa), lots of sour cream, cheese and lettuce.
455 calories - 26g FAT / 44g Protein / 7g Carbs.

How does that not work?

http://www.chipotlefan.com/index.php...ion_calculator
Here's a calculator to see what your meal is packing!

[weeds]

Basically I am trying to find some quick and easy (I am stuck out on the road and can't make meals) plan.

KFC - Roasted Chicken Caesar Salad with Hidden Valley? The Original Ranch? Dressing & No Croutons.

Calories 390.0
Calories from Fat 234.0
Fat 26.0g
Saturated Fat 6.0g
Cholesterol 100.0mg
Sodium 1,000.0mg
Carbohydrate 8.0g
Dietary Fiber 2.0g
Protein 30.0g

Fat (61%) Carbs (8%) Protein (31%)

Ya, Sodium is high but...

[castro1688]

Originally Posted by weeds

Basically I am trying to find some quick and easy (I am stuck out on the road and can't make meals) plan.

KFC - Roasted Chicken Caesar Salad with Hidden Valley? The Original Ranch? Dressing & No Croutons.

Calories 390.0
Calories from Fat 234.0
Fat 26.0g
Saturated Fat 6.0g
Cholesterol 100.0mg
Sodium 1,000.0mg
Carbohydrate 8.0g
Dietary Fiber 2.0g
Protein 30.0g

Fat (61%) Carbs (8%) Protein (31%)

Ya, Sodium is high but...

6g net carbs? Thats pretty good. I'd probaly get it for after a workout however.