If there’s one question servers absolutely have to ask at every table, it’s the one checking in on diners’ allergies. This is one of the few restaurant questions that has truly high stakes.
One California server says he got a firm “no” after asking a diner if she had any allergies. But her reaction to her order a few minutes later suggested otherwise.
‘Had another super awesome interaction at work today’
Los Angeles actor and server Alex Netherda (@yaboynerdy) shares a story about a customer who told him she had no food allergies. His video has since accumulated more than 561,000 views.
“Had another super awesome interaction at work today,” Netherda says. “So a group of seven … comes in and sits down, and everything seems cool … I give them the whole, ‘Are there any allergies at the table that I should be aware of?’ I get a big, fat, resounding, ‘No.’”
Netherda says the table tested his patience, however. Four people ordered sandwiches, and he had to ask each person whether they wanted fries or a salad. A young woman at the table asked him about “just about everything on the menu.” The restaurant wasn’t busy, but Netherda says it was “a little irritating.”
Then the food came out. Netherda says he went to another table, noticed the group looking at him, and came back.
“She’s like, ‘Yeah, I can’t eat this,'” Netherda recalls. “She says, ‘I am allergic to shellfish. Like, I have a really bad shellfish allergy’ … This [expletive] ordered the red clams! I said, ‘Are you being serious?’ She’s like, ‘Yeah, I can’t eat. I can’t even really have it on the table.’”
Netherda says the diner gave him “a little bit of attitude,” as he took the dish away. He wasn’t in the mood.
“Not ignoring the fact that I asked everybody what allergies they had and everyone said none,” he says. “I look at her, and I’m like, ‘What did you think clams were?’ Believe it or not, she didn’t have a [expletive] answer for that.”
Netherda says she switched to chicken strips and fries after that.
If you don’t disclose a food allergy and have a reaction, who is liable?
Paul Moore, a Florida International University hospitality law expert, talked to NBC Miami in 2024 about “who is responsible for food allergies at restaurants and who is protected.”
He said restaurants owe diners a duty of “reasonable care.” However, Moore added that before a customer speaks up, “the legal burden is on the customer because the restaurant doesn’t know the customer has an allergy.” Once a diner discloses, the burden “falls on the restaurant’s staff.”
LegalMatch wrote in 2025 that there is “no absolute legal obligation” for restaurants to disclose every ingredient in a meal. However, they must give accurate information if a customer asks about a specific allergen.
According to AFS Law, California enacted specific legislation in 2025 requiring chain restaurants to disclose “the nine major food allergens — milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, wheat, soy, and sesame.”
They had to do so “directly on the menu, adjacent to each menu item,” or “digitally, such as through a QR code linking to an online allergen menu.”
AFS Law reported that “this legislation [made] California the first state to mandate large restaurant chains to disclose major food allergens on their menus.”
Other states put the onus on diners more directly. For example, Massachusetts’ government website also outlines food allergen guidelines for restaurants.
“All printed menus and menu boards must include a clear and conspicuous notice requesting that customers inform the server before placing an order if they have a food allergy,” the guidelines say. “The notice should state: ‘Before placing your order, please inform your server if a person in your party has a food allergy.’”
@yaboynerdy
Subplot News reached out to Netherda via email.
