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Eating out in Edinburgh with a food allergy

Published 3 November 2026

Eating out in Edinburgh with a food allergy means naming every food, then asking this kitchen. Food Standards Scotland says to check the menu and call ahead, give examples of the foods that make you ill, and say it again to the server or the manager when you arrive. If you doubt they understand, do not eat there. They must provide allergen information. They do not have to make a separate meal. The NHS says a specialist gives you an allergy action plan, and that you tell restaurant staff. This page does not replace that plan. See Edinburgh.

Food Standards Scotland is the public sector food body for Scotland. The Food Standards Agency is responsible for food safety and food hygiene in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and describes Food Standards Scotland as the equivalent body for Scotland. The sticker numbered from 5 to 0 is the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme. That publication applies to England, Northern Ireland and Wales.

Name every food

Name the food itself. Milk includes butter, cheese, cream, yoghurt and a milk glaze. Peanut is separate from tree nuts, and Food Standards Scotland lists it in sauces such as satay. Sesame is on bread and in hummus, tahini and sesame oil. Cereals containing gluten means wheat, rye, barley and oats, including flour in batter, soups and sauces. You can be allergic to any food. A business must tell you if it uses any of 14 key allergens, and its guidance for businesses says people may react to foods outside that list, so you name those yourself. See the 14 allergens UK restaurants must declare and how to tell a restaurant about your food allergy.

Ask, and ask to see the writing

For food that is not prepacked, and not prepacked for direct sale, regulation 5 lets the business give the allergen particulars in any manner, including orally. If it is spoken, they must signpost that you can ask a member of staff, on a label or on a notice, menu, ticket or label where you choose the food. The City of Edinburgh Council says restaurants, cafés and takeaways can say it or write it, for example on a menu or in a leaflet. Food Standards Scotland also allows a chalkboard or a shelf label. Ask to read the writing, then still talk. Check for a last-minute recipe change, and ask what else used the same fryer, pan or oil. Cooking at a high temperature does not remove a food allergen, unlike bacteria. If nobody can say, do not eat the food.

Packed food, a takeaway, and a festival stall

Since 1 October 2021, food packed before you choose it needs the food’s name and a full ingredients list, with any of the 14 allergens emphasised. Food Standards Scotland gives a packed sandwich, wrapped deli goods and a boxed salad as examples, and the council uses the same rule. A plate cooked after you order is covered in Natasha’s Law and PPDS labelling. A takeaway must give you the allergy information when you order and again when it arrives. More is in ordering a takeaway with a food allergy.

During the festivals, temporary kitchens and one-off menus sit beside the places that are there all year. Ask on the day. A stall trading as a food business still has to tell you about the 14 allergens. Food Standards Scotland includes a vehicle or a fixed or mobile stall in a mass caterer, where food is prepared in the course of a business. The information can be written or spoken, with a signpost if it is not set out in front of you. That page also covers food packed before sale and sold from a marquee, market stall or mobile vehicle. If staff cannot say what is in the food and what it was cooked with, do not eat it. A new stall may show Awaiting Inspection, meaning no hygiene result yet. A stall in Edinburgh is a matter for the City of Edinburgh Council.

Pass or Improvement Required

The Food Hygiene Information Scheme is what you see in Scotland. Pass means the business meets the legal requirements for food hygiene. Improvement Required means it did not, and needs to improve. Exempt Premises were inspected, met the pass criteria, and are low risk, such as a newsagent or a chemist selling tins of biscuits. A new owner may show Awaiting Inspection. Some businesses do not display the certificate. Food Standards Scotland still publishes the result.

The scale from 5 to 0 belongs to the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme for England, Northern Ireland and Wales. A window in Edinburgh with no number on it is often the Scottish result. Food hygiene ratings and food allergies sets the two schemes side by side. A Pass is the hygiene result at the last inspection. It does not mean a dish suits a peanut, milk, sesame or gluten plan.

City of Edinburgh Council, and not East Lothian

A general question about allergen information can go to Food Standards Scotland. A concern about a specific business goes to the local authority. The Food Health and Safety team can look at allergen labelling or information, hygiene, food which has not been labelled properly, and illness after eating from a food business in Edinburgh. The team is at Waverley Court, G1, 4 East Market Street, Edinburgh, EH8 8BG, on 0131 200 2000, email EnvironmentalHealth@edinburgh.gov.uk. If you were ill, tell the council and your GP. Keep packaging and receipts, and keep suspect food sealed in the freezer while you contact them.

That remit is a food business in Edinburgh. East Lothian Council lists a Musselburgh Area Office at 141 High Street, Musselburgh, East Lothian, EH21 7DD, so a meal there is outside the Waverley Court team. Contact the Edinburgh council about a hygiene result for a business in the city. Glasgow is covered in eating out in Glasgow with more than one food allergy.

If someone reacts

If you think someone is having anaphylaxis, follow the NHS and their allergy action plan. Use an adrenaline auto-injector if they have one, then call 999 and say you think it is an anaphylactic reaction. Lie down, and do not stand or walk, even if they feel better. Use a second injector if there is no improvement after 5 minutes. The food allergy page says to use a prescribed injector or nasal spray (EURneffy) straight away, then call 999 even if the person seems better, and not to drive to A&E. Call 999 if a child is limp, floppy or not responding as usual. Restaurant steps are in what to do in an allergic reaction. If this page and the NHS differ, follow the NHS and the plan.

These addresses are for planning a trip. During a reaction, call 999. Adult accident and emergency is at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, for ages 16 and over, at 51 Little France Crescent, Old Dalkeith Road, Edinburgh, EH16 4SA, open 24 hours a day, every day. Children under 16 should go to the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People, on the Little France campus, at 50 Little France Crescent, Edinburgh, EH16 4TJ, open 24 hours for ages 0 to 15, with its own entrance. From a child’s 16th birthday that page names the Royal Infirmary, St John’s Hospital in Livingston, or the Borders General Hospital. For urgent care that is not life-threatening, call NHS 24 on 111. A minor injuries unit is the wrong door for anaphylaxis.

Where this sits on SafePlate

You can search for restaurants for a food allergy, then read Edinburgh and Glasgow, or search on the SafePlate homepage. Searching SafePlate is free. A hygiene result, when one is shown, is Pass or Improvement Required. It is not a decision about your foods, and a temporary festival stall may not be on the map yet.

The usable allergy chef card, in 38 languages, is part of SafePlate Plus. Plus fills it from your profile so you can show it or print it. The allergy chef card page is a preview. On the free site you see that preview only. It is not filled in with your foods, and you cannot hand it over or print it as your card.

Set up your foods before you search. This is not medical advice. Confirm the meal with the kitchen. In the UK, if you think someone is having anaphylaxis, call 999.