Food allergy safety at restaurants

Every dish, sorted:
Good options, Ask first, or Avoid.

When the menu has fifty dishes and your child can eat only two, finding them shouldn't take all dinner. Snap a photo and Platekind analyzes every dish against your child's exact allergens, or your own, and sorts the menu into good options, dishes to ask about, and dishes to skip.

Coming soon to theApp Store Free on iPhone · launching soon Parents laughing with their young son as he takes a bite at a restaurant patio table

How it works

1

Set up a profile

Your child's, or your own. Pick from the 9 major allergens: peanut, tree nut, milk, egg, wheat, soy, fish, shellfish, sesame. Add a profile for each kid; every scan checks dishes for one child at a time.

The Platekind profile screen with two children, Leo with peanut and shellfish allergies and Mia with milk and egg allergies
2

Snap the menu

Photograph the menu at the table, screenshot it online before you go, or type the dish names. It reads menus in many languages: 中文, Español, Tiếng Việt, 한국어, 日本語 and more. Check the list it found, then start the scan.

Platekind reading a photographed menu for Bangkok Kitchen and confirming 21 dishes are ready to check for Leo
3

Start with the good options

The menu comes back sorted into Good options, Ask first, and Avoid, and every flag names its exact ingredient, like the peanut sauce in a dish whose name never mentions it. You see the reasoning, not just the verdict.

Platekind results for Bangkok Kitchen, 21 dishes sorted into Good options, Ask first, and Avoid for a child allergic to peanut and shellfish
4

Know exactly what to ask

Every Ask first comes with the question that settles it, like "Can the peanut sauce be served on the side?" Add the dishes you are considering and your questions collect into one list, next to an allergy card the kitchen can read in English, 中文, Español, Tiếng Việt, or 한국어.

The scallion oil noodles dish page asking the kitchen whether it contains peanut sauce and if it can be made peanut-free
The allergy card with the kitchen questions collected below it, ready to show the server
5

It gets easier every time

Every scan is saved. History keeps each restaurant you have checked, favorites remember the dishes that actually worked, and your family's own map of proven restaurants keeps growing.

The History screen with favorite dishes that worked and past restaurant scans for Shake Shack and Bangkok Kitchen

Every dish gets one of four honest answers

Good optionsA strong source found nothing with your child's allergens: the restaurant's own published allergen menu, or our hand-reviewed recipe database with an AI cross-check. Start here, and still confirm when ordering.
Ask firstTwo kinds of maybe. Some dishes look clear but only from an AI reading, so they are not verified yet. Others have one ingredient that could go either way, named exactly, with the question that settles it.
AvoidContains your child's allergen in a way that can't be worked around. The exact ingredient is named, so you can see why, not just that.
Could not checkNot enough information. We tell you so instead of guessing.

Built by a parent who needed it

The whole menu, checked at once.

Scanning 50 menu items for allergens yourself is slow, stressful, and half the time you give up and order plain rice. Platekind does the first pass in seconds, so you sit down already knowing where to start, even when the answer is just two dishes.

Real data first. AI assists.

Platekind checks the restaurant's own published allergen menu first, when one exists. Then our hand-reviewed dish database, mapped ingredient by ingredient. AI reads everything beyond that, and an AI-only read is never treated as verified: even when it finds nothing, the dish stays in Ask first until the kitchen confirms.

It's built never to guess "safe."

Our verdict logic is built so that uncertainty resolves to Ask first or Avoid, never a good option. And even a good option still means ask your server: recipes change, and no app can see inside a kitchen.

Safety is never paywalled.

Verdicts, history, profiles, and the allergy card are never behind a paywall. Paid plans only add scan volume and convenience. That's a promise.

A diner pointing at a dish on the menu to double-check it before ordering

Simple pricing. Safety is always free.

Free

$0

Your first 14 days: unlimited scans. After that, 5 scans a month with 1 profile. Results, history, and your allergy card always keep working.

Most popular

Plus

$4.99per month · cancel anytime

Unlimited scans, including photo menus. Prefer yearly? $39.99/year (save 33%).

Family

$7.99per month · cancel anytime

Everything in Plus, with up to 5 profiles. Grandparents and sitters can sign in and see the same allergens on their own phone. Yearly: $59.99 (save 37%).

Volume is the only thing we ever charge for. Billed through the Apple App Store; cancel anytime in your subscription settings, no questions, no phone calls.

Questions parents ask

Is Platekind medical advice?

No. Platekind is a decision aid, not a medical device. It cannot guarantee any food is safe. Always confirm with restaurant staff before ordering, and always carry prescribed emergency medication.

Which allergens does it cover?

The 9 major US allergens: peanut, tree nut, milk, egg, wheat, soy, fish, shellfish, and sesame. You can select any combination for each profile.

Does it work at small restaurants with no allergen chart?

Yes, and that's exactly why it exists. When a restaurant publishes official allergen data, we use it first. When it doesn't, we fall back to our hand-reviewed dish database, then an AI reading of the menu. An AI-only read is never treated as verified: even when nothing risky is found, the dish shows under Ask first as likely clear, with the questions to confirm.

What does the free plan include?

Your first 14 days are unlimited, then 5 scans a month with 1 profile. Results, history, profiles, and the allergy card never stop working, on any plan. Paid plans only add scan volume and profiles.

Can it read non-English menus?

Yes. Photograph menus in 中文, Español, Tiếng Việt, 한국어, 日本語 and more. Dish names are shown in both languages, so you and the server can point at the same line.

Is it on Android?

Platekind is on iPhone today. If you'd like Android, tell us at support@platekind.app; demand decides what we build next.

A bowl of noodle soup with chopsticks

Why I Built Platekind

I have two boys. My older son can eat almost anything. His little brother can't. When he was a baby, we learned that he had multiple severe food allergies. After a packaged food we trusted sent him into anaphylaxis, we basically stopped eating out.

For years, whenever our family went to a restaurant, we brought his food from home while everyone else ordered from the menu. The hardest part wasn't only the fear of getting it wrong. It was watching him realize he was different. As he got older, we slowly started letting him try restaurant food again. I still remember the first time there was only one dish on the menu he could have: a simple bowl of rice noodles in broth. When it was placed in front of him, his face lit up.

Then one evening, we met a server who changed the way I thought about eating out. She didn't know the answers to all of my questions, but she never guessed. She went back to the kitchen again and again until we felt confident. When our food arrived, almost every part of his meal had been plated separately so nothing touched the foods he couldn't eat. For the first time in years, I spent dinner watching my son enjoy his meal instead of inspecting it.

We named this app Platekind because that's what stayed with me from that night. Not just the server who kept asking questions, but the kitchen that prepared and plated my son's meal with such care. No one made us feel like a burden. Everyone simply wanted to help.

I built the tool I wished we'd had all those years. One that helps families understand restaurant menus and know the right questions to ask before ordering. I built it for my son. I hope it helps your family spend less time worrying about what's on the plate, and more time enjoying the people around the table.

— Annie, founder

A family enjoying a variety of dishes together at a round table
Platekind is a decision aid, not medical advice. It cannot guarantee any food is safe. Always confirm with restaurant staff and carry prescribed emergency medication.