Who doesn't love Chuck E. Cheese's?- The King's Taster

Kitchen Oil: Vegetable Oil (may contain canola oil, sunflower oil, cottonseed oil, palm oil, corn oil, and soybean oil)

Spoon Rating: 2

Recommended for: None

The King's taster visited Chuck E. Cheese's to see if their slogan "Where a kid can be a kid" applied for children and their families with food allergies and we have to say that this restaurant chain definitely scores big bonus points with us in one respect the food allergy information is readily available to their patrons. Their website was easy to navigate with food allergy information being given that was specific to each individual establishment. This means that they are actually accounting for regional differences in their food, which we have yet to find another restaurant chain acknowledge. Their food allergy information is detailed with the major allergens highlighted and a full ingredient list for each menu item. Of particular note we were impressed that they chose to call out the individual spices used in their recipes, and we hope that other eating establishments will follow suit in this respect because there are so many different food allergies out there and full disclosure means a healthier, safer meal for everybody. Besides finding this information out on their website you can also request it in person and they will print a full list of this information for you to review, which is helpful when you have hungry kids that don't care that they have food allergies because they just want to eat.
 That said once you receive this list of ingredients your jaw might drop to the ground as you take in how much of the food contains the eight common food allergens. If you have a soy allergy this is absolutely not the place for you unless you are in the mood for macaroni and cheese because almost every single other menu item contains soybeans. Even their salads contain soybeans! Also if you have a gluten allergy, or a milk allergy then you might want to just bring your kids here after they have eaten lunch and head straight to the games because your menu items would be very limited as well. As for peanut/nut allergies although they do not serve products that contain these ingredients they do serve some products that are manufactured in plants that process peanuts/ tree nuts so cross contamination is a possibility. That said if your child is still begging for a Chuck E. Cheese's birthday party do not despair they will allow you to bring your own food into their establishment for parties.
  Overall we felt that this restaurant showed a marked awareness that many of their young patrons have food allergies and they have made a strong effort to reach out to families living with food allergies by providing information via their website and at their individual locations, but lets be honest if at the end of the day there is still nothing to eat then what's the point. When it comes to providing an accessible menu for children with food allergies their menu items are so processed that they fall way short of the mark.