Navigating Dining Out with IBS
We understand that eating out with IBS can be challenging and anxiety provoking, as a range of different foods may trigger your symptoms. It can be difficult to predict what might happen when you eat out with IBS, and you may even feel it is not worth eating out at all.
However, this article will share some tips on making eating out with IBS easier for you. We will discuss which types of restaurants and meals to go for, alongside which type of foods to avoid, when eating out with IBS.
How to plan and prepare for eating out with IBS
The key to eating out with IBS is to plan ahead. This will include:
Picking a cuisine that is typically more IBS friendly.
Looking at the menu beforehand to see if they have appropriate meals for you.
Thinking about the cooking methods that are used in the restaurant.
How to communicate your dietary needs with your friends or family and the restaurant.
Using the Low Fodmap Diet App by Monash can be a handy way to check which ingredients are high and low FODMAP, and which FODMAPs they have.
IBS friendly restaurant choices
You may find certain cuisines easier to dine at when you have IBS due to the cooking methods and ingredients that they typically use.
For example, choosing restaurants that offer more baked and grilled foods, rather than fried, is more IBS friendly due to the lower fat content.
Avoiding restaurants that typically use a large amount of high FODMAP ingredients and instead choosing restaurants that use more low FODMAP ingredients can also help.
The following cuisines may be better choices for you and your IBS, and we will explain why for each.
Italian restaurants
Now you may think of pizza and pasta being triggers of your IBS, and there are two reasons why this might be – the FODMAP content and the fat content.
However, there are things you can do to reduce these triggers when dining at an Italian restaurant. We recommend:
Ordering gluten-free.
Choosing dishes with lower fat sauces.
Opting for low FODMAP vegetables as pizza or in pasta dishes.
The FODMAP sugar found in pasta and pizza is called fructan (1), which is found in wheat products. Fructans can typically predominantly contribute to abdominal bloating and wind.
Instead, order a gluten-free pasta or pizza dish as these are wheat-free, which means that the fructan sugar has been removed. Alternatively, try a sourdough-based pizza which will also be lower in fructans as they are reduced in the fermentation stage of the dough production (2). Be careful with the portion size here, and consider asking about fermentation time as some sourdough products are fermented for a longer time and will therefore be lower in fructan than others.
For toppings, you can try choosing low FODMAP vegetables with a lactose-free cheese if you have lactose intolerance, such as an oyster mushroom, spinach and mozzarella. This blog on Pizza dough + 8 topping ideas! has some more delicious ideas for low FODMAP pizza toppings.
If you are more of a pasta lover, try a gluten-free dish which uses a tomato-based sauce instead of a creamy sauce, with added low FODMAP vegetables. For example, go for something like a pasta alla norma, which is a tomato-based dish with aubergine, a lower fat alternative to a carbonara.
British restaurants
British cuisine and British pubs can often have dishes with fewer ingredients used, making it easier to select ones with foods you are more comfortable with.
Typical English meals consist of a portion of protein (such as meat, chicken, or fish), with a portion of carbohydrates (such as potatoes) and 1-2 portions of vegetables.
When eating at a British restaurant, we suggest:
Choosing leaner proteins that are lower in fat, such as chicken breast or white fish, rather than beef or pork.
Go for gluten-free carbohydrates such as potato or rice dishes.
Have low FODMAP vegetables on the side, such as carrots and green beans (1).
In addition, cooking methods in British restaurants can vary, and we recommend going for meals that grill or bake rather than fry due to the lower fat content. Depending on the restaurant, you may be able to ask if they change the cooking method for your dish. For example, in a chicken burger, they may be able to swap a deep-fried chicken fillet with a grilled chicken instead.
French restaurants
French restaurants can also be more IBS friendly for similar reasons as British meals, if choosing the right things.
When eating in French restaurants, we recommend avoiding onion and garlic if these are a known trigger of your IBS, by avoiding creamy dishes, sauces and onion soup. This might mean asking for a dish but just without the cream or dressing if it contains onion and garlic, and asking if they can provide an alternative that does not.
The following meals can be good choices if the onion and garlic can be removed:
A classic steak and fries - free of an onion and garlic containing sauce.
Side salads such as a niçoise salad (without artichokes) and salade lyonnaise, both without the croutons.
Ratatouille
How to navigate cuisines that can be tricker when eating out with IBS
Indian, Asian and Spanish restaurants use lots of onion, garlic and chili in the base of many of their dishes (3).
For all these restaurants, it is worth calling ahead and asking whether they can make a separate sauce or marinade to ensure your dish is free or much lower in these ingredients if they are possible triggers for you.
Indian restaurants
In addition to removing onion and garlic and chili, choose curries that are tomato-based, such as Jalfrezi’s and Bhuna dishes, instead of creamy pastas like butter chicken or tikka masala. This is because tomato-based curries are lower fat in comparison to creamy curries.
If lentils and chickpeas are triggers for you, avoid these in curries and avoid dhal when eating out at an Indian restaurant. This is because lentils and chickpeas contain a FODMAP called galacto-oligosaccharides (1), which can be a trigger of IBS symptoms, particularly bloating and gas, for many people (4). Choose Urid dal, which is a lower GOS alternative (1).
Asian restaurants
In addition to regular onion, spring onion is frequently used to flavour and garnish Asian dishes. Like regular onion, spring onion is high in FODMAPs, and may trigger symptoms (1).
Artificial sweeteners, known as polyols, such as sorbitol and mannitol, may be used to sweeten sauces. Ask ahead to check if this is on the ingredients list and if a separate batch can be made for you without them.
Lots of Asian dishes, such as Chow Mein, may also have fructans due to wheat noodles (1). Instead, choose rice noodles, soba noodles or other rice dishes as an alternative to noodles.
Spanish restaurants
Spanish cuisine is known for its tapas, paellas, seafood and cured meats. Spanish dishes are often freshly prepared with a variety of fresh ingredients used, making it easier to ask for adaptations and swaps when needed.
On top of asking for dishes without the onion, garlic, and chili, we recommend:
Going for leaner meats such as fish and chicken, rather than cured meats and sausages.
Asking for your fish and meats to be grilled, not fried.
Choose potato-based tapas dishes such as a Spanish omelette without high FODMAP ingredients.
Choose rice-based dishes such as paella.
How to communicate your dietary needs to confidently eat out with IBS
Many restaurants will have their full menu online for you to have a look at before you decide if it’s somewhere you are comfortable dining at.
To ask for more details about the ingredients used or if they can make any adjustments to meet your dietary requirements, call the restaurant to speak to their management team and chef.
Try to be prepared with a list of the meals that you would like to discuss, with a list of ingredients that you would like to swap.
When you go to the restaurant, it could be helpful for you and the restaurant staff to take this list of your dietary requirements with you for ease on the night too to discuss with the team that day. If booking ahead, you could always ask if a note on your booking could be made with this information on too.
Communicating your dietary needs with who you are dining out with when choosing a restaurant is also more likely to make you feel more comfortable, and this can be as little or as much detail as you like! They may have their own dietary needs too and can be a great way to find something that works best for you all without feeling embarrassed.
Which drinks to order when eating out with IBS
Knowing which drinks to wash your food down with when eating out with IBS may be your next challenge, but you don’t need to stick to water only!
Soft drinks to order when eating out with IBS
We do recommend avoiding fizzy drinks and carbonated drinks as these can cause more bloating, discomfort and gas – instead, try:
Cordials
Herbal teas (avoid chamomile or fennel if these are a trigger)
Decaffeinated coffee
Lactose free milkshakes
Fruit or vegetable juices/smoothies at a maximum of 150ml serving
Alcoholic drinks to order when eating out with IBS
For some people living with IBS, alcohol can be a big trigger and it is best avoided. However, some of you may find that certain alcoholic beverages are fine.
Our tips for drinking alcohol when eating out with IBS are:
Choose lower % alcoholic drinks or spirits, as alcohol itself can drive symptoms (5).
Avoid fizzy drinks and large amounts of fruit juices as mixers or in cocktails- instead, go for tonics.
Wines are generally low FODMAP in servings of <150ml (1).
Beer is low FODMAP however may be a trigger as it is carbonated (6).
Avoid sweet or dessert wines as these are high FODMAP (1).
Summary
Eating out with IBS does not need to be avoided, but consider carefully planning by using our tips to select appropriate cuisines with dishes that use ingredients that meet your dietary needs.
Don’t be ashamed to explain your dietary needs to the restaurant by calling ahead to discuss your needs, and to your friends and family if this makes you more comfortable.
Enjoy accompanying your meal with some IBS friendly soft drinks and if drinking alcohol, try our tips to work out if there are some alcoholic drinks that you can tolerate.
We hope you enjoy your next meal out!
Written by Bethany Willson, Gastrointestinal Dietitian at LK Nutrition
References
Get the App: Low FODMAP Diet App | Monash FODMAP - Monash Fodmap. Available at: https://www.monashfodmap.com/ibs-central/i-have-ibs/get-the-app/ (Accessed: 15 April 2025).
Loponen, J. and Gänzle, M.G. (2018) ‘Use of sourdough in low fodmap baking’, Foods, 7(7), p. 96. doi:10.3390/foods7070096.
Ferrucci, L.M. et al. (2010) Measurement of spices and seasonings in India: Opportunities for cancer epidemiology and prevention, Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP. Available at: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3072051/ (Accessed: 15 April 2025).
Tuck, C.J. et al. (2018) ‘Increasing symptoms in irritable bowel symptoms with ingestion of GALACTO-oligosaccharides are mitigated by α-galactosidase treatment’, American Journal of Gastroenterology, 113(1), pp. 124–134. doi:10.1038/ajg.2017.245.
Halder, S.L. et al. (2006) ‘Influence of alcohol consumption on IBS and dyspepsia’, Neurogastroenterology & Motility, 18(11), pp. 1001–1008. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2982.2006.00815.x.
Ligaarden, S.C., Lydersen, S. and Farup, P.G. (2012) ‘Diet in subjects with Irritable bowel syndrome: A cross-sectional study in the general population’, BMC Gastroenterology, 12(1). doi:10.1186/1471-230x-12-61.
