In Los Angeles, a waiter asks a table if anyone has allergies. A customer lies… and nearly dies.

If there’s one question waitstaff absolutely must ask at every table, it’s the one that helps determine whether customers have any allergies. It’s one of the few questions asked in a restaurant where the stakes are truly high.

A waiter in California recounts receiving a flat “no” after asking a customer if she had any allergies. But her reaction to her order a few minutes later suggested otherwise.

“I had another awesome interaction at work today”

Alex Netherda (@yaboynerdy), an actor and server in Los Angeles, shares the story of a customer who told him she didn’t have any food allergies. His video has since been viewed more than 561,000 times.

“I had another awesome interaction at work today,” Netherda says. “A group of seven people… came in and sat down, and everything seemed to be going well… I asked them the classic question: ‘Are there any allergies at the table I should be aware of?’ I got a resounding, unequivocal ‘No.’”

Netherda explains, however, that this table really tested his patience. Four people ordered sandwiches, and he had to ask each of them whether they wanted fries or a salad. A young woman at the table asked him questions about “pretty much everything on the menu.” The restaurant wasn’t crowded, but Netherda admits it was “a little annoying.”

Then the food arrived. Mr. Netherda says he walked over to another table, noticed the group staring at him, and came back.

“She told me, ‘Yeah, I can’t eat that,’” Netherda recalls. “She added, ‘I’m allergic to seafood. Like, I have a really severe seafood allergy’… This [expletive] ordered red clams! I said to her, ‘Are you serious?’ She replied, ‘Yes, I can’t eat them. I can’t even have them on the table.’”

Netherda says the customer was “a little rude” when he took the dish away. He wasn’t in the mood to put up with that.

“Not to mention that I’d asked everyone if they had any allergies, and everyone had said no,” he says. “I looked at her and said, ‘What did you think clams were?’ Believe it or not, she didn’t have a [expletive] answer for that.”

Netherda says she settled for chicken strips and fries after that.

If you don’t disclose a food allergy and have a reaction, who is liable?

Paul Moore, an expert in hospitality law at Florida International University, spoke with NBC Miami in 2024 about “who is liable for food allergies at restaurants and who is protected.”

He stated that restaurants have a duty of “reasonable care” toward their customers. However, Mr. Moore added that before a customer speaks up, “the legal burden falls on the customer, because the restaurant is unaware that the customer has an allergy.” Once the customer has disclosed their allergy, the burden “falls on the restaurant staff.”

LegalMatch noted in 2025 that there is “no absolute legal obligation” for restaurants to disclose all ingredients in a dish. However, they must provide accurate information if a customer inquires about a specific allergen.

According to AFS Law, California passed specific legislation in 2025 requiring restaurant chains to list “the nine major food allergens: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, wheat, soy, and sesame.”

They were required to do so “directly on the menu, next to each dish,” or “digitally, for example via a QR code linking to an online menu listing the allergens.”

AFS Law noted that “this legislation [made] California the first state to require large restaurant chains to list major food allergens on their menus.”

Other states place the responsibility more directly on customers. For example, the Massachusetts government’s website also provides guidelines on food allergens for restaurants.

“All printed menus and menu boards must include a clear and conspicuous notice asking customers to inform their server before ordering if they have a food allergy,” the guidelines state. “The notice must read: ‘Before placing your order, please inform your server if anyone in your party has a food allergy.’”

@yaboynerdy

Subplot News contacted Netherda via email.

The article “A Los Angeles waitress asks if diners have allergies. A customer lies outright—and nearly causes her own downfall” was first published on Subplot News.

In Los Angeles, a waiter asks a table if anyone has allergies. A customer lies… and nearly dies.