Updated February 2023! One of the most difficult chain restaurants to plan for is TGI Fridays. They do offer an allergen menu with top allergen icons, but it’s near worthless for dairy-free and special diet diners due to its lack of detail. We’ve created the very mini dairy-free menu for TGI Friday’s below, with some additional details to help in custom ordering.
TGI Fridays Dairy-Free Menu Guide with Custom Order & Vegan Options
This is the U.S. dairy-free guide for TGI Fridays. In Australia, there isn’t a single item listed on the menu as milk-free (even the coleslaw contains dairy). On the contrary, U.K. customers can enjoy a small Vegan Menu. Be aware of special order requirements in parentheses () next to the menu items, and see the Heads Up notes to help fill in the blanks.
Grill & Fryer Note: As always, there is potential risk for cross-contamination on the grill and TGI Fridays does use shared fryers. If concerned about this risk, speak with the staff before ordering.
Other Allergen & Dietary Notes: We have included a printable of the TGI Fridays allergen menu below. For vegan options, see the Vegan Menu Guide at the bottom of this post.
Appetizers
- Chips & Salsa
Heads Up! We have been told that the tortilla chips are dairy-free by ingredients, but are listed as containing milk due to potential cross-contamination in the shared fryer.
Burgers, Sandwiches & Wraps
- Green-Style Signature Whiskey-Glazed Burger (no cheese)
- Green-Style Beyond Meat Burger (no cheese, dairy-free sauce)
- Green-Style Bacon Chicken Sandwich (no cheese, no ranch)
- Chinese Chicken Wrap with Sesame Citrus Dressing (limited availability)
Custom Order Burgers: Green style means lettuce instead of a bun. You can custom order a basic beef or vegan beyond burger or chicken sandwich green-style. TGI Friday’s lists Udi’s gluten-free buns as containing milk, which they do not. (They do contain eggs.) It’s possible that they butter the buns. Ask at the restaurant to find out if they have any dairy-free bun options available. They do reportedly have a vegan wheat bun option.
Salads
- Chinese Chicken Salad with Sesame Citrus Dressing (limited availability)
- House Salad (no cheese, no croutons, no breadstick)
- Million Dollar Cobb Salad (no cheese, sub dairy-free dressing)
Dairy-Free Salad Dressings: Honey Mustard, Sesame Citrus
Add-Ons & Proteins
- Apple Butter BBQ Ribs
- Whiskey-Glazed Chicken
- Whiskey-Glazed Ribs
- Beef Patty
- Beyond Meat Patty
- Bacon
- Gilled Chicken
- Grilled Salmon
- Grilled Sirloin
- Avocado
Heads Up! The main dish ribs are listed as containing milk, likely due to the sides. But the ribs themselves are listed as milk-free.
Soup
- Chicken Noodle
Sides
- Coleslaw
- Fruit Cup
- Broccoli (no butter)
Heads Up! We have been told the fries are dairy-free by ingredients, but they are listed as containing top allergens due to potential cross-contamination in the fryer.
Kids
- Fresh Fruit
- Marinara Pasta
Signature Slushes
- Blue Raspberry Slush
- Cherry Limeade Slush
- Mango Peach Lemonade Slush
- Red Bull Passion Slush
- Strawberry Lemonade Slush
TGI Fridays Vegan Menu Guide
- Chips & Salsa
- Fries (reportedly, check at restaurant)
- Green-Style Beyond Meat Burger (no cheese, sub vegan sauce)
- House Salad (no cheese, no croutons, no breadstick)
- Fruit Cup
- Broccoli (no butter)
- Kid’s Marinara Pasta
- Blue Raspberry Slush
- Cherry Limeade Slush
- Mango Peach Lemonade Slush
- Red Bull Passion Slush
- Strawberry Lemonade Slush
TGI Fridays Allergen Menu at a Glance
Click the image for the full-size, two-page allergen menu for TGI Fridays. This menu is dated 2021, and seems to match the most recent version. Our dairy-free menu guide above is based on more detail than this menu provides.
Why Does Almost Everything on the TGI Fridays Allergen Menu contain Milk?
The reason the dairy-free options are so anemic at TGI Fridays is because they put allergen icons on any food item that’s at risk for cross-contamination with that allergen. Even their plain Chips & Salsa are listed as containing six top allergens! In reality, all foods are at risk for potential cross-contamination with allergens, particularly in a commercial kitchen.
When visiting TGI Fridays, I have spoken with a manager, and they are able to tell me which items are made without dairy. Some locations can even accommodate clean grill or sauté pan cooking if cross-contamination is a concern. But like most restaurant kitchens, they do use shared fryers, shared grills, and shared utensils in everyday preparation of menu items.
This Post is for Informational Purposes Only
Menus, ingredients, kitchen procedures, management, food sourcing, and restaurant protocols are subject to change at any time. Always read the menu and discuss your dietary needs with the staff before ordering. Make sure they can accommodate your situation. This post is for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as advice.
There is always a risk for potential cross-contamination of allergens in any commercial kitchen. If cross-contamination is an issue for you, always speak with the manager to ensure that your meal can be safely prepared. Listings here do not guarantee that a restaurant is safe enough for your individual needs. Only you can make that decision.
Each location of a chain restaurant has different management and staff, and some might have different owners. This means differences in processes, ingredients used, menu options, and food sourcing can occur. Always verify the safety of your order for your needs at your current location.
Where to Find TGI Fridays
TGI Friday’s currently has over 800 restaurants in about 60 countries. See the website below for addresses, hours, and online ordering.
Website: www.tgifridays.com
Options available
My husband and son love to eat at TGI Fridays so we eat there fairly often. I have a pretty severe dairy sensitivity (though not a severe allergy) and I have never gotten sick off of these two meals. I always order either:
1) The apple butter BBQ ribs with fries
2) The whiskey glazed skillet chicken fajitas with NO rice (it has dairy), cheese, or sour cream. I get a side of salsa to go with it and ask to sub fries for the rice.
I do let them know ahead of time that I can’t have dairy. They usually are friendly about it.
THEY DON'T CARE
TGIF is concerned about making money and I get that as a business. But I feel my experience was a FAIL. I TOO felt that management was ANNOYED by me. Luckily I ate some chicken wings when I went after sending the pasta back. But some people I understand may not even want to do that because they are very lax. And if they are THAT LAX, there isn’t any telling if there is CROSS CONTAMINATION. There are LEVELS to NON DAIRY allergies. Some people have it mild and can eat SOME STUFF and some of US have to be REALLY STRICT. It is not anyone’s fault. And I feel that if a company gets irritated with a PAYING CUSTOMER for asking questions, then maybe , just maybe, they shouldn’t be patronized.
For More Dairy-Free Guidance, Get Go Dairy Free!
11 Comments
The Dragon Fire Salmon looks to be removed from the menu. Now the only dairy free options outside of fruit is the BBQ ribs and chicken noodle soup.
Went with my family and watched everyone eat because all of their food supposedly contains dairy. That allergy menu is pointless . Pretty much says don’t eat anything. Doesn’t tell you what you can order. That’s bad business right there.
Even a plain steak is not ok. They told me that the steaks are injected with butter for flavoring before the steaks even arrive at the restaurant.
They really ARE terrible to be honest. I once ordered the Cajun Shrimp & Chicken Pasta and asked them if I could just have shrimp, pasta, peppers and just a olive oil plain like drizzle over it OR melted butter to help with dryness. They told me they were not going to be able to do that for me because their sauce was already made up.
All they had to do was just give me what I had kindly requested . How about don’t mix it up or even make it Cajun. I would have been happy with a bowl with shrimp, some chicken, some pasta, black pepper, and the olive oil or butter. I can still have butter. No parm or Alfredo or heavy cream. I suppose I was an inconvenience so I sent the food back, had it taken off my bill and just ate some chicken wings.
SO ANNOYING :}
Right now I am trying to figure out what foods I am allergic too. My doctors are 99% sure I am allergic to dairy. I looked at the fridays allergen menu and everyone is right, everything has dairy. I usually get the California club without cheese. I having a feeling the reason it says there is dairy is because of the cheese. However, now I am worried there may be milk in the buns they use. Does anyone know what ingredients are in the buns?
I have been a TGI Fridays fan for years! But after a recent lactose-intolerance diagnosis, we have been just once. As others have reported, there is virtually nothing on the menu that is listed as dairy-free (I found the dragonfire salmon, broccoli, and fruit cup). I ended up opting for the house salad with no cheese or croutons. This came in a small bowl & consisted of lettuce, some grape tomatoes, and a few bits of chopped up cucumber. Our waitress was great & exclaimed that she expected it to be much bigger. She took it back to the kitchen and had them make it larger for me. That was so kind! However, how much lettuce can one eat for a meal? As others reported, I also received no assistance (no manager who knows/understands allergies & their menu, or indications on the allergy menu to “order w/o cheese”) for trying to order something other than three items listed above that didn’t have the milk symbol. This was such a disappointing experience for me AND everyone with me (who felt bad while I sat with my giant bowl of lettuce). Fridays seems to be taking such a half-hearted approach to allergies.
Definitely, THIS^^^^^^^^, All Management Can Say Is: We Can Not Guarantee That You Won’t Get Sick If You Eat The Item 🙁
I ordered it once in 2016 (23 Years Old) and it was really good but that was BEFORE, the allergy awareness. Sometimes the body DOES change, and allergies evolve. When I knew better and wanted the modification in 2018 (25 Years Old) ; I got the cold shoulder. I don’t even drink anymore. So, to be honest, going to TGIF is POINTLESS!
I don’t want to ruin anyone else’s fun so I just don’t, won’t, can’t GO lol.
Also wanted to share my dissatisfaction with TGI Friday’s. I live right across the street from one, and given the size of their menu, you would think there would be *something* to eat. It’s really a shame they don’t work to accommodate customers with food allergens 🙁
I have a friend that works at TGI Fridays and the first time we went their to eat we made sure to sit in her section. She took the time to pull out their allergy binder (thats right, a 3″ binder with all the nutrition and allergy information) and went through it. After she went completely through the binder, we decided there was nothing I could have by default, even without the obvious things like cheese. There was too much shared equipment. In the end, she got one of the cooks to clean off a spot on the grill, lay down aluminum foil and cook a plain steak on it. I couldn’t have any sides so I ended up with a steak and a water for dinner. It was a good steak, but I wouldn’t go there again for Dairy free food.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience Dave!
I tried going to Friday’s before I read about it here. It was one of the worst experiences I have had trying to eat dairy-free. The menu has basically nothing listed as being dairy-free. My waiter tried to be helpful and said he would get their “nutritional specialist” to come to my table and talk to me. Then, I overheard him talking to a manager, who seemed annoyed about his request for her to come talk to me. She made some remark to him that almost offended me, but I could not hear her clearly enough to note exactly what she said. She came to our table and when I told her that I needed to have a meal with no dairy in it, she told me to look at their allergen menu, which I already had in my hand. I pointed out that almost everything listed milk as an ingredient and asked her if there were recommendations she could make for something I could order without cheese or whatever to make it dairy free. This “nutritional specialist” told me that basically my only choice was to order a plain salad, with no cheese or croutons. She was very unpleasant and not helpful at all. I ended up ordering the Dragonfire salmon, which was basically the only thing on the menu without a milk symbol and some steamed broccoli, with no butter. The manager had not even mentioned this salmon as a dairy free option. It was good enough, but I will never go back to Friday’s again.