I fell in love with açai bowls a few years ago, and haven’t looked back since. As someone with seven of the top nine food allergies, I’ve tried countless different places, and Playa Bowls is by far my favorite one for a few important reasons. Playa Bowls is a chain açai bowl shop; they sell different flavored bowls with blended fruit bases (açai, pitaya (dragon fruit), coconut, greens, and mango), as well as smoothies. My favorite of their bowls is the “Pura Vida” bowl, which is an açai base topped with strawberries, blueberries, granola, and honey drizzle. It is the perfect combination for when I’m hungry for a meal but want something light, healthy, and of course, allergy-friendly.

My favorite thing about Playa Bowls is how easy it is to make a bowl allergy-friendly. For example, all of their bowl bases are dairy-free and made with coconut milk, and you can request gluten-free granola if you have a gluten allergy (which I do). They have a variety of bowl combinations on the menu, and you can also create your own custom bowl if you so choose. You can tell that Playa goes the extra mile with allergies because of how conscientious they are; for example, their original granola is technically free of gluten, but they offer a gluten-free version that is completely free of cross contamination to be extra safe. I also love how it is a chain restaurant with a core menu; I can always rely on it as a safe breakfast/lunch option when I come across one of their locations.

One thing about Playa, along with most other food chains, is that while the chain brand itself may be allergy-conscious, the bowls are made by the workers on site, which leaves some allergy questions up for discretion (such as cross-contamination). Luckily, one of my best friends happens to work at my local Playa Bowls location. She’s been working there for about a year, so I asked her a few questions about how Playa Bowls really manages food allergies. Here’s what she had to say: