How does theBEAT decide a dish is dairy-free?

We read what the venue itself publishes — its allergen material, its menu, or a certifying body's listing — and we store the source link and the date we read it. Where we find no published source, the label does not go on. We do not call kitchens and we do not infer.

Is this a certification?

No. It is a record of what the venue published, with the date. Menus and kitchens change; confirm with the restaurant before you order, especially for an allergy that can send you to hospital.

How many of these dishes are receipted?

39 of the 158 dairy-free dishes we carry in DC, Maryland & Virginia carry a first-party receipt. This page shows a sample of 6; the rest are in the app. Dishes without a published source are marked as open questions rather than quietly labelled — an honest amber, not a green we cannot back.

theBEAT/The Edit/Dairy-Free · DC, Maryland & Virginia

Dairy-Free dishes in DC, Maryland & Virginia, with receipts.

Dishes labelled dairy-free in the venue’s own published material — the page named, with the date we read it.

39 of the 158 carry a published first-party source — the venue’s own material or a named supervising authority, with the page and the date we read it. The 6 highest-rated are below with their sources; the other 33 are in the app.

Read this first. Each line below records what the venue itself published, on the date shown — it is not a certification and not a guarantee, and we do not call kitchens. Menus, suppliers and kitchens change after we read them. Confirm with the restaurant before you order — always, and especially for an allergy that can send you to hospital or an observance you keep. And ask specifically about cross-contact: a source can tell us what is in a dish and still tell us nothing about a shared fryer, grill or prep surface. Unless a venue publishes a dedicated facility or a written cross-contact protocol, assume shared equipment and say so when you order.

Nobu DC · Washington DC

Spicy Tuna Roll

What the source records
Nobu Spicy Tuna Roll: tuna, spicy mayo, scallion, rice, nori — no dairy.

source · read 2026-07-08

Nobu DC · Washington DC

Tuna Tataki Salad

What the source records
Nobu Tuna Tataki: seared tuna + citrus-soy dressing, no dairy (soy sauce = wheat, GF removed).

source · read 2026-07-08

Char Bar · Washington DC

Kosher Filet Mignon

What the source records
Glatt-kosher meat house (Va'ad-supervised) — no dairy on premises by kosher law.

source · read 2026-07-08

Char Bar · Washington DC

Glatt Ribeye Steak

What the source records
Glatt-kosher meat house (VAAD-supervised) — no dairy served with meat by kosher law.

source · read 2026-07-10

Bonchon · Washington DC

Korean Soy-Garlic Wings

Recorded from the venue’s own published material — open the source to read it.

source · read 2026-08-13

True Food Kitchen · Bethesda, MD

Grilled Wild Salmon

Recorded from the venue’s own published material — open the source to read it.

source · read 2026-08-13

The other 33 are in the app.

We publish a sample here — enough to show you exactly how a receipt works and to let you check one yourself. The full dairy-free list for DC, Maryland & Virginia, every other dietary lens we carry, and the filters that combine them live in the app, which is free to install and free to browse.

Every dish here earned its place by publishing something we could read and store. We do not label a dish because it looks right, and we do not write down what a kitchen tells us on the phone. When a venue publishes nothing, the dish stays an open question rather than a quiet green — which is why our lists are shorter than they could be, and why the part that is here holds up.

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