Restaurant menus are built around comfort food — pasta, bread, rice, and sauces thickened with flour and sugar. But eating low carb at restaurants doesn't require suffering through a plain side salad. Every cuisine has naturally low-carb dishes if you know where to look.
Here are six restaurant types with specific orders, carb traps, and modification tips.
Steakhouses
Steakhouses are the easiest low carb restaurants to navigate. The entire menu revolves around grilled protein.
Best orders: Ribeye, New York strip, or filet mignon with steamed broccoli, sauteed romaine, or a house salad. A 12 oz steak with non-starchy vegetables totals 2-4g net carbs.
Carb traps: Glazed steaks — teriyaki, bourbon, or brown sugar glazes add 8-15g of sugar per serving. Loaded baked potatoes (60g+ carbs), onion rings (40g+), and bread service pile on fast.
Ask for: Butter or olive oil on vegetables instead of a glaze. Confirm your steak doesn't have a sugar-based rub.
Sushi Restaurants
Traditional sushi rolls are wrapped around seasoned rice sweetened with sugar. A single California roll has about 38g net carbs.
Best orders: Sashimi — sliced raw fish without rice — is essentially zero carbs. Salmon sashimi with a seaweed salad (about 4g carbs) makes a complete meal under 5g net carbs. Naruto rolls, wrapped in thin cucumber slices instead of rice, run roughly 3-5g net carbs per roll.
Carb traps: Sushi rice (roughly 9g carbs per piece of nigiri), tempura batter (15-20g per serving), and eel sauce (loaded with sugar).
Ask for: Any roll made naruto-style (cucumber-wrapped). Edamame (4g net carbs per half cup) is a safe appetizer.
Italian Restaurants
Italian menus are carb-heavy, but if you skip the pasta section entirely, strong options emerge.
Best orders: Grilled chicken or fish, antipasto platters (cured meats, olives, cheese, roasted peppers — roughly 4-6g net carbs), and Caprese salad (mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, olive oil — about 5g net carbs).
Carb traps: Chicken parmigiana (breading adds 15-20g carbs), risotto (45g+ per serving), and bread service (15-20g per piece). Marinara sauce can contain added sugar at some restaurants.
Ask for: Green salad or sauteed mixed greens in place of pasta. Confirm whether proteins are grilled or breaded — menus don't always specify. Request no bread basket.
Thai Restaurants
Thai food leans on rice, noodles, and sugar-based sauces, but several dishes work with simple modifications.
Best orders: Satay skewers (3-5g carbs per skewer; use peanut sauce sparingly at 4-6g per tablespoon). Larb — minced meat salad with lime, chili, and herbs — is a naturally low-carb classic at 5-8g net carbs. Panang curry with chicken and vegetables runs roughly 10-15g net carbs without rice.
Carb traps: Jasmine rice (45g per cup), pad thai (50g+ from rice noodles and tamarind), and sweet chili sauce. Many Thai sauces contain palm sugar, adding carbs even to savory dishes.
Ask for: Curries without rice, or extra vegetables in place of rice. Sauce on the side for stir-fries.
Mexican Restaurants
The carbs in Mexican food are concentrated in tortillas, rice, and beans. Remove those, and the core flavors are naturally low carb.
Best orders: Fajitas without tortillas — grilled chicken or steak with peppers, onions, sour cream, cheese, and guacamole comes in at roughly 6-8g net carbs. Carne asada with guacamole and pico de gallo is another clean option at 4-6g net carbs.
Carb traps: Flour tortillas (25-30g each), rice (45g per cup), refried beans (15-20g per serving), and a basket of chips (easily 60g+ carbs before the meal arrives).
Ask for: Lettuce wraps instead of tortillas. No rice, no beans. Ask the server to skip the chips entirely.
Indian Restaurants
Indian spice blends are naturally low in carbs, but naan, rice, and lentils push most meals over 50g net carbs.
Best orders: Tandoori chicken, lamb, or shrimp — marinated in yogurt and spices, cooked in a clay oven without breading — at roughly 3-5g net carbs. Chicken tikka is equally solid. Pair with raita (yogurt with cucumber, about 3g carbs).
Carb traps: Naan (40-50g per piece), basmati rice (45g per cup), dal (20g+ per serving), and samosas (25-30g each). Some curries are thickened with onion or cashew paste, adding hidden carbs.
Ask for: Tandoori proteins as the main dish. Skip naan and rice entirely. If ordering a curry, request extra vegetables on the side instead of rice.
General Tips for Any Restaurant
- Ask about sauces. Many contain flour, cornstarch, or sugar. Request sauce on the side or ask for olive oil and lemon.
- Skip the bread basket. Ask the server not to bring it — willpower is easier when there's nothing to resist.
- Swap starchy sides. Nearly every restaurant will substitute fries or potatoes for steamed or roasted vegetables.
- Watch your drinks. Sodas, sweetened tea, and cocktail mixers add 30-60g of carbs. Stick with water or unsweetened options.
More Low-Carb Dining Guides
For drive-thru orders at chains like In-N-Out, Five Guys, and Chipotle, see our low carb fast food guide. If you follow a strict keto protocol, our keto friendly restaurants guide covers macro targets by cuisine.
Let DinePick Do the Work
Navigating restaurant menus on a low-carb diet takes practice — or you could let DinePick do the work. It flags low-carb options on any menu instantly. Join the waitlist to try it first.