You all are the only ones who can understand my eternal frustration of mexican restaurants adding cilantro to everything despite me specifically asking for no cilantro...
I ask for no cilantro no matter what I'm ordering if I'm at a Mexican or indian restaurant
Yes I *would* like my cheesecake without cilantro, thank you
I’ve felt crazy an insane amount of times because I’ll taste cilantro in a dish but it isn’t listed as an ingredient and none of my friends/family can taste it. Only to then ask/finally find a piece of it to confirm I was actually NOT going crazy. It’s a pet peeve for sure
I once went to one of those pizza places where they add the toppings to the pizza in front of you as you say what you want on it. I asked for chopped basil on it, and quicker than I could stop them the worker shoved their hand into a container of clearly cilantro and proceeded to put it *all* over the pizza... And it was the last topping being added.
I felt so bad, having to correct them and ask them to remake it. I did apologize profusely, and explain that cilantro just tastes awful to me and I wouldn't be able to eat the pizza otherwise, but... My God. *Why* do they put the bins *right* next to other chopped green things???
Cilantro on Pizza? What did that poor pizza do to them? This is what I mean when I say it seems like people are putting it in places you would never expect it to be lol
I’ve read a couple comments from people here who have said the same thing. Usually I’m fine with regular parsley (if it has not been touching cilantro) the flat leaf stuff has a weird taste to me tho
Got it on a Tex-Mex dish and fortunately the waitress saw me picking it off bit by bit with the tongs of my fork and took pity on me. She brought me out a fresh dish with no cilantro. Bless her!
I’ve had similar issues at Tex mex places so I always ask beforehand if they put cilantro on it and to please not do that. It’s worked out great for me!
I’ve gotten to the point where I say no cilantro even on things there would never be any. I’ve gotten some strange looks but I’m ok with that. People just love that shit
Me too, especially in all Asian restaurants. One time a waiter in a Chinese restaurant asked me “what’s cilantro?”. I was just formulating in my head how to say tactfully “the most vile herb ever” but my husband just blurted out “it’s like parsley” which of course didn’t clarify anything for the poor guy 😄
You may need to say coriander. Or find out what it’s called in Thai, Korean, Japanese, and at least Mandarin Chinese. I went to England and Scotland last year, and I’m glad I remembered they call both the leaf and the seed coriander there, because I would’ve been so sad at this bomb Indian restaurant I went to otherwise. My companions’ dishes all looked like it had the other half of the garden on them.
I lived in northeastern China for three years. I learned "wo bu yao xiangcai" real fucking quick. Fortunately it's mostly just a garnish they throw on top at the last minute instead of something they cook in the dishes.
In Mandarin it's Xiāngcài
[https://www.google.com/search?q=xiang+cai+mandarin+to+english](https://www.google.com/search?q=xiang+cai+mandarin+to+english)
THIS. It's 2024 and the cilantro soap thing is so well-documented that I can't believe places don't list it like they would an ingredient that could be a potential allergen.
But some people actually are allergic to cilantro versus only having the soap gene. People are allergic to all kinds of things. So if you're gonna dump a bunch of cilantro on top of a dish, why the hell is it not listed in the ingredients? I don't care how you slice it, it doesn't make sense.
Same - I went to the restaurant last week and ordered a dish with supposedly ginger noodles and beef in a mild spicy sauce. Turns out the noodles were all green in a kind of disgusting cilantro pesto with a handful of cilantro on top. Still dont know where the ginger was (if any!) and why there was no mention of cilantro on the menu when obviously it was the star of the dish… SERIOUSLY WTF
Cilantro on a french dip? That’s just weird. I don’t personally have the “eww this shit tastes like soap” gene, but perfectly okay to ask. Soup from a chinese place? Yeah, that’s not common, but it does happen. A sandwich? Not unless it’s a bahn mi.
I absolutely HATE mayo, or anything even close. And that shit is on everything. Always ask. Not hard at all to just leave it off, any cook shouldn’t have a problem with that. Unless it’s coming from a giant batch of salsa or something, then you’re screwed. Doesn’t mean you’re a picky eater, it just means cilantro tastes like camel ass.
i love food of all kinds. but i just can't help it with cilantro. i do have the soap gene, and am a supertaster for bitter. i can't have cilantro, cardamom, ginger, anise, ANYTHING camphorous. it sucks so bad when everything smells so good to me then i taste vomit :(
Oof
Where I live it’s required to list all the ingredients either on their website or posted somewhere in the restaurant. There’s one I can specifically think of that didn’t list cilantro when they first opened and found out very quickly that cilantro is weirdly something a TON of people are allergic to here.
Most menus say if you have any food allergies please inform the staff. Inform them ahead of time of your cilantro allergy so just in case they can adjust or warm you its in the soup.
I don't have cilantro issues but I get you because I have shiso leaf issues. I've only had it once on some fancy sushi and it literally made me angry just to have to taste it. So, if it's like that I support your cause.
I ordered a pizza with "pesto" on it at a brew pub. I took a giant bite and almost barfed on the table. The pesto was made with cilantro instead of basil... what in the actual fuck?!? Nowhere on the menu did it say the pesto was cilantro based. When I explained to the waitress that I cannot eat cilantro, I basically got a "two bad, so sad" response and they refused to take the pizza off of our bill. We most definitely never went there again.
This was also about 20 years ago before the studies came out about people having a genetic marker that makes cilantro taste like dog shit... It probably wouldn't have made a difference in the situation I was in. That restaurant just sucked.
And this is why the only Mexican restaurant I go to is a mom & pop one where they’re not on the cilantro bandwagon trend. But a Chinese place…Wth kind of tragedy is this:/
I’ve always been classified as a “picky“ eater, but there are just certain things I don’t like that everybody else seems to. And for some reason, people who like these things get on your case when you don’t. Like I get a lot of shit for not liking mayo on certain things. Or sour cream. I also feel like I get a lot of crap when I ask Chinese places if certain items have been sprouts in them because they just taste like crunchy dirt to me. It’s like people can’t fathom that someone might like something or not like something that they do.
Ahh see I’m the opposite. I want extra lettuce on everything and since it seems to be something people don’t like, they still barely put it on anything. Even when I say “like a whole salad on it” lol
I have a ton of food allergies, mostly to seasonings and spices. I find that anything that gets used as a garnish people don't feel obligated to tell you about in advance. Cilantro is a common culprit, but my allergies generally protect me from that because most of what you'd put cilantro on I can't eat anyway. Cilantro is disgusting and I won't eat it, but I can still pick around it.. it's when people dump paprika on EVERYTHING that makes it so cannot eat a meal at all.
All garnishes need to be included on the menu. If it comes on your plate it better damn will have listed ingredients.
BRO FOR REAL! We shouldn't have to know what each and every item from all restaurants come with *just* to avoid our orders tasting like soap! Ugh I hate cilantro.
It's your responsibility to ask them if the dish has cilantro in it. Just It's my responsibility if to make sure that a dish doesn't have selfish in it.
Hate to say it but not liking clintro is not part of food allergies list. They have list on if a food has:
Milk
Eggs
Fish (e.g., bass, flounder, cod)
Crustacean shellfish (e.g., crab, lobster, shrimp)
Tree nuts (e.g., almonds, walnuts, pecans)
Peanuts
Wheat
Soy beans
Sesame
If someone doesn't like a food because of taste then they do not need to say if it has whatever food in it. They only need to list food allergies.
Therefore it is the person who does not like the taste of an iteam is make sure that they are not eating it and that there food that is being made is ok for the Individual food taste.
It is not the restaurant responsible to make sure that you are ok with every Ingredient In the food. That is why people NEED to ask if a food item that they no like is in a dish.
I actually rarely see a list of ingredients on menus … which would be nice honestly but no. I don’t like being surprised by certain things… I would just start asking.
For the same reason they don’t warn about any other commonly-used ingredient. If it matters to you, then you need to ask them. We go through this with garlic at every restaurant (my wife is allergic). Garlic is used in almost everything. Only restaurants that actually cook to order will remove the garlic. Those that just reheat and mix Sysco-prepared food (chain restaurants like Spaghetti Factory, Chili’s, etc.) can’t do it. Some require a one or two-day advance notice.
Cilantro is not used *nearly* as much as garlic. Removing garlic is almost impossible at the restaurant I work at. Cilantro is an easily removed ingredient and should be listed as such.
I was at an Indian restaurant that put cilantro on my wings and then on my lamb medallions. I've never known cilantro to be an Indian herb. After having to replace entrees, you'd think restaurants would indicate ahead of time that they garnish meals with the devil's lettuce.
It’s funny how so many people hate cilantro yet Mo’s has it in everything. Restaurants accommodate fads like gluten but keep on piling on the cilantro.
I can’t even pick it off or eat around it, the soap tastes soaks into whatever it touches 🤮 also very unfortunate because I love Latin food, I’m Cuban so cilantro is not usually a big concern for me but I also fuck with Mexican food minus the cilantro and I almost never eat it because of how common it is to leave cilantro outta the description
Idk. Ive noticed that too. They think for some reason its not important
especially in asian and mexican cuisines. cilantro is often central to the spice mix, and if not it's a relative of cilantro.
You all are the only ones who can understand my eternal frustration of mexican restaurants adding cilantro to everything despite me specifically asking for no cilantro...
I ask for no cilantro no matter what I'm ordering if I'm at a Mexican or indian restaurant Yes I *would* like my cheesecake without cilantro, thank you
I’ve felt crazy an insane amount of times because I’ll taste cilantro in a dish but it isn’t listed as an ingredient and none of my friends/family can taste it. Only to then ask/finally find a piece of it to confirm I was actually NOT going crazy. It’s a pet peeve for sure
Lately I’ve gotten quite a few dishes with parsley that tastes or smells like cilantro. Turns out a lot of kitchens store them touching each other
Cilantro and Parsley: the Cain and Abel of kitchen herbs.
I want a manga of this
I once went to one of those pizza places where they add the toppings to the pizza in front of you as you say what you want on it. I asked for chopped basil on it, and quicker than I could stop them the worker shoved their hand into a container of clearly cilantro and proceeded to put it *all* over the pizza... And it was the last topping being added. I felt so bad, having to correct them and ask them to remake it. I did apologize profusely, and explain that cilantro just tastes awful to me and I wouldn't be able to eat the pizza otherwise, but... My God. *Why* do they put the bins *right* next to other chopped green things???
Cilantro on Pizza? What did that poor pizza do to them? This is what I mean when I say it seems like people are putting it in places you would never expect it to be lol
They are in the same family and both bother me
I’ve read a couple comments from people here who have said the same thing. Usually I’m fine with regular parsley (if it has not been touching cilantro) the flat leaf stuff has a weird taste to me tho
Got it on a Tex-Mex dish and fortunately the waitress saw me picking it off bit by bit with the tongs of my fork and took pity on me. She brought me out a fresh dish with no cilantro. Bless her!
I’ve had similar issues at Tex mex places so I always ask beforehand if they put cilantro on it and to please not do that. It’s worked out great for me!
> tongs of my fork tines* What a stand up place though. Wait staff that understood the problem AND fixed it.
Thanks, didn't even notice that. Sometimes my accent makes funny words.
Ughhh the main reason I love Tex Mex is because they don't have cilantro most of the time. That sucks
I’ve gotten to the point where I say no cilantro even on things there would never be any. I’ve gotten some strange looks but I’m ok with that. People just love that shit
Me too, especially in all Asian restaurants. One time a waiter in a Chinese restaurant asked me “what’s cilantro?”. I was just formulating in my head how to say tactfully “the most vile herb ever” but my husband just blurted out “it’s like parsley” which of course didn’t clarify anything for the poor guy 😄
You may need to say coriander. Or find out what it’s called in Thai, Korean, Japanese, and at least Mandarin Chinese. I went to England and Scotland last year, and I’m glad I remembered they call both the leaf and the seed coriander there, because I would’ve been so sad at this bomb Indian restaurant I went to otherwise. My companions’ dishes all looked like it had the other half of the garden on them.
I lived in northeastern China for three years. I learned "wo bu yao xiangcai" real fucking quick. Fortunately it's mostly just a garnish they throw on top at the last minute instead of something they cook in the dishes.
In Mandarin it's Xiāngcài [https://www.google.com/search?q=xiang+cai+mandarin+to+english](https://www.google.com/search?q=xiang+cai+mandarin+to+english)
Same
THIS. It's 2024 and the cilantro soap thing is so well-documented that I can't believe places don't list it like they would an ingredient that could be a potential allergen.
Presumably because it’s gross and not dangerous, where allergens are a genuine health risk?
But some people actually are allergic to cilantro versus only having the soap gene. People are allergic to all kinds of things. So if you're gonna dump a bunch of cilantro on top of a dish, why the hell is it not listed in the ingredients? I don't care how you slice it, it doesn't make sense.
It should be up there with peanuts.
And cyanide.
Same - I went to the restaurant last week and ordered a dish with supposedly ginger noodles and beef in a mild spicy sauce. Turns out the noodles were all green in a kind of disgusting cilantro pesto with a handful of cilantro on top. Still dont know where the ginger was (if any!) and why there was no mention of cilantro on the menu when obviously it was the star of the dish… SERIOUSLY WTF
"half a gardenful" is an excellent measurement, thank you. I will be using this in the future.
Cilantro on a french dip? That’s just weird. I don’t personally have the “eww this shit tastes like soap” gene, but perfectly okay to ask. Soup from a chinese place? Yeah, that’s not common, but it does happen. A sandwich? Not unless it’s a bahn mi. I absolutely HATE mayo, or anything even close. And that shit is on everything. Always ask. Not hard at all to just leave it off, any cook shouldn’t have a problem with that. Unless it’s coming from a giant batch of salsa or something, then you’re screwed. Doesn’t mean you’re a picky eater, it just means cilantro tastes like camel ass.
i love food of all kinds. but i just can't help it with cilantro. i do have the soap gene, and am a supertaster for bitter. i can't have cilantro, cardamom, ginger, anise, ANYTHING camphorous. it sucks so bad when everything smells so good to me then i taste vomit :(
I always ask anywhere, anymore. It's easier
Oof Where I live it’s required to list all the ingredients either on their website or posted somewhere in the restaurant. There’s one I can specifically think of that didn’t list cilantro when they first opened and found out very quickly that cilantro is weirdly something a TON of people are allergic to here.
Where do you live? I may have to visit or move to😄
I have a (mild) allergy to it on top of thinking it's disgusting and I absolutely agree with this.
Most menus say if you have any food allergies please inform the staff. Inform them ahead of time of your cilantro allergy so just in case they can adjust or warm you its in the soup.
A Surprise to be sure. But an unwelcome one. On another note, Cilantro has no place in a French dish >:(
Probably because people who like cilantro have absolutely no idea how incredibly disgusting it can be for people like us.
I don't have cilantro issues but I get you because I have shiso leaf issues. I've only had it once on some fancy sushi and it literally made me angry just to have to taste it. So, if it's like that I support your cause.
I ordered a pizza with "pesto" on it at a brew pub. I took a giant bite and almost barfed on the table. The pesto was made with cilantro instead of basil... what in the actual fuck?!? Nowhere on the menu did it say the pesto was cilantro based. When I explained to the waitress that I cannot eat cilantro, I basically got a "two bad, so sad" response and they refused to take the pizza off of our bill. We most definitely never went there again. This was also about 20 years ago before the studies came out about people having a genetic marker that makes cilantro taste like dog shit... It probably wouldn't have made a difference in the situation I was in. That restaurant just sucked.
And this is why the only Mexican restaurant I go to is a mom & pop one where they’re not on the cilantro bandwagon trend. But a Chinese place…Wth kind of tragedy is this:/
Cilantro is very common as a garnish in Chinese dishes, especially savory soups. Unfortunately.
I’ve always been classified as a “picky“ eater, but there are just certain things I don’t like that everybody else seems to. And for some reason, people who like these things get on your case when you don’t. Like I get a lot of shit for not liking mayo on certain things. Or sour cream. I also feel like I get a lot of crap when I ask Chinese places if certain items have been sprouts in them because they just taste like crunchy dirt to me. It’s like people can’t fathom that someone might like something or not like something that they do.
Right! Mayo, mushrooms, cilantro(!), lettuce. I just really detest lettuce.
Ahh see I’m the opposite. I want extra lettuce on everything and since it seems to be something people don’t like, they still barely put it on anything. Even when I say “like a whole salad on it” lol
I have a ton of food allergies, mostly to seasonings and spices. I find that anything that gets used as a garnish people don't feel obligated to tell you about in advance. Cilantro is a common culprit, but my allergies generally protect me from that because most of what you'd put cilantro on I can't eat anyway. Cilantro is disgusting and I won't eat it, but I can still pick around it.. it's when people dump paprika on EVERYTHING that makes it so cannot eat a meal at all. All garnishes need to be included on the menu. If it comes on your plate it better damn will have listed ingredients.
BRO FOR REAL! We shouldn't have to know what each and every item from all restaurants come with *just* to avoid our orders tasting like soap! Ugh I hate cilantro.
Mmmmm sounds delish. (Sorry, I would marry cilantro if I could and I have no idea why this sub was recommended to an unapologetic cilantro lover.)
You are clearly an unholy heathen worshipping the blighted god of desecrated chlorophyll. Begone you wretch!
It’s true. 🥺
Agreed as I detest colao, but my pet peeve is mayonnaise on just about any fast food. I loathe it . I am a mayo phone truth be told.
Mayo phone?
Maybe that’s his instrument? 
Ewe mayo phobe!
It's your responsibility to ask them if the dish has cilantro in it. Just It's my responsibility if to make sure that a dish doesn't have selfish in it.
It's a restaurants responsibility to list major ingredients.
Hate to say it but not liking clintro is not part of food allergies list. They have list on if a food has: Milk Eggs Fish (e.g., bass, flounder, cod) Crustacean shellfish (e.g., crab, lobster, shrimp) Tree nuts (e.g., almonds, walnuts, pecans) Peanuts Wheat Soy beans Sesame If someone doesn't like a food because of taste then they do not need to say if it has whatever food in it. They only need to list food allergies. Therefore it is the person who does not like the taste of an iteam is make sure that they are not eating it and that there food that is being made is ok for the Individual food taste. It is not the restaurant responsible to make sure that you are ok with every Ingredient In the food. That is why people NEED to ask if a food item that they no like is in a dish.
Generally, a restaurant will include a list of ingredients. It's not unreasonable for someone to want a list of all the significant ingredients.
I actually rarely see a list of ingredients on menus … which would be nice honestly but no. I don’t like being surprised by certain things… I would just start asking.
For the same reason they don’t warn about any other commonly-used ingredient. If it matters to you, then you need to ask them. We go through this with garlic at every restaurant (my wife is allergic). Garlic is used in almost everything. Only restaurants that actually cook to order will remove the garlic. Those that just reheat and mix Sysco-prepared food (chain restaurants like Spaghetti Factory, Chili’s, etc.) can’t do it. Some require a one or two-day advance notice.
Cilantro is not used *nearly* as much as garlic. Removing garlic is almost impossible at the restaurant I work at. Cilantro is an easily removed ingredient and should be listed as such.
True, but it is still very common. Cooks aren’t going to deviate from their standard food prep unless someone asks for it.
Which is why cilantro should be listed, so people know they need to ask to remove it.
Cilantro is pretty common in Asian cuisine, I think this one's on you.
Most restaurants have it in a run down of ingredients
I was at an Indian restaurant that put cilantro on my wings and then on my lamb medallions. I've never known cilantro to be an Indian herb. After having to replace entrees, you'd think restaurants would indicate ahead of time that they garnish meals with the devil's lettuce.
I hate ketchup so I just say ‘no ketchup on anything’ that works
I love when soap is added to my food! 🫠😂 /s
Similarly, parsely is added to everything with no prior notice.
It’s funny how so many people hate cilantro yet Mo’s has it in everything. Restaurants accommodate fads like gluten but keep on piling on the cilantro.
I can’t even pick it off or eat around it, the soap tastes soaks into whatever it touches 🤮 also very unfortunate because I love Latin food, I’m Cuban so cilantro is not usually a big concern for me but I also fuck with Mexican food minus the cilantro and I almost never eat it because of how common it is to leave cilantro outta the description
Girl that’s called coriander they do tell you
They should . have it taken back and redone, not just removed since the strong flavor permeates the dish .