Eating out doesn’t have to derail your nutrition. The average restaurant entree clocks in at about 674 calories, which already exceeds the roughly 640 calories recommended for a single meal on a 2,000-calorie diet. That’s before appetizers, drinks, and dessert. But with a few smart habits, you can enjoy restaurants without the caloric damage.
Read the Menu Like a Label
Menu descriptions tell you more than you might think. Words like “fried,” “crispy,” “breaded,” “battered,” “buttery,” and “creamy” signal dishes loaded with extra fat and calories. Look instead for “grilled,” “baked,” “roasted,” “steamed,” “broiled,” or “poached.” A grilled chicken breast and a crispy chicken sandwich can differ by hundreds of calories, and the menu is giving you the clue right in the name.
Many chain restaurants now list calorie counts directly on their menus, a requirement from the FDA for establishments with 20 or more locations. Use those numbers. They’re often surprising: a salad drowning in creamy dressing can easily outpace a simple grilled entree.
Control Portions Before You Start Eating
Restaurant portions routinely exceed what your body needs for a single meal. One practical move: decide before your food arrives that you’ll eat half and take the rest home. Ask for a to-go container early, or simply push half to one side of your plate. This works better than relying on willpower once you’re mid-bite, because hunger and the sight of a full plate make it harder to stop.
Starting with a broth-based soup like minestrone or a simple side salad also helps. These low-calorie starters take the edge off your appetite so you’re less likely to overeat when the main course lands.
Sauces, Dressings, and Sides Are Where Calories Hide
The biggest calorie traps at restaurants aren’t usually the protein or the vegetables. They’re the extras. A single tablespoon of mayonnaise adds 57 calories. Creamy salad dressings, cheese sauces, and buttery toppings can quietly double a meal’s calorie count.
Ask for dressings and sauces on the side. This lets you dip your fork or drizzle a small amount rather than absorbing whatever the kitchen pours on. Research on restaurant buffet items found that creamy dressings and sauces could be significantly reduced without people even noticing a difference in taste. You likely need far less than what restaurants serve.
For sides, swap french fries for steamed vegetables, a side salad, or a baked potato without butter and sour cream. These substitutions can cut hundreds of calories from a single meal without changing your entree at all.
Smarter Choices by Cuisine
Mexican
Skip the bottomless chips and start with ceviche or salsa instead. Avoid deep-fried items like chimichangas, chalupas, and taquitos. Chicken fajitas, soft tacos, or grilled chicken with peppers and onions are much better picks. Choose corn tortillas over flour, use salsa or guacamole instead of sour cream, and go easy on the cheese. Refried beans are often prepared with lard and should be swapped for black beans or pinto beans when available.
Italian
Red marinara sauce is significantly lighter than creamy alfredo. Try a fish dish or meatless pasta rather than entrees built around sausage or meatballs. Ask for a smaller portion of pasta with extra vegetables on the side, and go easy on the bread basket and olive oil.
Asian
At Thai restaurants, stir-fries are a solid choice, but ask for the sauce on the side since it typically contains sodium, fat, and sugar. Just two tablespoons of peanut dipping sauce can carry nearly 10% of your daily sodium limit. Choose steamed or brown rice over fried rice, and skip the soy sauce at the table. Summer rolls are lighter than fried spring rolls, though you’ll want to go easy on the dipping sauce. At Chinese or Japanese restaurants, steamed dishes beat anything described as “crispy” or “tempura.”
Drinks Can Add 500 Calories or More
A couple of cocktails can easily add 500 calories to your meal, and most of those calories carry zero nutritional value. Some of the worst offenders: a White Russian at 568 calories, a chocolate martini at 418, and a piña colada at 380. Even a standard margarita runs about 168 calories.
If you want to drink, the lightest options are a glass of wine (around 122 to 129 calories), a light beer (103 calories), or a spirit like vodka or whiskey with a zero-calorie mixer (about 97 calories for a standard shot). Avoid cocktails mixed with cream, juice, or regular soda. And watch out for non-alcoholic calorie bombs too: Thai iced tea, lemonade, and regular sodas add up fast. Water with lemon, unsweetened tea, or sparkling water are free and calorie-free.
Use the People Around You
What your dining companions order has a real effect on what you choose. Research published in the British Journal of Health Psychology found that social norms and modeling strongly influence both food choices and how much people eat, in both directions. When everyone at the table orders heavy entrees and multiple rounds of drinks, you’re more likely to follow suit.
You can flip this to your advantage. If you’re dining with someone who also cares about eating well, suggest looking at the lighter options together. Ordering first, before you hear what others are getting, also removes the social pull toward heavier choices. And splitting an entree or sharing a few smaller dishes gives you variety with built-in portion control.
A Simple Pre-Restaurant Checklist
- Check the menu online first. Deciding what to order before you arrive removes the pressure of choosing on the spot when you’re hungry and everything sounds good.
- Don’t arrive starving. A small snack with protein an hour before dinner helps you order with your brain instead of your stomach.
- Lead with vegetables. Start with a salad (dressing on the side) or broth-based soup.
- Ask for substitutions. Steamed vegetables instead of fries, sauce on the side, grilled instead of fried. Most restaurants accommodate these requests without hesitation.
- Plan for leftovers. Box half your entree before you dig in.
- Choose fruit for dessert. Fresh fruit or a scoop of sorbet satisfies the sweet craving at a fraction of the calories of cake or pie.