**Expect to explain your particular restrictions, and bring a small allergy card.** Bhutan’s tourism businesses do recognise food allergies, but the evidence doesn’t establish consistent understanding of oral allergy syndrome among restaurant staff.

There’s a particularly relevant firsthand account: a traveller who asked this same question in 2013 later reported that their food restrictions were respected, but people didn’t necessarily understand which foods counted as fruits or nuts. They also found few à la carte meals and relatively few of their OAS triggers. That’s encouraging, though it’s one person’s older experience. [Traveller’s post-trip report](https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/13879/how-well-are-allergies-understood-in-bhutan)

Current practice offers some reassurance: Bhutan-based operator MyBhutan explicitly asks guests to disclose allergies during planning. It also warns that kitchens may use different standards for separating allergens and asks travellers to remind whoever serves their food at each meal. [MyBhutan’s dietary policy](https://www.mybhutan.com/policies/tnc)

For your trip, I’d suggest:

- **Send your exact trigger list to your operator and guide beforehand.** Name each food; “fruit” or “nuts” leaves room for the misunderstandings you’ve encountered.
- **Carry a short card**, with an English version and a Dzongkha translation checked by a fluent speaker. A few copies let the server take one to the kitchen.
- **Explain raw versus cooked explicitly**, if that distinction applies to you. Include raw garnishes, salads and juices in your instructions, and ask the guide to confirm them with each kitchen.

A card could start: “I have a food allergy. Eating these foods causes [your symptoms]. Please keep these ingredients out of my meal: [specific list].” Add any cooked foods you can safely tolerate based on your established medical advice. Cooking often helps with OAS, but some people react to cooked foods too, and roasting nuts may leave the relevant allergens active. [Anaphylaxis UK](https://anaphylaxis.org.uk/factsheets/pollen-food-syndrome/), [AAAAI consensus report](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11625607/)

You’ll probably find a concise card and a guide who understands your list useful at each new kitchen. I wouldn’t rely on staff recognising the name “oral allergy syndrome” alone.