How we collect and estimate nutrition data
Every calorie and macro figure on this site is one of two things: a number the restaurant itself publishes, or an estimate we made from the restaurant’s own menu and labeled as an estimate. Each dish row on a restaurant page says which one it is.
Figures the restaurant publishes
When a restaurant publishes nutrition information (a nutrition PDF, a nutrition guide, or a nutrition calculator on its own website), we transcribe the figures from that document and cite it on every row, with a link to the document where we have one. These rows are labeled “Published by restaurant”.
PDFs are read with word-position text extraction so that each number stays in its own row and column. Documents that are only images are transcribed and then re-read independently. Items the brand prints as a range, or where the brand’s own figures are internally impossible, are left out rather than corrected by us.
When a restaurant we had estimated starts publishing its own numbers, its published figures replace our estimates.
Figures we estimate
Many independent and regional restaurants publish no nutrition information at all. For those, we estimate. These rows are labeled “Our estimate” and the page says so at the top when most of its rows are estimates.
Dish names and descriptions are taken word for word from the restaurant’s own published menu, on its website or in its menu PDF. We do not add dishes that are not on that menu.
Calories, protein, carbohydrates and fat are then estimated from standard preparation and portion sizes for the ingredients the menu lists.
A separate check then re-reads the menu text and tries to refute every row: is the dish name exactly as printed, are the ingredients the ones the menu lists, do the calories agree with the macros (protein and carbohydrates at 4 calories per gram, fat at 9, within 10%), and is the estimate plausible for the dish. Rows that fail are fixed or dropped, and a restaurant whose dishes cannot be found in its own menu is not added at all.
If a menu cannot be read (image-only menus, dead or parked websites), we skip the restaurant rather than guess.
What we never do
We do not invent dishes or numbers, and we do not build a meal’s total by adding up components ourselves. An empty page is better than a wrong number.
The one place totals are added up is the build-your-own nutrition calculators: you pick the ingredients, and every ingredient value is the brand’s own published figure, labeled as calculated from the brand’s published values. A nutrient the brand does not print makes the total “—”, never a partial sum.
Dates on a page
“Data last reviewed” is the most recent date on which one of that page’s rows was entered or checked against its source. If we have no such date, the page shows none. A guide’s “updated” date refers to the written guide, not to the figures.
Chain restaurants
A chain with one national menu gets one page: its chain guide, or one restaurant page for the brand. Individual locations of such chains point to that page instead of repeating the same table under every city name.
Corrections
Every restaurant page has a “Report a correction” link. You can also email hello@healthyeatsnearme.com with the restaurant, the dish, and a link to the figure you believe is right. We review reports before changing published values.
Limits
Recipes, portions and preparation vary by location and change over time, and an estimate is an estimate. Treat every figure as a guide, and confirm with the restaurant if you need a precise number or have an allergy or medical condition.