In this story
- Begin by checking the relevant dietary sections of the menu
- Vegan dietary requirements and allergy-related requests need to be checked separately
- For a request to avoid the five pungent vegetables, tell us exactly which ingredients you avoid
- If you avoid nuts, describe the ingredients and cross-contact requirements separately
- For a Gluten-Free Request, State How Strictly Gluten Must Be Avoided
- If several requirements overlap, list them separately
- Walk-ins are welcome, but we recommend booking for important dates
- Helpful Questions and Answers Before Booking
The short answer
First, look for suitable dishes in the Buddhist-Friendly / No Five Pungent Vegetables, Nut-free and Gluten-free sections of the menu. Before booking, tell us exactly which ingredients you need to avoid and how strictly cross-contact must be avoided. Every dish follows a set recipe and composition, so changing ingredients or customising individual dishes may not be possible. Ask whether any dish meets your requirements without changes, then decide whether to book after confirming that the information provided matches your needs.
What to prepare before booking
- Every item on our menu is 100% plant-based and made without dairy, eggs, butter or other animal-derived ingredients.
- The Buddhist-Friendly / No Five Pungent Vegetables, Nut-free and Gluten-free sections can help you find relevant dishes, but the category labels alone cannot guarantee the absence of allergy risk.
- Vegan status and the possibility of allergen cross-contact need to be checked separately, so tell us both the ingredients you avoid and how strictly they must be avoided.
- Rather than expecting an ingredient substitution, ask whether any dish meets your requirements in its standard form.
- If the information provided does not match your requirements, or you do not receive clear confirmation that they can be met, please do not order or dine with us.
Into the story
Begin by checking the relevant dietary sections of the menu
Every dish at Mahina Vegan Table is 100% plant-based, with no animal-derived ingredients such as milk, eggs or butter. On the opening screen of the English menu, dishes are grouped into ‘Buddhist-Friendly / No Five Pungent Vegetables’, ‘Nut-free’ and ‘Gluten-free’ sections. Use these categories to find existing dishes that may be relevant to your needs.
The ‘Nut-free’ and ‘Gluten-free’ labels help you find dishes that fit those categories. If you also need to avoid cross-contact through shared work surfaces, utensils or frying oil, tell us exactly what precautions you require before booking. Category labels help you find dishes, but they do not guarantee allergy safety. Before booking, specify the ingredients to avoid and how strictly cross-contact must be avoided.
Vegan dietary requirements and allergy-related requests need to be checked separately
Our 100% plant-based statement means that animal-derived ingredients such as dairy, eggs and butter are not intentionally used. Eggs are animal-derived food and are not part of a vegan diet. A vegan diet excludes products derived wholly or partly from animals. Our menu also explicitly states that eggs are not used. However, not using animal-derived ingredients and the possibility of accidental allergen cross-contact during preparation are separate issues.
The UK Food Standards Agency warns that vegan labelling is not the same as allergen-safety information because cross-contamination may still occur in a production or preparation environment. This article uses that guidance as a general food-safety distinction, not as a statement of Korean law. Allergen cross-contact is the unintentional transfer of an allergen into another food. It can occur through work surfaces, utensils and cleaning methods.
For a request to avoid the five pungent vegetables, tell us exactly which ingredients you avoid
Mahina Vegan Table describes its menu without the five pungent vegetables as ‘불교식 무오신채’ in Korean and ‘Buddhist-Friendly / No Five Pungent Vegetables’ in English. The ingredients included in the ‘five pungent vegetables’ can vary by Buddhist school, practice and personal standard, so please tell us exactly which ingredients you do not eat. We do not impose one universal list of five pungent vegetables on every guest.
A useful message is: ‘For my Buddhist diet, I do not eat [exact ingredients]. Is there an existing dish made without them?’ We prepare all dishes to set recipes and presentations and are unable to accommodate ingredient substitutions or individual customisation. Rather than asking for an ingredient to be removed at the table, ask before booking whether any dish meets your requirements without changes.
If you avoid nuts, describe the ingredients and cross-contact requirements separately
‘Nut-free’ is a guide for finding dishes made without nuts. If you also need to avoid cross-contact, tell us the exact nuts you avoid and the scope of precautions you require. Tell us whether you avoid peanuts, walnuts, cashews or any other exact ingredient, and list seeds separately if they also matter. Explain whether the ingredient only needs to be absent from the recipe or whether shared utensils, counters or frying oil also matter.
Tell us if sauces, breads, desserts, garnishes and processed components must also be included in the answer. After our team explains the ingredients and the cross-contact considerations, decide whether that information meets your allergy requirements. If cross-contact also needs to be avoided, describe the precautions you require before booking.
For a Gluten-Free Request, State How Strictly Gluten Must Be Avoided
People may use the term ‘Gluten-free’ for a personal dietary choice, to avoid a specific ingredient, or because even trace cross-contact must be avoided. What needs to be checked depends on which of these applies. The FSA separately addresses allergy, intolerance and coeliac disease and advises food businesses to consider preparation conditions when making gluten-related claims for non-prepacked food. This article does not explain Korean food-labelling law.
Ask us: ‘I avoid [wheat, barley, rye or other exact ingredients]. I also need to avoid trace cross-contact / I only need these ingredients to be absent from the recipe. Is there an existing dish you can confirm under current procedures?’ This wording is not a request for a safety guarantee; it is a way to communicate the specific conditions you need. If you are told that cross-contact cannot be ruled out, base your decision on that answer rather than the ‘Gluten-free’ category label.
If several requirements overlap, list them separately
If requirements concerning the five pungent vegetables, nuts and gluten overlap, do not ask only, ‘Is this possible?’ Number the ingredients you avoid and the points you need confirmed. Include the reservation name and time, ingredients, cross-contact scope and the existing dish you need checked. State that you are not requesting a modification and ask us to identify only unchanged existing dishes that meet every condition. Ask us to tell you before booking if no dish in its standard form meets every requirement, or if we cannot determine whether one does.
A concise message is: ‘I avoid [exact ingredients]. I also need to avoid trace cross-contact / I only need the ingredients absent from the recipe. Can any existing item meet all requirements under your current procedures?’ Once you receive a reply, confirm again which dish it covers and exactly what was checked. One broad word—vegan, Buddhist-friendly, nut-free or gluten-free—cannot stand in for several different requirements.
Walk-ins are welcome, but we recommend booking for important dates
You may visit without a reservation. On busy days, however, the dining room has filled up and some guests have had to wait until a table became available. We cannot guarantee entry or a specific waiting time for walk-ins. Please book in advance for holidays, public holidays, anniversaries, other times likely to be busy, or an important meal that needs to start at a set time. Window tables are allocated with priority to guests who have reservations, but a reservation does not guarantee a particular window table or immediate entry.
For reservations made in Korea, use Naver Booking or CatchTable. For reservations made from overseas, use CatchTable International. General table reservations are not accepted by telephone. Groups of 10 or more should discuss arrangements in advance by telephone or through the contact form, separately from the booking. When submitting a dietary request, check whether your booking channel has a note or enquiry function. If there is no input field or you have not received a written reply, do not assume that your request has been received. On the day of your visit, confirm the reply you received when booking and the name of the dish with our team before ordering. If you do not receive clear confirmation on site that a condition can be met safely, please do not order or dine with us.
Helpful Questions and Answers Before Booking
- Is every menu item at Mahina vegan?
- Yes. Every item at Mahina is 100% plant-based and made without dairy, eggs, butter or other animal-derived ingredients. However, being 100% plant-based does not eliminate the possibility of allergen cross-contact.
- What information should I include in a dietary request before booking?
- Tell us the exact ingredients you avoid, whether the restriction concerns an allergy, religious practice or another personal diet, and whether an allergy is severe or a restriction is medically important. Explain whether trace cross-contact, shared utensils, counters or frying oil must also be avoided. Every dish follows a set recipe and composition, so it is difficult to accommodate ingredient changes or requests to customise individual dishes. If you do not receive clear confirmation that an existing dish meets every requirement, or the information provided does not match the level of avoidance you need, please do not order or dine with us.
- Is a Nut-free dish safe for someone with a nut allergy?
- The ‘Nut-free’ category label alone cannot guarantee that every requirement related to a nut allergy is met. Tell us the exact nuts you avoid and the cross-contact factors relevant to your needs before booking. If you do not receive clear confirmation that your requirements can be met, or the information provided does not match them, please do not dine with us.
- What if a dish in the gluten-free category still does not meet my requirements?
- We prepare all dishes to set recipes and presentations and are unable to accommodate ingredient substitutions or individual customisation. Rather than booking on the assumption that ingredients can be changed, first ask whether a dish in its standard form meets your requirements. Decide whether to book after checking that the scope of the information provided matches what you need.
- Can I walk in, and how are window tables allocated?
- Walk-ins are welcome. On busy days, however, the dining room may be full and some guests have entered only after waiting; neither entry nor waiting time is guaranteed. We recommend booking for holidays, public holidays, anniversaries and other important meals. Window tables are prioritised for reservations, but a reservation does not guarantee a particular window table or immediate entry.
Before booking, tell us which ingredients you avoid and the level of cross-contact avoidance you require. We recommend booking for important dates; please confirm that the information provided matches your needs.
Review dietary categories on the menu
