
Candle Cafe
Upper East Side · Vegan · Wholefood · €€€The restaurant is entirely plant-based. No shellfish is used or handled on the premises, which eliminates the structural risk of shellfish cross-contamination.
7 venues in New York rated S to B for shellfish-free, every tier backed by cited sources.

The restaurant is entirely plant-based. No shellfish is used or handled on the premises, which eliminates the structural risk of shellfish cross-contamination.

As a 100% plant-based kitchen, the restaurant does not handle shellfish on its premises. One FMGF reviewer explicitly notes that it is "good for shellfish-free."

The kitchen is entirely vegan, so no shellfish or other animal seafood is present. Menu items like 'Salmon Ceviche' and 'Tuna' are plant-based imitations. Safe for shellfish allergy.

A 100% vegan kitchen structurally excludes all real shellfish. Menu items labelled 'crab rangoon', 'crab cake dumplings', and 'calamari' are plant-based analogues, as confirmed by a reviewer who noted the menu 'said crab was an ingredient when there's no crab actually in it'. No real shellfish is on the premises.

The kitchen is 100% vegan. No shellfish or animal seafood is kept on the premises. An independent food blogger confirmed that the 'Crispy Calamari' is made from king oyster mushroom rings, not actual squid or shellfish. All seafood-style dishes are fully plant-based.

As a 100% vegan restaurant, shellfish is structurally absent from the kitchen and menu.

Shellfish (shrimp, crab, lobster, scallops implied in sushi) feature prominently across the menu in a shared kitchen. The menu does not flag shellfish-free options or provide dedicated shellfish-free prep. Cross-contamination is highly likely in a kitchen handling this volume of shrimp, crab, and seafood. Tier D: shellfish widely present, shared kitchen, no shellfish-free protocols evidenced.