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Can one eat at a vegetarian restaurant that isn't certified Kosher?

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www.oukosher.org

  

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While a vegetarian restaurant has the potential of being Kosher it cannot not be considered Kosher unless there is Rabbinic supervision.

The concerns:

  1. Ingredients – such as eggs,1 fish,2 spices,3 or any product that is not certified.
  2. Equipment – if the equipment is used or might have been used for non-Kosher food, then even the benign veggie food is non-kosher.4  
  3. Infestation – some leafy vegetables such as spinach, cauliflower, etc. are not adequately checked for insect infestation.5
  4. Tainted benign products – for example, 100% vegetable oil may be not kosher because it was shipped in a Tanker that had been recently used for lard.6  
  5. Grape Additives – many recipes call for wine, grape or grape juice additives.7  
  6. The Rabbinical prohibition against eating foods not cooked by a Jew - While this prohibition is not applicable to all foods, it certainly applies to a course of fish. It would also apply to a long list of foods that cannot be eaten raw, and foods that would be special enough to be served at a formal state dinner. 
  7. Cheese products - both hard and soft cheeses must have Kosher certification.8

We recommend not frequenting a food establishment without Kosher supervision.

Republished with permission from www.oukosher.org

Footnotes

  • 1. Eggs need to be from kosher birds, and checked for blood spots (blood is not kosher).
  • 2. Many vegetarian restaurants serve fish, but not all fish is Kosher.
  • 3. Challenges with spices are as various as spices themselves: from how they are prepared to what they contain.
  • 4. So if a restaurant has but one non-kosher item on its menu, it can render everything else that is prepared in the same kitchen non-Kosher.
  • 5. Insects are "very" non-Kosher.
  • 6. Common phenomenom.
  • 7. Grape juice and wine have strict Kosher requirements. See http://www.askmoses.com/en/article/553,2256727/What-makes-wine-kosher.html
  • 8. Because of rennet and other issues.

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RELATED CATEGORIES

Mitzvot » Kosher » Meat and Dairy
Mitzvot » Kosher » Kosher Creatures
Kosher
Literally means "fit." Commonly used to describe foods which are permitted by Jewish dietary laws, but is also used to describe religious articles (such as a Torah scroll or Sukkah) which meet the requirements of Jewish law.