Kelsey HigginsonSports Nutrition Coach and Founder at Clutch Day Coaching

Best Restaurants for athletes

27 Jan 2026 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

0:49

In this concise video, the speaker, a coach, shares his favorite fast‑casual restaurant options for athletes to construct a “performance plate” – a meal split roughly into ¼ protein, ½ carbs, healthy fats, and added fruits/vegetables. He lists specific chains (Chipotle, Cava, Costa Vida, Jersey Mike’s, and Panera Bread) and notes that any sandwich shop with quality deli meat works. He invites viewers to suggest additional venues in the comments and offers a downloadable guide on the performance‑plate method to anyone who comments “guide.” The video’s purpose is to provide practical dining choices that align with his nutrition framework and to engage the community for further ideas.

Chapters

These are some of my favorite restaurant recommendations for athletes. Now, all of these restaurants fall into the fast-ish food category, and one thing that they all have in common are that they are restaurants where you can build performance plates. Now, performance plate is the meal structure that I give to all of my athletes that I coach. It's gonna usually be about a fourth of a plate of protein, half of a plate of carbs, some healthy fats in there, and then trying to add some color with fruits and vegetables when you can, especially if you're at a restaurant, it might be a little bit hard, but Do it if you can. There are so many more restaurants where you could be building performance plates at. Drop them in the comments. I'd love to learn from you guys. But some of my personal favorites and the ones that are around me, we've got Chipotle, we've got Cava, you got Costa Vida, Jersey Mike's, or really any sandwich shop that has high quality deli meat. And then Panera Bread are all ones that I would recommend to the athletes in my area. I actually created a guide on the performance plate method. If you want it, comment guide and I'll send you the link.