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Decent kid-friendly restaurants
By adamg on Tue, 07/14/2015 - 11:38am
Charlene McBride asks:
Any decent kid-friendly restaurants near Back Bay, Downtown or the North End?
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Comments
Some answers via Twitter
Max Brenner
Max Brenner!
May be off topic...
I'm reading the article late. Severely under caffeinated. And I actually laughed out loud misreading your headline, which I read as " "Any 'Decent kid' friendly restaurant out there?"
Meaning a restaurant for decent kids.
I am sure decent kids exist. Like platonically, they notion is true.
And friendly restaurant. Well that's such a strange concept.
The food is good and the service good. Friendliness has nothing to do with it.
So cranky so early, my bad, y'all. More coffee.
No.
Do us all a favor and don't bring your kids to dinner.
Or feed them beforehand, let
Or feed them beforehand, let them order something to pick at for entertainment value, and be prepared to drop cash and book it if a scene ensues. There are ways to train little kids to be good at restaurants, and none of them involve going out of your way to find a restaurant that will put up with tantrums and food-throwing.
If the question is more about menu options, well, pretty much everywhere has chicken fingers.
Everyone has chicken fingers...
Except Chicken.
Agreed, shame on the Picco
Agreed, shame on the Picco recommendation. The place is small (and delicious) enough as it is. Screaming brats would make it awful.
I think this ship may have sailed, already
Every time I've been at Picco, there have been families with kids there. Granted, I tend to be eating early when I am in that area.
ding ding
Truth is, most restaurants are kid-friendly enough if you get there early. You'll find families with small children in just about any restaurant at 5, 6pm.
The mistake is to take your overtired little one to a loud, crowded, overstimulating place around the dinner rush. Just asking for a meltdown.
Wow.
You go to a casual, moderately priced restaurant that serves pizza and ice cream and you're shocked and dismayed that there are kids there?
It's not chuck-e-cheez
It's not chuck-e-cheez, it's a restaurant that happens to serve pizza and artisinal ice cream in addition to everything else.
Oh of course.
Because all kids should really stick to fast food until they turn 18. Stop being such a princess. There is no reason a reasonably well-behaved kid in a pizza restaurant should throw you into a tailspin.
Kids out to dinner
Wow bunch of aholes. You obviously dont have kids of your own! They are asking for recommendations,everyone should be allowed to eathe out. Not all kids are brats!
This isn't #ageism.
This isn't #ageism. Everywhere has a kids menu, even high end places my parents took me as a child. Specifically looking for kid friendly is obviously looking for places that would tolerate their children for reasons, otherwise why ask?
So you're saying
If you have restaurant-friendly kids, you don't need kid-friendly restaurants?
Basically
While some are interpreting "kid-friendly" to mean places where your kid can be a brat, I've been on the lookout for places where the staff and patrons can refrain from being assholes about school-aged children who are behaving better than half of the adults in the place. Seriously, I can do without people who see a child and ask to be reseated, people who complain about "unattended children running around" when a 10-year-old quietly walks to the restroom and back, and servers who insist on giving kids past toddlerhood stupid plastic sippy cups and who respond to food orders with things like "that has Swiss cheese and mushrooms -- he isn't going to eat that" because apparently they know what strangers like to eat.
You don't. And I'm bothered
You don't. And I'm bothered with this internet trend of reaching out for specific requirements or recommendations for just about everything. These types of people seem to only want to do anything that caters to their specific needs and worldview. I see this all the time in Boston specific things and probably exists for other cities as well. Very few seem to be interested in exploration of an environment or daring to reach out of their perceived comfort zone without at least having 10 anonymous people online seek approval.
It used to be "lets go find a place to eat!" now it's "lets stand around and check yelp for reviews and specific needs and then tweet out for someone else's recommendations and then check yelp again and seek approval of others, then go there."
Asking where to go hiking if you've never been before is okay. Asking which hiking trails contain x amount of spots for resting and specific x amount views of nature for selfie ops is neurotic. Heck, I've seen people want their entire vacation and site visits and restaurants planned out ahead of time. At that point it's not your vacation, it's following someone else's. Real life isn't a theme park.
"Real life is not a theme park."
Uh, it is for a lot of people. How the hell else would our reality TV economy be booming as it is?
On the positive side, people's fascination with gadgets and what other people are doing tends to keep them off my favorite hiking trails. That's a nice side benefit.
Don't speak for others
Children have as much right to eat out as you do. If this troubles you, you are welcome to eat in.
You're the reason I don't
You're the reason I don't like people.
Families on vacation?
Should they just starve while away? Or should Boston discourage tourists from visiting?
Having a kid at that annoying age, I understand to some extent people's annoyance, but in the end if the kids are contained and the parents aren't dumb enough to visit the fanciest place in town, deal with it.
Actually...
...there are only 3 restaurants I'd feel comfortable recommending for dinner with the kids. That would be PF Chang's, California Pizza Kitchen, or Cheesecake Factory. Not only are they all located on the same block, but they're also 3 places most locals don't eat at, so have at it!
There's a Burger King and Subway on Tremont across the street from the Common as well.
May I suggest that the best
The best kid-friendly restaurant may be wherever tcf098 happens to be dining.
Here's a hot tip
I dine out fairly often and it has been a very long time since I have encountered "family issues" in a nice restaurant. Most of the kids are fairly civilized and under good control, and gone after 6pm. Stay out of restaurants before six and you'll not have to have your visual field sullied by people whose existence makes you feel less special!
Let me guess: you're the one who wrote the dumbass yelp review of Full Moon in Cambridge, whining about how unfaiiiir it is that they explicitly cater to young families.
Quit bitching
Lists like this work 2 ways. Where to take your kids, and where not to go to avoid them.
Useful for everyone.
what a bunch of DB's
what a bunch of DB's
DBs? I don't get it...
Defensive Backs? Duck Boats? Dried Blueberries?
Family-friendly restaurant run by a family
Ignoring the whole kids or no kids at restaurants debate, La Famiglia Giorgio's in the North End would probably work well if you go early (especially on a weeknight). They have a large upstairs area and I've seen little kids there (and well behaved) before.
Spend the extra $2 for the homemade pasta. :)
Decent Kid-Friendly Restaurants
Check out www.kid-nosh.com for kid friendly restaurant reviews. Quite a few in Back Bay and N. End. Many restaurants are kid friendly. Recommend going early, making a reservation, checking out the menu ahead of time, bring quiet distractions, snacks and be prepared to leave if there is a meltdown. Just as there are restaurants that are kid-friendly, parents & their kids need to be restaurant-friendly too.
I'm dense or others are rude and really dense
Any restaurant should be able to accommodate children just as they are required by law to serve people who may be blind, deaf, on a wheelchair, whatever.
Guess since I don't have kids and increasingly feel that eating out is a waste, is why I am curious such a list has to be compiled? Taking tips from people who rant online: wise move. Publicity for restaurants is nice. But...
What's next?
I don't happen to run into children when at restaurants but when I do, it's no different than seeing the occasional person who may be blind with a service dog or on a walker...
The fact this list exist is just some sad marketing ploy.
Either I don't get it or others don't...moot point question.
Recently children annoy me less than the 40 somethings that have grown prematurely deaf and who are also conspicuously acting like douchnozzles.
But hey, the financial district/ downtown: it's probably best to only gawk for so long.
Pizzeria Regina
In the North End. The old school waitresses have always been great with kids when I've been there.
Price is right too and you can get the pies to go or boxed up if little ones need to go asap
CODA or Picco
CODA is my go-to spot in that area for brunch and I've often met friends and their kiddos there. Never an issue. A limited number of child seats (two, I think?) is the only consideration. Have also been to Salty Pig, the Gallows, and Picco with kids and all three seemed quite kid-friendly.
Pretty much every place in my neighborhood (JP) is a family zone from 4 PM to 7 PM. I would imagine the Back Bay is similar unless we're talking about the bro and bro-ette bars.
Cheesecake Factory decor is
Cheesecake Factory decor is geared toward kids and the food is pretty decent -- much better than fast food. It's always loud and busy in there so if your kids have a melt down, no one will notice! Joe's American Bar & Grill on Newbury St. seems fairly kid friendly as well. I often see families dining in the front section that opens up to the street. In my opinion, it's not the kids having a melt down that other customers seem to mind, it's how the parents react to the kids that matter... screaming at your kid in a restaurant or ignoring them is probably not great. Taking your kid out of the restaurant then bringing them back when they've calmed down is the way to go. That's what my friends do with their kids at least.