Best family restaurants—a thread

[Anonymous]

I’m looking for restaurants that are good but also accommodating to families. For it to be accommodating to me, which may differ from someone else’s definition, it needs to have a reasonably good kids menu (ie more than chicken fingers and pasta with marinara), be casual attire, not too loud or super quiet (one of mine has sensory issues so too loud can be problematic), and the kind of place that will get you in and out in under 90 minutes, even if maybe requiring a reservation. We live in Alexandria but can go anywhere in NOVA or DC downtown for good meals. We fell out of the habit during COVID and just haven’t gotten back into eating out. One of our kids (10) is more adventurous and would be delighted by grilled shrimp, chicken kabobs, or salmon on the kids menu, but I’m not ordering him a $25 entree when he won’t eat most of it. The other is harder to please and often eats nothing on the menu. As long as we have a table top activity, book etc they are fine with eating out, but most of the common places I see recommended are not very family friendly.

My list:
One place we like is Lena’s, Del Ray. We go to Clyde’s also because the food is decent but also seems fairly kid friendly. We used to like Matchbox but I’ve been disappointed and not been back recently. We haven’t been to La Fiamma since it reopened, but that was an okay option when they were smaller.

What are your favorite places with kids?

[Anonymous]

We love the Great American restaurants, particularly Mikes and Caryle. The kids menu is awesome and has both a delicious salmon entree and a steak. I think it’s all about $10 too!

Adult food is good and they Are very fast. Even better, they take reservations so you rarely have to wait when you have one. They are very welcoming to kids.