Restaurants for Adults

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also, what constitutes a child? My daughter is 4, and I agree with this list:

*no high chairs or boosters
* quiet
* white table cloth (no paper tops, no crayons)
* no children's menu
* leisurely, multi-course meals

However, when she’s 8, or 10, I’m hoping that she’ll enjoy a meal at a fine-dining establishment. If she does, I’ll be excited to take her – I love seeing well-behaved kids at great restaurants, enjoying dinner with their parents/relatives. Of course, if she won’t enjoy it, I won’t take her – if she’s miserable, she’d likely ruin the evening for me (and others).

We had an anniversary dinner at a very nice restaurant where a mother (or aunt?) was taking a girl, about 10, out for what was obviously a very special treat. The girl was wearing a pretty dress, had a little purse, and chose the desert. It was all very "grown up" and delightful to observe. OTOH, my 4 year old would NOT be a good candidate for a meal like this...maybe in a few years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone name some more specific restaurants that they feel are not for little ones?

In DC, I'd say Komi and Minibar as places I would never, ever take a kid. At the next level, I'd add CityZen, The Source, Central, Citronelle, Marcels, and Proof as restaurants that are very much not child friendly.

I agree on all of these, except Central. It is a little noisier and more festive than the others, and we have taken our kids there successfully. (Granted, they are beyond preschool age and can find something to like on an adult menu.)

Yeah, I said Central not because it's quiet (it's anything but) and I'd bet the menu has some pretty kid friendly items (like those cheesey poof apps -- yum!). It more came to mind because it's so crowded that I was imagining a pretty bad scenario if a little one had a hard time staying seated -- as soon as they were out of their own seat, they'd literally be on top of another table or in the way of hurried waitstaff. Also, for very little ones, I was thinking it would be overwhelming because of the noise and crowded atmosphere.

That said, for children old enough to be counted on to stay seated, I can see that it would be a good option.

[Anonymous]

Child-unfriendly restaurants don't have high chairs or boosters and the tables are very close together. Also if a restaurant is very dimly (romantically lit) and has a hushed quiet to it, I won't take my daughter there. I also generally don't take her to places where the entrees average more than $30 because that's a "very nice" place where people might not want to see kids. (I had an expensive birthday dinner for my dad kind of spoiled at 1789 a couple years back because the next table had 2 very badly behaved 5 year olds.)

that said, I take her a lot of places that aren't traditionally child-friendly - we just go early, like 5:30 or 6:00. I think the kind of people who would frown upon kids in a restaurant are less likely to be eating dinner that early. I took my 2-year-old daughter to the rather upscale sushi/Asian place near my house - no kids' menu - and the servers were wonderful to her and the other patrons were very nice.