Rasika not allowing kids under 8?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That’s awesome. I would prefer it no kids under 12. Rasika is not a place for kids. No one wanted to pay for an evening out for lots of kids to be there. Go to Bucca di Beppo where you belong.

+1. Or Silver Diner, very family friendly and kids eat free at certain times.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am fine with this. I have a 5 yr old who is actually pretty good in restaurants, but I still wouldn't take her to a fancier restaurant and I actually like when restaurants are very up front about the kind of place they are. A lot of restaurants will go out of their way to advertise that they are family-friendly or want to have kids there, and then you show up and they don't have a kids menu and people are annoyed about your kid.

That said, I'd love if there were more truly family-friendly restaurants in DC -- we often eat in the suburbs simply because it's easier to find a place where we know kids are truly welcome.

When I fantasize about opening my own restaurant, I imagine we'd do something called "family hour" a few nights a week, where we do an early service (like 5-7) that is geared specifically for families with young kids, with specials for the kids or family friendly shareables and the whole point would be to get lots of families in there for 90 minutes or so, and kids could learn how to behave in a restaurant without the stress of needing to get it exactly right every time because they are kids and they need more chances than that. Also just an opportunity for families to celebrate a birthday or graduation or something at a nicer restaurant but in a family friendly way. I feel like it could be good for the restaurant and great for families -- real community building and a way to create relationships with customers that could last a really long time because I would be so loyal to a restaurant that went out of it's way to become a part of my family's mealtime in that way.

Love, love the idea of family hour! Sort of like the early bird specials for seniors

[Anonymous]

Having the option of a place that is reliably free of kids - and parents who think that having that choice is a bad thing - is a good thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Great!

Not every restaurant is for small kids. Get a sitter.

-- mom of two, who doesn't want to deal with other people's bratty kids on her night out

How would you “deal with” other people’s children in any circumstance in which you weren’t explicitly asked to babysit or supervise?

[Anonymous]

Mine were pretty good about not getting up, not dropping food or being bratty but there were a few times they would reach for something and spill their water glass. UGHHHGHHH those were tough times and we'd all feel bad even though it was just water. Thankfully that was short lived with vigilance and reminders. I don't mind these rules not just because my kids are over 8 but some families do NOT care if their kid is throwing rice like it's after a wedding or running around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s awesome. I would prefer it no kids under 12. Rasika is not a place for kids. No one wanted to pay for an evening out for lots of kids to be there. Go to Bucca di Beppo where you belong.

+1. Or Silver Diner, very family friendly and kids eat free at certain times.

The don't even have a changing table in the bathroom (Bethesda location). I was shocked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just went to make a reservation for my birthday in a couple weeks and Rasika now isn't allowing kids under 8? Is this new? WTF?

https://www.rasikarestaurant.com/#modern-indian-cuisine

How will they know how old your kids are?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good. Kids younger than 8 really shouldn't be at a fine dining place for dinner anyway. They are tired, grumpy, etc.

Also, totally random, but I get so annoyed when I see women with babies trying to eat at places like that. The husband ends up sitting there and eating while she is somewhere in the corner, holding the baby in her arms, swaying back and forth. How is that fun for anyone other than the husband?

Have you had a baby before? You could be describing some of the meals out that we had when I was on maternity leave. DH and I would take turns holding the baby if she needed to be held, but you might not see that part. In any case, those few months with a pre-crawling infant are pretty much your last where you can take your kid out to a nice restaurant and actually enjoy your meal, so maybe cut these people some slack. Unless the baby is crying the whole time or something is going on where you think "wow this is not the right venue for this" leave them alone.

You should know that most people on this site are parents, and usually of more than one who sounds like she’s… maybe six months old? And you certainly know that those of us who have paid attention have noticed the phenomenon that the PP describes with women taking the bulk of the child care, and not only that but we can tell a newborn from an older child.

Good on Rasika. Kids don’t belong everywhere all the time.

- mother of three. Evidently we have to virtue signal our status for some people

[Anonymous]

I love PP’s idea of a family hour. We actually found cruises great for this because there is an early seating and the food comes really promptly, with a lot of choices, and you are definitely done by 7 so they can clear for second seating. My kids were so good at cruise dinners and tried lots of new dishes. It was one of the unexpected benefits of cruising —- I was dreading the sit down dinners with the kids but it really went smoothly because of how quickly the various courses came.

We really did not take our kids out to dinner a lot when they were small—it just generally was not worth it. But it was nice to be able to do it on occasion such as when grandparents were visiting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good. Kids younger than 8 really shouldn't be at a fine dining place for dinner anyway. They are tired, grumpy, etc.

Also, totally random, but I get so annoyed when I see women with babies trying to eat at places like that. The husband ends up sitting there and eating while she is somewhere in the corner, holding the baby in her arms, swaying back and forth. How is that fun for anyone other than the husband?

Have you had a baby before? You could be describing some of the meals out that we had when I was on maternity leave. DH and I would take turns holding the baby if she needed to be held, but you might not see that part. In any case, those few months with a pre-crawling infant are pretty much your last where you can take your kid out to a nice restaurant and actually enjoy your meal, so maybe cut these people some slack. Unless the baby is crying the whole time or something is going on where you think "wow this is not the right venue for this" leave them alone.

why do you need to go to a nice restaurant with your newborn?

NP. A newborn is the only time I would ever take kids to a nice restaurant. They're immobile and generally quiet/asleep. I fully support no kids if that's what the restaurant wants.

[Anonymous]

I’m ok with this. DC parents have more moneu than sense. I could totally see someone having a giant stroller meetup there. And frankly, even though my kid has awful behavior, I can say that Americans tend not to even try to teach and enforce manners. So it’s not like Europe.

[Anonymous]

Good

[Anonymous]

This is not a city or really country that likes children or cares about their general welfare, obvi. I haven’t taken young kid to Rasika and eaten outside on the street scape. I wouldn’t dine inside b/c of general hostility/tolerance for children in US. Do in Italy all the time. But am always prepared to leave if kid were to misbehave.

[Anonymous]

Just say your kids are 9+.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow. I won't be going back there, though my daughter is 9 now. I don't appreciate age discrimination.

Thanks for letting us know you don’t know what age discrimination is.