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D.C. Area Babies
kastle
member
Your favorite family friendly restaurants (non-chain)
kastle
member
We try to take Sprout out to eat every few weeks. One reason for this is that we enjoy meals that we don't have to cook or clean up after and another reason is that I like to get him a chance to practice "table manners" (which at this point is mostly not shrieking and not throwing food on the floor) outside our house.
I know that most chains & fast-casual places are fine for kids...we do go there sometimes. I'm looking for some new ideas. I feel like we go to the same places all the time.
I'm most interested in NoVA/Arlington recs, but, for the benefit of others on the board, also share your favorite places in MD or DC.
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Re: Your favorite family friendly restaurants (non-chain)
Our favorites:
-Northside social (arlington: https://northsidesocialarlington.com/) for breakfast. We generally go on the earlier side & eat outside if the weather is nice. I don't know if they have highchairs, though. We typcially leave Sprout in his stroller & feed him some muffin or scone as well as fruit (either that we get as a side with our sandwiches or a banana that we've brought with us)
-Angeethi Indian (herndon: https://www.angeethiva.com/herndon/index.html) for lunch buffet. They do have high chairs and Sprout really likes the tandoori chicken, naan & they always have some sort of spinach dish that isn't too spicy. And their chana masala (without the toppings) is a big favorite too. He eats so.much.food here, I almost feel bad about not paying for him.
-Pete's Apizza (arlington. https://petesapizza.com/clarendon/clarendon.html). The pizza crust is a little too crunchy for Sprout to deal with right now, but some of the other options (pasta, calzones) would be better bets. However, they have the coolest high chair things ever!
And, we haven't been there lately, but Liberty Tavern (arlington https://thelibertytavern.com/home.php) has a kids menu for early dining. When we did go, there were tons of well behaved kids there (mine wasn't one of them).
our regular kid-friendly haunts are:
(note: we go early to all these places)
-Faccia Luna, great for dinner and lunch. their lunch special (salad, 2 slices of pizza and a drink for $6) can't be beat!
-Whitlow's (mostly just for burger night)
-Pietanza (you really need to go early here), usually just dinner. must go early to avoid a long wait
-Lost Dog-lunch and dinner
-Ray's Hellburger (the sitdown with a waiter part)-we've only been for dinner
-Elevation Burger-lunch and dinner
-La Union (near us on Wilson Blvd...looks super sketchy but it's good, cheap, and very kid-friendly--plus we can walk to it!)-dinner
eta: almost forgot...the mexican place beside Pietanza is really good and kid friendly, too. I just can't think of the name of it.
another eta: Harry's Tap Room is good for a kid-friendly brunch. we've been there with family a few times recently. they have a good kids menu and the wait staff have been great about bringing out the kids food quickly.
also, seeing this list makes me think my family goes out to dinner too much!
La Taqueria
love that place, particularly their crab quesadillas.
I'd also like to add Chipotle to the list although most of the chains do not have changing tables in the bathrooms, which I find annoying.
Also, Koi Koi (Japanese/sushi) in Falls Church. They're amazing with kids, and most of the staff/sushi chefs will happily entertain your kids while you eat. I take DS there about once a week. In fact, I go there so often, they gave me a VIP card for 5% off (as well as free edamame and a bowl of tofu for DS) every single time I come :P
We don't stray from Vienna/Oakton too often:
Vienna Inn: we usually go for breakfast. Very cheap, so-so food.
Greek Grill: Also in Vienna...we go for breakfast or lunch. It's family owned, and the family loves kids. The other patrons don't seem to mind either.
Santini's: It's a small chain..the sandwiches are great!
And DH grew up in Falls Church, so we also head to Anthony's once and awhile for him.
Lots of families with kids.
Mi Rancho (Silver Spring) - so-so Mexican food, but I love their outdoor patio. We usually go there for dinner, and there are always a ton of families with kids there. The chips and salsa keep M happy.
Austin Grill (Silver Spring) - Another local Mexican mini-chain. I like the location in Silver Spring because they have a small outdoor patio.
Pacci's (Silver Spring) - Great pizza and also a nice outdoor patio.
Matchbox (Rockville) - Sister restaurant to the one in Chinatown. And yes, they have an outdoor patio!
Jackie's (Silver Spring) - This is probably the nicest restaurant we go to semi-regularly. We go there early for dinner and there usually aren't many other people there. Good modern American food, and the bar next door (Sidebar) is really, really good.
Ray's the Classics (Silver Spring) - They have special food deals at the bar, including the famous Ray's Hellburgers. The bar area is casual enough for a well-behaved kid.
Hard Times (College Park) - Good chili, good beer, very casual and kid-friendly.
Urban Barbeque (Silver Spring/White Oak) - Very casual, yummy BBQ with kid-friendly options like mac and cheese.
These are two of our favorites, particularly the Urban BBQ in Olney/Sandy Spring that serves alcohol. Another local chain we really like is Mamma Lucia's.
One of our favorite local restaurants in general is Ricciuti's in Olney and they're also family-friendly. Also love Victoria's Gastro Pub in Columbia.
Maybe we've just been lucky, but we've found that pretty much any casual restaurant in the area is kid-friendly. I'm trying to think of a place where C hasn't been welcome (and cooed at by waitstaff) and I'm drawing a blank.
A little late to the game, but some more MD recs:
Ditto pps on Mamma Lucia's and Pacci's.
We also like Woodside Deli--very kid friendly and plenty of stuff to look at/distract him. We usually go for breakfast and there's lots of stuff for J to eat.
For chains, Panera is actually good. They have a (healthy) kids menu.
TTC #2: BFP 12/17/11, m/c 1/7/12 and D&C 1/12/12
baby blog/cooking blog
My late contributions in Virginia are:
Four Sisters Vietnamese in Merrifield. The staff is so good with little kids and DD loves the elaborate floral arrangements and their carousel music box. The food is amazing (my fave restaurant).
Present Vietnamese in Falls Church. They have a koi pond in restaurant. It's highly entertaining. The food is really wonderful.
Local chain but Sweetwater/Mike's All American/Silverados - they are so loud, they drown out any noise we make. You do have to go early because waiting with kids is no fun.
Also a local chain, but Silver Diner is great. Tuesday is kids night and they often have really fun activities ranging from balloon animals, to bounce houses to firetrucks. Their kids menu (and adult menu) has a lot of really healthy choices that are surprisingly good
Kilroys in Springfield is a bar that serves food. They are pretty kid friendly and their Sunday brunch buffet works out well.
Bamian in Bailey's Crossroads is very tolerant of kids and DD likes the Afghani food they serve a lot (so do I). They have live music which DD enjoys.
Ireland's Four Provinces in Falls Church is very accommodating. Again the live music is always a hit with DD.
El Paso Mexican Restaurant in Springfield is great with little kids and the food is really quite good.
We've taken DD and DS to some of the Korean buffet restaurants in Annandale/Alexandria and we've done well. DD likes when they cook the food at the table.
Faccia Luna is one of our favorites and luckily it is kid friendly :-)
I figure any place that is loud is good for our DD and these are the local places she has done well at: Overwood, Los Tios (Del Ray), Austin Grill, Hana Tokyo, Eamon's and Red Rocks Pizza.
This thread is making me miss going out to eat.
With three kids it's not really fun to go to restaurants - too much work.
But agree with many of Hey_Jellisy's suggestions!
The only other addition coming to mind right now is Mango Mike's in Alexandria, which I will rave about. DD got carrots and celery on the house almost as soon as we sat down. A few minutes later leis and sunglasses came out. Her food came out with our appetizer and her dessert with our dinner, followed by a rubber duck to play with (and all of it to keep).
We just went there thinking the lights and fish would entertain her, but it was amazing, especially for a place that we used to just go to drink.