Good early dinner restaurant for kids in Silverlake/Los Feliz
Taking the little Bite-Bites (both boys -- almost 5 and almost 2) to gymnastics class in Los Feliz/Silverlake area. Hillhurst/Sunset area. Would love to take them out for an early dinner afterwards (5ish) to a kid-friendly place. Any recs?
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sounds like you got a lot of good ideas... we go early and like:
alegria
gingergrass
pizza buona
rhambutan thai
alcove, i am not a fan of the food but its easy with the outdoor seating
angeli (a bit farther, but they let kids play with dough and then bake it for them)if you are willing to drive to montrose-- which only takes 15 minutes, there are great options:
zekes
la cabanita -
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re: bite bite
Mexico city before 7 is fine for kids though can be expensive(no kids plates) if you split the chicken taco plate, it is very plain the condiments all come on the side and you can have a margarita and the shrimp/crab enchiladas.
the Brite spot on Sunset in Echo Park is another good diner .
Alegeria is good also
Pho cafe sunset or Gingergrass on Glendale blvd are good if your kids will eat Vietnamese.
Sompun thai on Santa Monica
Agra cafe for Indian food ( tandorri chicken, Naan bread and rice) they have the left overs in theirs lunches the next day.
Michelangelo is fantastic my kids love it also.
be warned that these place mostly do not have kids plates we usually had the kids split plates so we the parents could have something that we could enjoy. and the kids would try stuff off our plates and suddenly like something else.my kids are 11 and 7 and we have been eating at most of these places since my daughter the 7 year old has been 2 and the staffs have always been great. A good tip never hurts either since 2 years old can get messy.
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Michelangelo on Silver Lake (next to the 7-11) makes great pizza and is very kind to the kids—it's my daughter's fave. We also try Mae Ploy on Sunset (most kids eat noodles), and Masa in Echo Park, which is quiet before 7. If you're in a rush, Pesado Mojado is great and they make a quesadilla the size of your head that will easily feed 2 hungry kids. With beans and rice it's less than $6 too.
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Chowpatty
Oct 4, 2007 05:28 PM
Just thought of another idea depending on what they eat -- Tropicalia on Hillhurst is very casual inside, and has hamburgers and a great grilled chicken and grilled skirt steak as well as more traditional Brazilian dishes. Kids would probably also like the beans, rice, fries and plantains. And good wine for the 'rents!
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Fred 62 is definitely an option, as is Palermo.
You might also consider the Astro Family Restaurant, which is a classic Googie-style coffee shop at the corner of Glendale Blvd. & Fletcher. Open 24 hours, huge menu...they have very good burgers. And obviously, a very kid-friendly place.
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Chowpatty
Oct 4, 2007 12:17 PM
Actually there are a lot of people with kids at Malo in the hours before 8:00. And because the menu is a la carte, it's easy to just get them a few tacos or a small quesadilla. And mom or dad can have a stiff margarita! If Malo's too hipster for your kids, the Acapulco on Glendale Blvd. in Atwater has a kids menu and also the margaritas. I think the food at that one might be marginally better than the one on Sunset. If possible, avoid Mimi's Cafe and Pat and Oscar's like the plague.
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re: Chowpatty
I second the improvements at Fred 62. I took my 9 year old son (I know a bit older than 5 and 2), there last month and it was very pleasant. As a parent I usually dread that its going to be a less than stellar experience, going out with kids. The wait staff were super cool, offering extra straws, even suggested to him that the million dollar pancakes could be done with chocoate chips, etc.making it "fun" for him, I was impressed! The food has improved also no longer heavy on grease. Its a thumbs up as far as I am concerned for kids :)
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Depending on their, and your pizza tastes, there's Nicky D's, Hard Times (a fave of my son at a similar age, but two or three owners ago) Rufelli's,Cappriccio Pizzaria and (with pasta) Palermo's, which has fed literally two or three generations of Los Feliz/SL kids.
While some LF/SL folks seem to think that Mexico City is kid-friendly, the service is often so mind-numbingly slow as to make it a bad call, kid-wise. Same holds true, often, for Home and Kitchen, though I hear that Fred 62 has recently improved. Yai Thai on Sunset seems pretty kid-friendly, if they'll eat Thai foods.›2 Replies-
re: silverlakebodhisattva
Mex City is NOT kid-friendly -- maybe a hipster couple will take his kid there, but it's not the norm. Very much a bar vibe. And unless your kids have sophisticated taste, Il CAP wouldn't be my vote either.
MY VOTES
#! Palermo's
#2 Nicky D's
#3 House of Pies
#4 Hard Times (I can't stand this place b/c the marinara sauce is very sweet -- but I think a kid would like this)
#5 Alegria -- Mex.
#6 Home -- but since they've added a bar, the crowd is much more adult-
re: Silverlaker
The last time I was at Mex City (which may be the last time I'll ever go there) was a warmish Sunday at about 5:30 and there was roughly one kid for every two adults in the resto; kids were of varying ages, and many were in various stages of melt-down, which the accompanying adults, and the wait-staff, seemed mostly clueless to address.
One of the worst dining experiences of my life.
As I said, some SL/LF folks apparently think it's kid-friendly, but it ain't.
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