seeking baby friendly, casual, moderate $ DC restaraunt that takes reserv

[klejnieks]

hi,

I am looking for a fun, family friendly restaraunt with good food to take a group of six next weekend. I was thinking 2amys, but they dont take reservations, which would be hard with a baby. Cuisine-wise, we would be fine with anything except thai, indian, or sushi. My parents, who we will be with, are not that adventurous, but enjoy a good meal. Thanks for any suggestions!

-Kristen

[mulberry08]

I took my 5 month old to Ceiba; while the staff was friendly, the bathrooms are not acccessible to changing a diaper. No pull down changing table, no shelf, no space near the sink: the only place to change him was the floor.

-----
Ceiba
701 14th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005

[spider]

I know you tied up this topic, but I thought it would be good to report that we just had a nice dining experience at Dino with our 5 month old this past Sunday evening. We sat upstairs and there was enough noise that no one noticed any peeps that our son made. Plus, I noticed that they had stacks of highchairs in storage. When we called for a reservation I asked to be seated upstaitrs.

[AlyKen]

Kristen, you may want to check out this website: http://www.dcfoodies.com/. He actually lists what he and his wife consider "diaper ratings"

[klejnieks]

Hi Everyone-

Thanks for all the responses. Just to respond to some of the comments, our daughter is 9 months old, so it wasn't the food that was a concern, as much as whether baby "singing" would be appreciated. She also throws her cheerios a lot, so some places are more friendly to that than others.

For what it is worth, we ended up going to 2Amys. We had a group of eight and arrived at 5:45. It was a gorgeous friday night, and the place was packed! They told us an hour, so we went next door to that mexican restaraunt to have a drink.

What happened next was kind of annoying. My husband kept running back and forth to check on our table, and the woman said 20-30 minutes still. We decided to go back just to be safe, and five minutes later showed up at the door. The woman doing the seating looks at my husband and says, "oh, I just gave your table away." i guarantee this was no longer than five minutes after he last talked to her. It ended up being fine, she seated us five minutes later, but it seemed weird that she would say 30 minutes, then give our table away.

As for the food, it was great as always! The pizzas were phenomenal and we tried a bunch of appetizers. The family favorite was the rissoto balls--mmmm....

Thanks again for all the tips. We're moving back to DC next year, so I will keep all of these suggestions in mind for the future.

[pamd]

Matchbox takes reservations if minimum 6- we've had good experiences with kids there (they have highchairs)

[takajin]

Further afield and not really metro accessible, but what about The Majestic in Old Town? I've been with a baby for the Sunday Nana's Dinner special and think it's a great place that is both kid-friendly and has food/drinks and atmosphere that appeal to adults as well. Weekend evenings look a bit more crowded and possibly

Or the Evening Star Cafe in Del Ray? Good food and I've seen kids in there as well. Nice neighborhood atmosphere vibe. But they only take res. up to 6:30 pm, I think. THat could work out if you eat early because of the baby though.

I would think either would appeal to parents who are "not that adventurous, but enjoy a good meal." Both, however, would be above the price point of Two Amys.

[Just Visiting]

Seeing kids somewhere doesn't mean the place is kid-friendly. It just means the parents chose to take their kids there, which these days, seems to be pretty much everywhere. Truly kid-friendly places - i.e., "family restaurants" - tend to be chain places like Friday's.

[dcveggiemom]

Ew, just visiting - a little kidphobic?

There are quite a few family-friendly NON CHAIN restaurants. Not all people hate kids! I refuse to subject my child to the food of a chain restaurant or a fast food place. They are people and deserve to be wherever other people are allowed. If I want to bring my child to a "fine dining" venue, then I will bring my child to one. I've taught her to behave, thank you very much.

My recommendations:

Oyamel
Jaleo
Matchbox

2Amys is great if you get there early
Cafe Deluxe

Chef Geoff's downtown

Olives
Ceiba

The "trendy" restaurants tend to be so loud that it doesn't matter if you have kids or not.

[food.fiend]

Have to agree with your sentiment...
And while I don't have kids, they don't bother me when out...

Plus, I think if the poster had *wanted* to go to a chain restaurant, they wouldn't be looking to this board for reccs....

[Jeserf]

i've been places where kids have bothered me. But then again, I have a low tolerance and keep my mouth shut on poorly behaved children. heh.

However, I'd think that more kid-friendly food would be the way to go, vs. "fine dining" of the more obscure kind of food, if that makes sense.

Chef Geoffs and Lias would both fit that bill, and also the pasta place in Georgetown...the one on the bridge that the name of escapes me now. the food is tasty and kids like pasta (don't they?) and it's a fun place.

[Elyssa]

Filomena. If it's good enough for Bill Clinton then its got to be good enough for a 5 year old :)

I actually see kids at Filomena all the time. Plus if you go now the place will be insanly decorated from top to bottom for Easter. They may even have their million pound chocolate egg on display. I think Filomena is great for kids because while they wait for their food they can go watch the Pasta Mamas making the pasta or go to the cake display case and pick out what they want for dessert.

[fishie]

? Cactus Cantina? Depends on how old the baby is...Pre walking you can really go anywhere. post, well it is harder. Cafe deluxe is very toddler friendly.

[Steve]

Nooshi is pan-Asian on 19th Street. Hard to go wrong, very nice place.

[monavano]

Hank's Oyster Bar in Dupont. Along with terrific seafood, they have daily meat and two specials.
www.hanksdc.com

[Elyssa]

Hank's is great but its a very small restaurant. Not a ton of room for large tables and there is certainly no room for the kids to move around. Seems more family friendly in the summer when you can park a stroller in the outdoor patio area.

[Jacey]

This is a terrible place to bring kids. The place is too small and the menu is very limiting if you're not a fish/seafood place. Plus, they don't take reservations and I get the impression many of the other patrons who tend to frequent this place wouldn't be so happy with kids around (if they begin crying/whining).

Cactus Catina is very family friendly

[jt1]

We go to Hank's quite a lot with our 2-year old - but for brunch right after they open rather than in the evening. It is pretty child-friendly at this time - booster seats etc. They also have some good kids options - beets, mac 'n cheese etc.

[Elyssa]

I agree the food is certainly child-friendly. Maybe its because I grew up in Massachusetts but I grew up eating fried seafood (the little pieces are perfect for kids), lobster rolls, and calamari. Lots of "finger foods" on their menu. Still if you are looking for seafood, perhaps Legal's is a better option. I know its a chain but I personally think its a higher quality chain and I'm pretty sure they have a children's menu.

[Elyssa]

Does Clyde's take reservations? If so, they are family friendly and have a big menu with lots to choose from (and I'm pretty sure they have a children's menu as well). There are locations in Georgetown, Gallery Place/Chinatown and other areas outside of DC.

Italian restaurants are always good places for families. I would recommend Sette Osteria or Filomena (where I see large groups and families all the time).

Other places to consider: Creme, Dupont Grille, Mark and Orlandos, Cafe Atlantico, or Jaleo

[klejnieks]

Thanks so much for all the suggestions! I'd thought about Clyde's, but wanted something with a little more interesting food. I will check out some of the above suggestions... thanks so much!

[dcandohio]

Second Clydes and Sette Osteria. However, I wouldn't recommend Creme or Cafe Altantico with a baby. Both places are cramped, difficult to navigate, with different levels - not easy for navigating a stroller or baby seat. Spices in Cleveland Park would be good - there are choices besides sushi. I've noticed lots of strollers in Bistrot du Coin, especially earlier in the evening.

[ktmoomau]

I think Ella's in Galleryplace takes reservations if you call, they would be baby friendly. there is always Clyde's which is kid friendly. Daily Grill might be good too, I would also just think off the top of my head that the passion restaurant group (Ceiba, Acadiana) wouldn't be bad at accommodating a baby, or Jaleo, or Rosa Mexicana. Also right by 2Amy's, Cafe deluxe might take reservations, Lebanese Taverna might take them too?