How to Choose a Family-Friendly Restaurant

A children's menu does not make a restaurant family-friendly. Plenty of places with one are cramped, slow and quietly unwelcoming; plenty without one are wonderful with children.

What actually matters is simpler, and you can usually check it before you go.

What family-friendly really means

A genuinely family-friendly restaurant usually has:

• Space. Room for a buggy, and tables not jammed together so a wriggling child is not in somebody else's dinner.
• High chairs, and enough of them.
• Reasonably quick food. A forty-minute wait for mains is a long time when you are four.
• Patient staff, who do not flinch at a dropped spoon.
• A kitchen that will adapt: plain pasta, sauce on the side, a half portion of something from the main menu.
• Clean toilets with a changing table.

A children's menu is a bonus. A kitchen willing to make a small, plain version of a good dish is often better.

How to check before you go

• Read the ratings for mentions of children. Parents are quick to say when a place was good with kids, and quicker when it was not.
• Look at photographs of the room. You can see the spacing, the seating and whether there is room for a buggy.
• Look for places people have tagged as family-friendly. On Mosey, people tag places this way when they rate them, and many towns have a page gathering them.
• Ring ahead. Ask about high chairs and space. A family-friendly place is happy to say yes; hesitation is also an answer.

Choose the right time

Eating early makes the biggest difference of all. At lunch, or the first sitting in the evening:

• the room is quieter, so a bit of noise matters less
• the kitchen is less stretched, so food arrives sooner
• staff have more time
• your children are less tired

Early-bird menus are often good value too, which helps with a family bill.

Book, and say who is coming

If you can book, do, and mention the children and any buggy or high chair. It lets the restaurant seat you somewhere with space — near the door, at a larger table, away from the couple on a quiet anniversary — rather than squeezing you in wherever is free.

Allergies and dietary needs

Tell the restaurant when you book and again when you order. A kitchen that takes allergies seriously will ask its own questions back. Look for ratings from people with the same requirement, not just a symbol on the menu, because a symbol tells you what the dish contains, not how carefully the kitchen handles it.

Pubs and outdoor seating

Many Irish pubs that serve food welcome children, particularly earlier in the day, and often have more space than a restaurant. Rules on children in pubs later in the evening vary, so check with the pub.

In good weather, outdoor seating is a gift: more space, more noise, and a restless child bothers nobody.

Children with allergies or fussy eating

For a child with an allergy, the questions are the same as for an adult but matter more: tell the restaurant when you book, repeat it when you order, and ask how the dish is prepared rather than only what is in it. A kitchen that takes allergies seriously will usually ask its own questions back.

For a fussy eater, ask whether the kitchen can make a plain version of something on the main menu — pasta with butter, chicken without the sauce, potatoes on their own. Most kitchens will, and it is often better than the children's menu.

Choosing a place for a family celebration

A birthday or a first communion lunch needs a little more planning:

• Book well ahead and mention the occasion and the number of children
• Ask for a table with space, or a separate area for a larger group
• Check whether there is a set menu for groups, which makes ordering for a big table easier
• Ask about cake — whether you can bring one, and whether there is a charge for serving it
• Agree the time — lunch is almost always easier than an evening with children

Eating out with a baby

With a baby, the practical questions come first: is there somewhere to park a buggy, is there a changing table, and is there a quieter corner if you need it? A café with space and a relaxed pace is often easier than a restaurant at its busiest. Ringing ahead to ask takes a minute and saves an awkward arrival.

Making the meal easier

• Order the children's food first, or with a starter, so it arrives early
• Bring something to do that is quiet and not a screen at full volume
• Walk around between courses if a child is restless, rather than asking them to sit still for an hour
• Keep it short. Two courses and home is a successful meal out
• Thank the staff. A table that was patient with your children is a place worth going back to, and worth telling other parents about

Where to go next

• Planning a group celebration in Dublin
• Eating out with allergies in Dublin
• How to tell if a restaurant is good before you go
• Ranked lists of the best places to eat