On the road, we tend to eat out about twice a day. That means that, on this trip alone, we’ve been to more than 100 restaurants—with two children under five. Along the way, we’ve picked up a few tips for filling our bellies and keeping our sanity.
- Eat where you want. Lots of conventional advice about taking children to restaurants suggests choosing places with kids’ menus and booster seats. In our quest to create adventurous eaters who can handle themselves in restaurants—and ourselves enjoy good meals—we generally ignore this advice, opting instead for well-reviewed places with interesting menus.
- Going someplace fancy? Call ahead. White tablecloths and Michelin stars won’t keep us away, but we do like to give the staff a heads-up—and get them on our side in advance. If we’re going someplace upscale, we try to call ahead to ask whether they’ll accommodate two young children. Staff has never said “no,” but this gives them an opportunity to prepare—both logistically and mentally.
- Choose your table wisely. It’s like they say in real estate: Location, location, location. Tables outdoors make for quick escapes and generally provide more space to roam. If seated indoors, we opt for tables on the edge of the dining room, where there’s often more space and fewer fellow diners. Bonus points go to tables next to other families with children, which may make for an impromptu play date and, at the very least, will help drown out the ruckus our own kiddos are creating.
- A safe table is a happy table. After breaking a shocking amount of restaurant glassware in wineglass-heavy France, we now scan the table upon arrival, removing from our children’s reach all thin-stemmed glassware and sharp knives. We’ve put Harper in charge of this project, and she’s taking it very seriously.
- Bring diversions. Many meals abroad can last up to two hours—far longer than most children (ours very much included) can be expected to sit still. We pull out matchbox cars, crayons and coloring books upon arrival, and we’re prepared to play 405 games of tic-tac-toe if that’s what will maintain decorum until the food arrives. When the food arrives, though, all activities must be put away so the whole family can focus on the meal.
- Use screens for emergencies only. Give our children Curious George on an iPhone, and they’ll sit still through all manner of fires and natural disasters. But we want them to learn to enjoy eating at restaurants—not to miss the experience entirely. This means keeping the screens locked away unless we’re teetering on the edge of a nervous breakdown.
- Share your food. Trying to predict what young palates would appreciate on a menu full of foreign food is risky, expensive and generally unsuccessful. Recognizing that the kids mostly just want what’s ours, we generally order two meals for the four of us and then share. If they love something, we order more of it. Everyone wins.
- Remove the weakest link. Meltdowns happen, but they’re much harder—both for us and for fellow diners—when they happen in public. When Walker gets a lunatic look in his eye, one of us takes him for a walk around the block. Added bonus: By the time we return, our food has often arrived.
- Follow the Golden Rule. That waiter who’s refilled our bread basket six times and repeatedly retrieved from the floor all manner of silverware shouldn’t have to wipe Walker’s latest tomato-sauce art project off the table. We give the table a quick once-over before we leave, hopefully keeping intact whatever good restaurant karma we have.
- Look before you leave. Those crayons we pulled out upon arrival? 80% of them are on the floor by the time the meal is over, along with the Barbie Harper cannot live without. A quick check now saves tears (theirs and ours) later.
Three cheers for Thai food! Just kidding; she only ate the sticky rice.
I absolutely love reading these!! They truly make my day. I love reading about your adventures and seeing all of the beautiful pictures but oh my word you guys are so missed!