Traveling with several children in April, and we have begun planning. I would appreciate suggestions for reasonable FRENCH restaurants that appreciate young children. We always seem to give in and eat at a MacDonald%26#39;s when we are tourists, and I don%26#39;t want that to happen this time. Can you help me?
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How young are the children, and are they used to eating in a proper restaurant? In my experience, many French restaurants are quite happy to accept children, provided they are there to eat, or at least sit at the table, without disrupting the ambience of the restaurant. French parents seem to be more successful at achieving this than British parents!
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Kathlekm, do you really want to eat in restaurants,, I find they are least child friendly for young chilren. They often do not open till 7:30 or 8 pm, when many little ones are grumpy,,
Perhaps looking at bistros, braserries and cafes would be best.. just a thought. You do not need to resort to McDonalds( although once won%26#39;t kill anyone, LOL )
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Thank you - the children range in age from 3 to 9. They are well-behaved children, but they, like many small children, get excited and can become a little rowdy when out of their home environment. I wanted to find two or three french restaurants or eating places where the grown-ups can drink wine and ponder the day, and the children can be children on vacation. We will be all over Paris, so all suggestions are welcome.
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You will find out that most restaurants are child friendly in Paris (except the Michelin starred restaurants).
But I agree with Joan, according of course to your kids age, and especially when they are picky eaters, it is more simple and more fun for everybody to eat in:
- crêperies (a lot of very good crêperies rue du Montparnasse)
- brasseries (where your kids can enjoy steak or chicken and fries while you may enjoy the daily menu, most of the time a yummy traditional French meal)
- italian restaurants (most kids love pasta)
- ethnic restaurants (mine loved indian and thaï food!)
- trendy fast food where you can choose what you eat from the desk (salads, soups, sophitiscated sandwiches), I think for example of %26quot;Subito%26quot; rue Danielle Casanova or %26quot;Cosi%26quot; rue de Seine
- etc
You%26#39;ll see that there are nice alternatives between McDonald%26#39;s and formal restaurants everywhere in Paris!
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Plus I remember a restaurant that is really child friendly, where you may have a nice evening, it is in a former train station: La Gare, 19 chaussée de la Muette (16è)
http://www.restaurantlagare.com/indexve.html
I must say I had a brunch there and there were plenty of children playing around but don%26#39;t remember any kids at dinner time.
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You can go to Hippopotamus, a French chain with good beef and excellent fries and also children menu and special deals at off hours.
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Although I have not travelled to Paris with my chidlren when they were young, I have been in other areas and tried to dine, so I know how you feel. We would always try to look for something smaller and that seemed to be family run. I also agree with the comment about the time of day. There were times when we would feed the chidlren before we went so we could enjoy our meal and let them eat later or play with quiet toys while we had our meal. Have you looked into childcare services. I know that this can be scary ina new place but again, sometimes hotel staff are looking for or know someone who need extra money. If the chidlren are put to bed then the adults can go and enjoy a meal in peace.
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There is an upscale chain called Chez Clement that is very child friendly. We ate there once during our trip to Paris. They have coloring books/crayons, a kids menu, they even gave my daughter a yo-yo. DH and I were not particularly impressed with the food, but perhaps we ordered the wrong thing. DD had chicken and it was a huge portion, very nicely done.
I would agree that creperies are a good place to take kids -- we would often see families there and there are usually kid-friendly items on the menu.
As we had an apartment, we would typically get a poulet roti from the market, a yummy dessert from the bakery and a nice bottle of wine. A lot less stressful for us.
Have a great trip.
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I%26#39;m raising my kids in Paris. I find that cafes are my favorite solution to adult dining with kids. The food is undeniably french, the hours are more flexible than restaurants, they are easy to find, require no reservations and you can gauge your time spent at the table based on the kids and their moods. Also, in April you can eat on the terrasse, allowing the kids to get up a bit is the sidewalk allows.
One of my favorite restaurants with kids is Le Train Bleu at teh Gare de Lyon. It is beautiful, the food is good with excellent kid options (real food, not just nuggets) and what kids would not be charmed by watching the hustle and bustle of the train station as they dine?
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I would also recommend Chez Clement, friendly service and good food, especially the potatoes. My son didn%26#39;t like crepes at all, much to my surprise, but the places we went to, Au Petit Marguery and Josephine Chez Dumonet, were both able to produce plain pasta without any problems. Since no parent in his /her right senses would want to take a screamer/food thrower out to dinner, I%26#39;m assuming that your children are reasonably quiet and well-behaved and as such will be welcome in all medium-scale restaurants, brasseries etc.
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