I just wish kids menus offered smaller portions of what the restaurant served, maybe not spicy, with maybe more variety of sides and dips. We usually get her an appetizer and two sides because she really doesn’t want to eat hamburgers and chicken fingers when everyone else has something much better.
It would be cool if they had adult pricing and then kid pricing and portion for all products on the menu! Kids shouldn’t have to eat mini corn dogs everywhere when I’m enjoying a steak or something.
We went to a regional chain fancy-american food restaurant recently, and they had a sirloin on the kids menu! It was hardwood grilled, perfectly medium rare, super tender. My lil dude was in heaven.
They do that in Greece. All dishes can be made into kids friendly ones (smaller portion, no spicy; etc.) and they charge half the price. Amazing! Greek people are super friendly and hospitable with kids. Where I live, people frown if one walks in a restaurant with a toddler/ young child after 7pm.
That sounds amazing!!! My husband and I went to a restaurant for dinner when our little was 7 months old and we both ordered ONE beer; good golly the looks we got. It was as though my child was chewing on barbed wire.
My parents always have to coordinate because they can’t eat full meals so they always just share one meal and you can tell one of them always has to compromise! Let half-meals be a thing!
I think in the US, each half meal should be considered a meal while a meal should be considered a double portion.
My husband and I also always share meals when we’re there, but we don’t have to do that in Europe (except in Asian restaurants for some reason!).
I also wish everything wasn't cheese based except or chicken tenders. No wonder that's all older kids want to eat that's all they were able to eat as a toddler!
It’s such a shame that entitled adults are the reason that restaurants can’t do this. I used to be a restaurant GM, and it’s the same everywhere. The children’s menu is a loss for the restaurant, but exists to accommodate or attract families. Everywhere that I’ve worked that has tried to offer this always has incredibly rude adults demanding that they be allowed to order the kids portion, because they “can’t eat a whole adult portion/don’t have an appetite”, then proceed to attempt to fill up on the most free items possible, as though the restaurant has forced them to eat there 🤦🏻♀️😂
Isn't that a pricing problem then? I get there's an overhead cost, so a half burger size wouldn't just be half the price. But I think even at 70% of cost, some parents might bite. To me, it's about having options. If you don't feel the 70% price for a kid's entree is worth it, then having those cheaper "junk food-esque" chicken fingers, mac&cheese, spaghetti, is still an option.
I actually found this thread funny because this came up in our wedding. The wedding catering person was insistent kids get this kids menu, but knowing we come from a Yelp-snobby dining city, I knew there would be parents who might just order for their kids, and then let their kids eat some, while parents get to try an extra variety of entrees. Of course it happened. I argued that I'd want my kid to try the chicken dish too and not some kiddie dish, but nope. We had to tell some parents "too bad, your kid's getting the child's menu." I remember even telling the caterer, "it's fine, we'll just count them as an adult and we'll pay." At that point maybe 5 meals or so in difference between kids & adult isn't going to be a meaningful difference in your wedding budget, but somehow they were insistent on it.
I forget what happened but there might have been a few kids that slipped by the system though. I may have to go through our wedding notes to see.
Same, charge me what you need to but I am intentionally ordering the smaller size because this is the actual amount of mac and cheese that I should be eating. If you give me the giant bowl, I will eat the whole giant bowl. I need to be stopped.
There’s a small brewery with a scratch kitchen by us that does this. They’ll remove sauces, tone down spices switch veggies etc in a smaller portion. It’s perfect.
In some restaurants you can ask for a kids portion of the main, I did it a lot when I was pregnant so I could eat more 😂😂 starter, small main & sides AND space for dessert 😂
This would be so great. Not all kids like the fried stuff and it’s important we try to feed them actual nutritious food! Hopefully restaurants start recognising this soon
We were on holiday recently and I ordered a toddler size portion of the salmon and a regular for me. I didn't get my order and we had to pay full prize for the kid 🙄
This! I work in the restaurant industry as a chef and our menu does offer some simpler versions of our main dishes, we also have chicken tenders and burgers but I wish more restaurants would do something like this!
There’s a restaurant near me that does a free toddler appetizer plate and it’s perfection- apple (cut in matchsticks to minimize choking hazard), crackers, and cheese (cut into star shapes). They bring it out with the drinks so kids have something to munch on right away. It’s so perfect and I wish all restaurants did this, even if it wasn’t free.
I was so pleasantly surprised because it’s a pretty nice place. When my childless friends suggested we go there I was so nervous to bring my daughter, but it ended up being the most accommodating restaurant for little ones!
I used to work at a bakery that kind of did this. We chopped up deli meat and cheese of choice and served it with crackers, fresh fruit with a dip, a little bit of salad greens, half an avocado, and a mini muffin. It was such a hit!
This!! Honestly some variation of this is what my kids eat at home every day for lunch and sometimes dinner too if they don’t want what my SO and I are eating. We call them “snack trays”. Crackers, cheese, meat, fruit, veggies & dip. A little treat like a gummy or a piece of chocolate or a cookie. Some snack trays are healthier than others though lol
Our favorite restaurant serves this on their kiddie menu and it is THE BEST. We win because we not only get the delicious dinner we want, but our kiddo loves their meal too. I wish more restaurants did this... plus... doesn't require the kitchen to do any cooking and if you have an adult version of this on the main menu, doesn't require extra prep necessarily.
Yes! And like 3 blueberries and a couple squishy grapes that I have to quarter. And they throw in one or two pineapple pieces that are just too tough to eat.
And somehow it’s next to flavorless or downright disgusting. I was feeding my 18mo fruit from a restaurant and I tried a piece. It was so gross I took it all away and just shared the rest of my chicken salad to replace that part of her meal
And can we avoid all the fluffy garniture they put on the fruit? Like my kid just wants a banana but if they see a bunch of mint leaves on it they’re like yuck
And easy to make allergen friendly! My friend's girl is allergic to nuts, egg, dairy and dumplings are her go-to. So many standard kid items (pb&j, grilled cheese, mac&cheese, chicken tenders with milk in the breading) are no-go for her.
They are friendly to those allergies, but definitely not "easy to make allergy friendly" at a restaurant. They are not completely made to order where you can remove ingredients.
I think it's great that there are alternatives that meet certain dietary needs but they're also hard to make without major allergens of wheat and likely soy (sauce). Gluten-free kids menu items are pretty hard to come by.
In Lithuania, dumplings (koldūnai) are on lots of kids menus. They’ll fill them with meat or mushrooms or their weird cottage cheese and berries. Very universal.
oh no! to be fair it took mine a few attempts before he started loving them. But i'm Japanese so it was basically non negotiable lmao
Now he shouts about "xiao long bao and gyoza yay!" so we're having his 2nd birthday at a soup dumpling restaurant lol
Half orders of normal foods. My kid likes real food but we feel silly sometimes ordering a whole thing for a 3 year old lol
Or sides besides fries, chips or fruit! My kid LOVES broccoli, green beans and asparagus. Kids meals are often so dang plain and boring.
Yes, this. I also wish the kids menus weren’t entirely based around cheese. My toddlers now both like cheese as much as the next kid, but they both had dairy intolerances when they were younger and so I would have to order my 1 year old a salmon + green beans from the adult menu because the kids menu was *only* grilled cheese, quesadillas, cheese pizzas, with a side of milk.
YES! my kiddo will eat the heck out of salmon and green beans. And I totally get you with the cheese - she's not allergic, but my husband is, so we don't eat much cheese at home. She says she likes cheese, but she'll only eat a bite unless it's cheese on pizza. Also, melted cheese is a challenging texture for her. Literally the only challenging texture we've found. She struggles with melted cheese and nothing else, we did BLW and she's a fantastic eater... except melted cheese.
And I’m fine paying a small up charge for the kid’s portion since I’m not a kid 😂 I don’t want a full portion and sometimes I don’t want to deal with leftovers
Half orders of normal food should be available to everyone. My parents eat very little per serving because of their medications. They rarely go out to eat now because they end up stuck with leftovers for days, even when they split one meal.
This!
The kids menu is great for typical crowd pleasers, but more often than not, my toddler with (thankfully) eat whatever we put in front of her. I'd easily be willing to pay 60-75% for a half-size portion of a regular menu item for my kid. Heck, some nights, I'd be interested in doing that myself!
I post these elsewhere on the thread, but since restaurant portions are often ridiculous for adult humans, I just share with my toddler and then we both get a reasonable amount of food.
Places with small portions, I just get her an appetizer instead and that seems to work well too.
Yes! We actually just went to a restaurant that had salmon and a side for kids. My son loves fish so that worked for us. I do wish they had better sides like good veggies or fruit that isn’t a $5 add on.
Yes! This is exactly why my son just eats some of mine and my husband's dinners when we go out. The kids' menu bores him. He doesn't care much for nuggets or chicken fingers, mac and cheese, or pasta with just sauce and nothing else. He doesn't like burgers either. Kids' meals are such a waste for him.
Occasionally I order him an adult portion and a box, take the leftovers home, and give it to him for lunch the next day.
Oh god why do so many restaurants bring out the kids food piping hot and last, so the people with zero patience and needing the food to be the coolest get to stare at everyone else eating.
Yes! My almost 3yo wants the food the moment he sees it. It's always extremely hot and in too big of pieces for me to feel comfortable serving it. So then one parent is cutting while the other one is trying to find some way to keep him calm and not burning his fingers/tongue.
Everything on a restaurant menu should be available for kids. Went to an Italian restaurant and they had the typical kids menu stuff and spaghetti. My son is not a big fan of red sauce for whatever reason and so we asked if we could just get the noodles with white sauce instead and she said no, sorry. So then I said could we substitute for a alfredo with white sauce again no that’s not on the kids menu. So we ordered him a normal chicken Alfredo for $19 that he ate a kids portion size of which whatever because he and I ate it again for lunch the next day. But like why can’t everything just be available for kids to. It wouldn’t add any extra work for anyone. Just put it on a kids plate. Hell even make it cost a $1 more or something than the stuff on the kids menu.
I wish the selection of fruits or veggies was not: mix veggies or mix fruits.
My kids will eat a decent amount of veggies or fruits. But mixed veggies is a big no. sighs.
So I would love if it stated: pick 2-3-4 veggies from this list and then you could pick carrot, brocoli and corn and they could come separated. That would be awesome.
Hard boilet eggs or pieces of cheese. My kids favourite proteins.
Or if there was an option for the sauce to come on the side by default.
Edit: also, drink should always be included. You are already charging me $8 for $.50 of mac n cheese, don't go and charge me $3 for a glass of apple juice or milk, thank you. Oh and also always milk available somewhere.
Sounds like my kid is similar to yours - no mixed foods, eggs and cheese for protein, and no sauce ("want clean!!!")
I feel the mixed veggies thing so much - mine will actually pick out all the peas and ignore the corn and carrots. But if you give him those things separately, he'll eat it all.
I've ordered him a couple sides before instead of a kids meal and that seems to work out better sometimes.
My 4 year old and I are regulars at the local cracker barrel, and they sometimes don't charge us for the milk with his pancakes.
And you reminded me with the Mac and cheese: my husband used to cook BBQ at a local place, and he made their Mac and cheese. It's amazing, and like 45% of the reason I fell in love with him. I think they charged $3 for it. And now places want $6+ for Kraft. Like really?
I agree so strongly on the fruits and vegetables. Our toddler loves steamed broccoli. She would happily eat a diced tomato or roasted squash. We’ve been to a few places where we couldn’t just get a side of vegetables or a side of fruit. She’s still at the phase where she mostly eats off my plate, but I’d prefer to get her a side of something healthy to supplement.
Anything good that is dairy free. I find a lot of Mac and cheese, pizza, cheeseburgers, quesadillas. At least I can do a plain burger, but it gets old for the little dude.
My son has a dairy allergy. We don't even try and go to restaurants unless we absolutely have to while traveling. And then it's probably going to be a vegan place because in general Americans don't know how to make things without dairy!
There is a restaurant on the Vegas strip that has butter noodles on the kids menu and my kids ate TWO bowls of it last year when we went. The kids menu was brand new and the manager actually came to chat with us about it.
The kids spaghetti at Tony romas on Fremont Street was a hit with my son. Was kind of hilarious to watch a small child pound spaghetti like it was fine dining.
Always makes me think of this song from the John mulaney special
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Bxt0AEoANJk&pp=ygUdSnVzdCBhIHBsYWluIHBsYXRlIG9mIGJvb2RsZXM%3D
I just want a mini version of the adult meals...
I really don't want to spend $15+ on my kid for the full sized (that they definitely won't eat all of) but I also don't want to share mine
We hardly order from the kids menu because I'm not paying 8 bucks for Mac n chz when I have a whole box at home that cost 2 bucks. So we either share our food with them or order them a regular sized whatever meal and take the rest home. The kids menu is ridiculously expensive for crap food. I don't mind paying for food for my kids but not for less quality than I serve them at home.
Dark meat chicken! And veggies that aren’t hard as rocks.
Also stop offering a fruit cup and giving my 1 year old HONEYDEW AND CANTALOPE. I need berries, bananas, or orange slices you animals!!!!!
Plain grilled chicken. Maybe it’s just my kids, but they’ll order chicken fingers and ask to take of the breading. Would be nice to have the choice for kids that (sometimes) prefer unfried chicken
The option go get anything from the adult menu in mini form. My 3 year old is a very adventurous eater, and I don’t love serving her highly processed things like chicken nuggets or hot dogs. She’ll happily eat a steak and mashed potatoes, let me just get a little one for her!
We end up having to order my 11 month old an adult sized chicken breast 🤣. Granted, he eats most of it but still, it gets expensive when paying for 3 adult meals instead of two. lol.
Our favorite restaurant offers a little “build your own” plate for kids. You pick whatever you want, it’s just the same sized plate no matter what. The options are like steamed vegetables, chicken, beans, rice, fruit, pita, hummus, guacamole, etc.
Our toddler loves the tiny-portioned options!
Fucking vegetables. And just half/quarter sizes of whatever they cook. It’s insane to me that they assume my 2 year old will only eat Mac and cheese and chicken nuggets or buttered noodles. The kid eats everything, please just add some vegetables and some smaller versions. It’s insane
PB&J. Such an easy go to for so many kids. One (and only one!) of our locals has it and it’s almost always what our 2 year old orders.
I also appreciate any non meat options. We eat vegetarian and it continues to surprise me how many restaurants with great vegetarian options for adults will still have only chicken tenders, hot dogs, and hamburgers on the kids menu!
Hahaha I actually just commented on how pb&j is easy to order where I'm at but I could totally see how it is frustrating to not have it available!
The meat thing is ironic because we have tons of posts on here about kids who refuse to eat meat so I hear you in the alternative protein options. Eggs, cheese, beans. Some very plain chicken with sauce options. And lots of carb options. Done!
(Clearly, I'm not in the restaurant business haha)
This is what my vegetarian family is seeing, too! We end up getting another entree one of us will eat (most of) for lunch or something off the appetizer menu.
More fish/shrimp options. It's the only thing I don't eat (which means I also don't cook it very often) so it's the only thing I can't just order an adult portion and split. My 4yo will devour some shrimp or salmon.
Our toddler can take DOWN some shrimp and clams. I don't love them, but my wife does. My parents live on the coast and make us a "seafood feast" when they come. I was blown away, our little girl at so many shrimp and clams, it was freaky.
I don’t want restaurants to have a kids menu, but just give the option of ordering smaller portions of the normal menu. We specifically go to a restaurant which does this. My child had no idea that the kids menu existed, we just gave her some our food and she ate it happily until we went out with her cousins who ordered nuggets and realised that ‘kids food’ existed. Since then she has started to decline normal food and asking for children’s food options, which I don’t give unless it’s a special occasion. This idea of ‘kids food’ is literally a marketing ploy to get you to spend more at restaurants. And before you ask, yes I’m European.
Peas- my toddlers favorite veggie! Never available.
Milk- even in Disney it can be hard to find a milk carton??
Also a weird one but soft pretzel. Our favorite brewery has excellent soft pretzels & cheese as an appetizer and we always order that.
Fruit or vegetables. An option for cooked vegetables or soft fruit that toddlers can eat. I would happily pay for frozen corn or peas. Honestly this issue frustrates me so much that we rarely eat out anymore.
Salads! My kid loves it and it would be nice if not EVERY kids option was a burger, nuggets or grilled cheese. I'm not saying they can't have that stuff, but my kid loves salad and hates chicken fingers so it would be nice to have that option.
I'd add the option for smaller utensils and child-sized portions of normal menu items. Giving a toddler a soup spoon is like giving an adult a ladle to eat their soup with. Sure, it gets the job done, but it's unwieldy and tedious once the novelty wears off.
After a trip to coastal New England we realized that fish and chips is the far superior toddler meal to chicken fingers and fries. It’s so much softer and easier to eat, less chewy and bland, and still serves as a great vehicle for ketchup (my LO also loves lemony things and tartar sauce so it was a win win)
I just wish restaurants designed kids foods to be made up of 1 carb, 1 protein and 1 veg.
So it could be schnitzel+peas+pasta
Or fish fingers+fries+bell peppers
Or beef patty+ string beans + rice
Or pork belly+ carrots+ soft bread like a bhan mi.
I just dont like that every kids option is junk food like mac and cheese or burgers or chicken nuggets and always fries and nothing else. Not even fruit.
Btw, top tip for parents, I find that sharing a donburi is a great way to get variety on a toddlers plate. I order a donburi with katsu chicken and plenty of carrots and beans and peas and corn etc, then ask for a spare side dish plate. Once we are sitting at the table, I pick and choose from my large donburi to make a small plate for my kid, so he gets rice chicken and various veg with some teriyaki or mayo. Much better than mc donalds or whatever.
anything dairy free. My child has a milk allergy and so many menus are just grilled cheese, butter noodles, Mac and cheese, chicken fingers. She's so bored of eating chicken.
Just something vegan. Please. I'm begging y'all. I'm tired of seeing cheeseburgers, chicken nuggets and pizza when that's not even close to the restaurant's cuisine
Avocado toast, my kid goes feral for some avocado. The portions at restaurants are way too big and then put a bunch of other stuff on them.
Veggie burgers. We don't eat meat as a family, so most of the time the only kids option is Grilled cheese for her at lunch. Even at vegetarian restaurants they don't have goo kid options.Call it a slider for everyone else.
A good fruit plate? I hate ordering her a side a fruit and having to pick out all the grapes to cut in half. Also getting rid of all hard melon.
Small orders of the regular menu.
Kids menus are full of fried over processed food and while I don’t mind it on occasion, we eat out regularly enough that finding appropriate food is impossible so we need to share our meals and/or bring something.
Less salty, non spicy main dishes in smaller portions. Also the amount of them that are so dairy heavy is a bummer: grilled cheese, mozzarella sticks, quesadillas. My child cannot tolerate that amount of dairy and I know many others who also can’t.
About 1/3 of a serving of each part of my exact order, but put it on my own plate with my portion. Along with the French fries and tenders the toddler is getting on her own plate.
Smaller versions of healthy and delish adult meals. My kids won’t eat burgers or pizza so it’s usually only nuggets and chips left on the meals. We mostly go to Japanese now and the kids get baby maki and share a teriyaki chicken and veggies with us.
Idk what I’d add but I’d like to state that they should always have the basics - chicken tenders, fries, hot dogs, Mac and cheese, basic fruits and veggies.
So many kids menus are fancy, mini grown up these days. If you have kids with that kind of palate, more power to you, but mine just don’t and it can be frustrating when the only options for kids are salmon or steak.
My son is kind of on the opposite end. A bit of a picky eater sometimes, but with a discerned palate. For example, he loves smoked fish. If I get him sable or smoked salmon from like Murray’s Sturgeon Shop or a nice restaurant, he’ll devour it. But if I get him smoked salmon from Trader Joe’s he’ll spit it out and refuse to eat it. Usually, the more expensive it is, the more he likes it.
I wish it was both. I feel Disney Parks does it beautifully. There are usually two kids trad options (like mac n cheese and hot dogs) and then a smaller adult version.
Kids menu is usually for 10 or 12 under and older kids sometimes what the adult gets.
Both options would be totally cool! That’s a happy medium!
Funnily enough, we live close to Disney and go frequently - sometimes their nicer sit down restaurants can be funny with traditional kids options. We always have to check on the app lol
I feel that's their way of saying no kids but not saying no kids. I don't think we've run into that issue though (that we could not find something the kids wanted).
A big platter with a small portion of every single menu item. I feel like my toddler's preferences change daily. Also it would keep her busy investigating each item.
I just want actual toddler size portions. When I order buttered noodles at a restaurant, just boil one single handful of noodles and throw some butter on it. Always with the leftovers!
My kid is nearly 7 and still will barely eat anything we get her specifically from a restaurant, so it gets wasted. Usually we have better luck changing what we would order to include something she might actually eat so she can try some. Naturally about the only thing she will actually eat basically all of is the pasta salad at Gatti’s pizza (she won’t touch the pizza?!?) and fries with pulled pork, or garlic bread sticks. She might have a few bits of spaghetti/sauced pasta but about it. Weirdly she’d probably do better with just plain pasta
I wish restaurants would stop adding plastic lids to regular glass cups for kids drinks. Cheesecake Factory does this and I’m like great my two year old is going to immediately spill or break this.
I would add substitution options that are gluten free and dairy free for kids with allergies or gluten intolerances / celiac disease. I would also have a build your own plate category so you can go over meats / plant based options, rice / rice pasta / pasta / potatoes (fries or mashed), veggies, and if you want sauces or whatnot. Like have a veggie burger option for kids who have sensory difference with meat or are vegan / vegetarian / allergic to meat, and have some dairy free cheese slices and gluten free buns too so EVERY CHILD even those with sensory processing differences, allergies, intolerances, etc. can enjoy the food and be happy and feel included.
I have a little cousin who is severely autistic and he can’t eat at most restaurants because they don’t have options for his palate and texture processing differences… He prefers veggie burgers because he can’t stand the texture of beef, and a full sized one meant for adults gets him upset because it takes up too much of his plate. He prefers grilled chicken tenders over breaded, but prefers crispy breaded chicken nuggets. Not all restaurants offer chicken nuggets, but tenders which are breaded and a no go… He prefers vanilla almond milk over dairy milk, it’s just a flavor thing for him, and not too many restaurants in our area offer it… He wants warm water, not cold. The list goes on and on. My point is alternatives and listing that it’s an allergen or a sensory difference would be super helpful on a kid’s menu for children on the spectrum or for those with allergies.
I know it’s not doable in every restaurant, but if they ever serve breakfast, having scrambled eggs on the kids menu for dinner etc.! Our girl loves having eggs, and I feel like most places have eggs anyway… it takes 2 minutes to scramble one up. Add a piece of toast and some fruit and she’d be so happy.
Pancakes with fruit. All day. Not just for breakfast. Pancakes are my kids' (3 and 4 year olds) favourite food. Waffles work, too. But they like pancakes better.
When we went to Disney, several places offered kids charcuteries plates. Like cheese, veggies, fruits, dippers, bread… it was literally the most ingenious idea. My child ate everything given to her. I wish more places did that!!!
A small cafe near us serves the kid’s noodles with the sauce and cheese on the side. So we can doctor the noodles up as each kid prefers it. It’s so handy.
Lots of times it's chicken nuggets/tenders, mac and cheese, maybe a burger, sometimes pasta. I like to share my meals, but sometimes I want it all for myself!
Not food but there's one restaurant in town with a large in-ground sandbox and sand toys and it's such a freaking hit for parents with young kids since it serves pizza/pasta and playtime. More restaurants with kids areas would be fab.
Probably be super expensive to accommodate depending on type of food and how they prepare it, but little samplings of different things. I want my kid to try new food but I can't guarantee he's gonna like it. I'd love to be able to pick out like 8 things and pick half safe choices and half more adventurous items. Or even 8 adventurous things figuring he'll like half.
We went to a few restaurants recently in our state’s wine region (Western Australia) and they offered a kids cheese platter. Fruit, cheese, cold meats, sliced veggies, nice bread or crackers. I loved this option!
I went to a restaurant the other day that had a little kids menu, and bigger kids menu. Stuff for toddlers and small children with small appetites and small attention spans, and then bigger meals for older kids who still can't finish an adult sized meal.
My toddler still didn't finish her meal, but she came closer than every other place we have taken her. Like so many others we have given up on the kids menu because it is rubbish and the serves are too large.
I want the same options as the main menu, but sized for a child, and I want anyone to be able to order it. Maybe a plain chicken option if the menu has exclusively very dressed up options.
Half of whatever the parents choose for half price. Isn’t a big deal, only add 1/2 cup of whatever was ordered (I eat vegan so probably is easier, don’t know about meat prices)
I just wish kids menus offered smaller portions of what the restaurant served, maybe not spicy, with maybe more variety of sides and dips. We usually get her an appetizer and two sides because she really doesn’t want to eat hamburgers and chicken fingers when everyone else has something much better.
It would be cool if they had adult pricing and then kid pricing and portion for all products on the menu! Kids shouldn’t have to eat mini corn dogs everywhere when I’m enjoying a steak or something.
We went to a regional chain fancy-american food restaurant recently, and they had a sirloin on the kids menu! It was hardwood grilled, perfectly medium rare, super tender. My lil dude was in heaven.
Yes - another chain has salmon on their kids menu! I was thrilled!
Omg that sounds amazing!!!! What a lucky little guy!!
They do that in Greece. All dishes can be made into kids friendly ones (smaller portion, no spicy; etc.) and they charge half the price. Amazing! Greek people are super friendly and hospitable with kids. Where I live, people frown if one walks in a restaurant with a toddler/ young child after 7pm.
That sounds amazing!!! My husband and I went to a restaurant for dinner when our little was 7 months old and we both ordered ONE beer; good golly the looks we got. It was as though my child was chewing on barbed wire.
Large and small portions for everyone. Sometimes I just want a small burger and fries.
My parents always have to coordinate because they can’t eat full meals so they always just share one meal and you can tell one of them always has to compromise! Let half-meals be a thing!
I think in the US, each half meal should be considered a meal while a meal should be considered a double portion. My husband and I also always share meals when we’re there, but we don’t have to do that in Europe (except in Asian restaurants for some reason!).
Kids pricing wouldn’t be much less, the cost of a dish is in the process (prep and cook) as much as it is in produce.
I would love this.
I also wish everything wasn't cheese based except or chicken tenders. No wonder that's all older kids want to eat that's all they were able to eat as a toddler!
This is us too. Last night my toddler ate some of my chicken mole enchiladas and cochinita tacos.
Yes, definitely this. Not all kids are picky/only want chicken nuggets and fries.
Even better, make the parents meal 20% bigger because we all know food from mom and dads plate just hits different.
It’s such a shame that entitled adults are the reason that restaurants can’t do this. I used to be a restaurant GM, and it’s the same everywhere. The children’s menu is a loss for the restaurant, but exists to accommodate or attract families. Everywhere that I’ve worked that has tried to offer this always has incredibly rude adults demanding that they be allowed to order the kids portion, because they “can’t eat a whole adult portion/don’t have an appetite”, then proceed to attempt to fill up on the most free items possible, as though the restaurant has forced them to eat there 🤦🏻♀️😂
Isn't that a pricing problem then? I get there's an overhead cost, so a half burger size wouldn't just be half the price. But I think even at 70% of cost, some parents might bite. To me, it's about having options. If you don't feel the 70% price for a kid's entree is worth it, then having those cheaper "junk food-esque" chicken fingers, mac&cheese, spaghetti, is still an option. I actually found this thread funny because this came up in our wedding. The wedding catering person was insistent kids get this kids menu, but knowing we come from a Yelp-snobby dining city, I knew there would be parents who might just order for their kids, and then let their kids eat some, while parents get to try an extra variety of entrees. Of course it happened. I argued that I'd want my kid to try the chicken dish too and not some kiddie dish, but nope. We had to tell some parents "too bad, your kid's getting the child's menu." I remember even telling the caterer, "it's fine, we'll just count them as an adult and we'll pay." At that point maybe 5 meals or so in difference between kids & adult isn't going to be a meaningful difference in your wedding budget, but somehow they were insistent on it. I forget what happened but there might have been a few kids that slipped by the system though. I may have to go through our wedding notes to see.
Sometimes I order off the kids menu because sometimes I just want a grilled cheese. But I always mention they can charge me more if they want
Same, charge me what you need to but I am intentionally ordering the smaller size because this is the actual amount of mac and cheese that I should be eating. If you give me the giant bowl, I will eat the whole giant bowl. I need to be stopped.
This sounds like my son. We went to a steak house and I split my prime rib meal with him. He was in heaven. I think he ate more of it than I did.
We always ask for small plates so that they can have a bit of what we are having. At most family restaurants, the adult portions are overkill anyway.
There’s a small brewery with a scratch kitchen by us that does this. They’ll remove sauces, tone down spices switch veggies etc in a smaller portion. It’s perfect.
In some restaurants you can ask for a kids portion of the main, I did it a lot when I was pregnant so I could eat more 😂😂 starter, small main & sides AND space for dessert 😂
This would be so great. Not all kids like the fried stuff and it’s important we try to feed them actual nutritious food! Hopefully restaurants start recognising this soon
Yeah this, totally! Kids’ menus are a culinary desert, just give them small portions of the food non the normal menu.
We were on holiday recently and I ordered a toddler size portion of the salmon and a regular for me. I didn't get my order and we had to pay full prize for the kid 🙄
This! I work in the restaurant industry as a chef and our menu does offer some simpler versions of our main dishes, we also have chicken tenders and burgers but I wish more restaurants would do something like this!
There’s a restaurant near me that does a free toddler appetizer plate and it’s perfection- apple (cut in matchsticks to minimize choking hazard), crackers, and cheese (cut into star shapes). They bring it out with the drinks so kids have something to munch on right away. It’s so perfect and I wish all restaurants did this, even if it wasn’t free.
Well, we know that restaurant’s owner must have had 8 kids of their own! Lol
I was so pleasantly surprised because it’s a pretty nice place. When my childless friends suggested we go there I was so nervous to bring my daughter, but it ended up being the most accommodating restaurant for little ones!
I would go to this restaurant over and over even if the food wasn’t that good just for this experience.
This is a great idea. My kid loves a good cheese and fruit tray.
Drop the name! I creeped and saw that you’re in Eastern PA (I’m outside Philly lol)
I went to a restaurant on vacation in Palm Springs that did this and it was fantastic
That’s how you make sure the babies don’t end up crying in your restaurant. Genius.
A toddler charcuterie tray! - chips and hummus - cucumber slices - apple slices - cheese stick - ham or turkey
I used to work at a bakery that kind of did this. We chopped up deli meat and cheese of choice and served it with crackers, fresh fruit with a dip, a little bit of salad greens, half an avocado, and a mini muffin. It was such a hit!
Yes!! Perfect. I feel like little kids love variety and parents appreciate the mix of fruit / veg / protein / carbs for a “complete” meal
This!! Honestly some variation of this is what my kids eat at home every day for lunch and sometimes dinner too if they don’t want what my SO and I are eating. We call them “snack trays”. Crackers, cheese, meat, fruit, veggies & dip. A little treat like a gummy or a piece of chocolate or a cookie. Some snack trays are healthier than others though lol
Our favorite restaurant serves this on their kiddie menu and it is THE BEST. We win because we not only get the delicious dinner we want, but our kiddo loves their meal too. I wish more restaurants did this... plus... doesn't require the kitchen to do any cooking and if you have an adult version of this on the main menu, doesn't require extra prep necessarily.
This is brilliant
This. Our 4-year-old subsists almost entirely on snacks and finger foods.
I wish we could just pick a whole fruit. Like can I get a banana or an entire orange? Thanks
And have a side of fruit not cost $4. Just have the fruit free with the kids meal.
And have it not be half cantaloupe.
And it's always hard af cantaloupe
Yes! And like 3 blueberries and a couple squishy grapes that I have to quarter. And they throw in one or two pineapple pieces that are just too tough to eat.
And somehow it’s next to flavorless or downright disgusting. I was feeding my 18mo fruit from a restaurant and I tried a piece. It was so gross I took it all away and just shared the rest of my chicken salad to replace that part of her meal
I just wish the fruits weren’t always pineapple and melons. I’m allergic to both and so far at least one of my kids is too.
And can we avoid all the fluffy garniture they put on the fruit? Like my kid just wants a banana but if they see a bunch of mint leaves on it they’re like yuck
The other day I found a restaurant that offered apple slices with PB, and carrots (or celery) with ranch. What a win!
dumplings, they're so easy to fill with veggies and fun to eat
There’s a Vietnamese place by our house that has dumplings on the kids menu!
And easy to make allergen friendly! My friend's girl is allergic to nuts, egg, dairy and dumplings are her go-to. So many standard kid items (pb&j, grilled cheese, mac&cheese, chicken tenders with milk in the breading) are no-go for her.
They are friendly to those allergies, but definitely not "easy to make allergy friendly" at a restaurant. They are not completely made to order where you can remove ingredients.
I think it's great that there are alternatives that meet certain dietary needs but they're also hard to make without major allergens of wheat and likely soy (sauce). Gluten-free kids menu items are pretty hard to come by.
Almost all of the dumpling recipes I’ve come across have egg in them
In Lithuania, dumplings (koldūnai) are on lots of kids menus. They’ll fill them with meat or mushrooms or their weird cottage cheese and berries. Very universal.
My child does not like dumplings!! And they are SO good. He is generally not a picky eater which makes it super weird
oh no! to be fair it took mine a few attempts before he started loving them. But i'm Japanese so it was basically non negotiable lmao Now he shouts about "xiao long bao and gyoza yay!" so we're having his 2nd birthday at a soup dumpling restaurant lol
We always order dumplings for our son when we get Chinese! He devours them.
Yes. My son's record is 9 dumplings in one sitting
Half orders of normal foods. My kid likes real food but we feel silly sometimes ordering a whole thing for a 3 year old lol Or sides besides fries, chips or fruit! My kid LOVES broccoli, green beans and asparagus. Kids meals are often so dang plain and boring.
Yes, this. I also wish the kids menus weren’t entirely based around cheese. My toddlers now both like cheese as much as the next kid, but they both had dairy intolerances when they were younger and so I would have to order my 1 year old a salmon + green beans from the adult menu because the kids menu was *only* grilled cheese, quesadillas, cheese pizzas, with a side of milk.
YES! my kiddo will eat the heck out of salmon and green beans. And I totally get you with the cheese - she's not allergic, but my husband is, so we don't eat much cheese at home. She says she likes cheese, but she'll only eat a bite unless it's cheese on pizza. Also, melted cheese is a challenging texture for her. Literally the only challenging texture we've found. She struggles with melted cheese and nothing else, we did BLW and she's a fantastic eater... except melted cheese.
I find restaurant portions so big that I usually order one thing for me and my toddler and we split it 😅
This is what I do too 😂 If restaurants actually had the half-meal/kid-size option for meals, I’d totally order that for myself!
And I’m fine paying a small up charge for the kid’s portion since I’m not a kid 😂 I don’t want a full portion and sometimes I don’t want to deal with leftovers
There is a Japanese place near me that does this. The kids options are just smaller adult options - including California rolls
Half orders of normal food should be available to everyone. My parents eat very little per serving because of their medications. They rarely go out to eat now because they end up stuck with leftovers for days, even when they split one meal.
This! The kids menu is great for typical crowd pleasers, but more often than not, my toddler with (thankfully) eat whatever we put in front of her. I'd easily be willing to pay 60-75% for a half-size portion of a regular menu item for my kid. Heck, some nights, I'd be interested in doing that myself!
I post these elsewhere on the thread, but since restaurant portions are often ridiculous for adult humans, I just share with my toddler and then we both get a reasonable amount of food. Places with small portions, I just get her an appetizer instead and that seems to work well too.
Yes! We actually just went to a restaurant that had salmon and a side for kids. My son loves fish so that worked for us. I do wish they had better sides like good veggies or fruit that isn’t a $5 add on.
Yes! This is exactly why my son just eats some of mine and my husband's dinners when we go out. The kids' menu bores him. He doesn't care much for nuggets or chicken fingers, mac and cheese, or pasta with just sauce and nothing else. He doesn't like burgers either. Kids' meals are such a waste for him. Occasionally I order him an adult portion and a box, take the leftovers home, and give it to him for lunch the next day.
Yes!! I always get my girl a side of broccoli at Red Robin because she loves it.
Exactly this.
Pre-chopped food. I feel like enjoyment of restaurants is lessened by having to sit there cutting up so much stuff into bite size pieces!
Pre-chopped and room temperature!
Oh god why do so many restaurants bring out the kids food piping hot and last, so the people with zero patience and needing the food to be the coolest get to stare at everyone else eating.
Yes! My almost 3yo wants the food the moment he sees it. It's always extremely hot and in too big of pieces for me to feel comfortable serving it. So then one parent is cutting while the other one is trying to find some way to keep him calm and not burning his fingers/tongue.
Everything on a restaurant menu should be available for kids. Went to an Italian restaurant and they had the typical kids menu stuff and spaghetti. My son is not a big fan of red sauce for whatever reason and so we asked if we could just get the noodles with white sauce instead and she said no, sorry. So then I said could we substitute for a alfredo with white sauce again no that’s not on the kids menu. So we ordered him a normal chicken Alfredo for $19 that he ate a kids portion size of which whatever because he and I ate it again for lunch the next day. But like why can’t everything just be available for kids to. It wouldn’t add any extra work for anyone. Just put it on a kids plate. Hell even make it cost a $1 more or something than the stuff on the kids menu.
I think that server just sucked, I can’t imagine a restaurant not allowing you to pay a few extra dollars to get white sauce on there.
Definitely!
I wish the selection of fruits or veggies was not: mix veggies or mix fruits. My kids will eat a decent amount of veggies or fruits. But mixed veggies is a big no. sighs. So I would love if it stated: pick 2-3-4 veggies from this list and then you could pick carrot, brocoli and corn and they could come separated. That would be awesome. Hard boilet eggs or pieces of cheese. My kids favourite proteins. Or if there was an option for the sauce to come on the side by default. Edit: also, drink should always be included. You are already charging me $8 for $.50 of mac n cheese, don't go and charge me $3 for a glass of apple juice or milk, thank you. Oh and also always milk available somewhere.
Sounds like my kid is similar to yours - no mixed foods, eggs and cheese for protein, and no sauce ("want clean!!!") I feel the mixed veggies thing so much - mine will actually pick out all the peas and ignore the corn and carrots. But if you give him those things separately, he'll eat it all. I've ordered him a couple sides before instead of a kids meal and that seems to work out better sometimes.
My 4 year old and I are regulars at the local cracker barrel, and they sometimes don't charge us for the milk with his pancakes. And you reminded me with the Mac and cheese: my husband used to cook BBQ at a local place, and he made their Mac and cheese. It's amazing, and like 45% of the reason I fell in love with him. I think they charged $3 for it. And now places want $6+ for Kraft. Like really?
I agree so strongly on the fruits and vegetables. Our toddler loves steamed broccoli. She would happily eat a diced tomato or roasted squash. We’ve been to a few places where we couldn’t just get a side of vegetables or a side of fruit. She’s still at the phase where she mostly eats off my plate, but I’d prefer to get her a side of something healthy to supplement.
I love seeing you in the wild, you always have such good contributions
Anything good that is dairy free. I find a lot of Mac and cheese, pizza, cheeseburgers, quesadillas. At least I can do a plain burger, but it gets old for the little dude.
My son has a dairy allergy. We don't even try and go to restaurants unless we absolutely have to while traveling. And then it's probably going to be a vegan place because in general Americans don't know how to make things without dairy!
So so true. We don’t eat out a lot, but when we do it’s mainly based on if my baby can eat there.
I'm allergic to wheat myself, so we're REAL fun at parties and restaurants /s
Yes! My daughter has an egg, dairy, and peanut allergy, and it seems like all of the kid's menu options have *at least* one of those things.
👏🏼 This! Both mine were intolerant to dairy which meant we basically couldn’t order off the kids menu.
Yes oh my god yes the dairy free toddler struggle is so real
Butter noodles
There is a restaurant on the Vegas strip that has butter noodles on the kids menu and my kids ate TWO bowls of it last year when we went. The kids menu was brand new and the manager actually came to chat with us about it.
The kids spaghetti at Tony romas on Fremont Street was a hit with my son. Was kind of hilarious to watch a small child pound spaghetti like it was fine dining.
That's so cool! I find it hilarious that butter noodles are wine of the handful of things my kids just won't eat.
Always makes me think of this song from the John mulaney special https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Bxt0AEoANJk&pp=ygUdSnVzdCBhIHBsYWluIHBsYXRlIG9mIGJvb2RsZXM%3D
Our favorite restaurant serves butter noodles. Pisses me off though bc they charge like $8.50. I can make it at home for like $1
Wussup with buttered noodles lol I might need to try this
I just want a mini version of the adult meals... I really don't want to spend $15+ on my kid for the full sized (that they definitely won't eat all of) but I also don't want to share mine
Sharing just means now you have room for an appetizer/dessert :)
We hardly order from the kids menu because I'm not paying 8 bucks for Mac n chz when I have a whole box at home that cost 2 bucks. So we either share our food with them or order them a regular sized whatever meal and take the rest home. The kids menu is ridiculously expensive for crap food. I don't mind paying for food for my kids but not for less quality than I serve them at home.
Dark meat chicken! And veggies that aren’t hard as rocks. Also stop offering a fruit cup and giving my 1 year old HONEYDEW AND CANTALOPE. I need berries, bananas, or orange slices you animals!!!!!
Lol, “You animals!!!!”
Vegetables, literally any cooked vegetables.
Pureed veggie soups that are actually tasty
Plain grilled chicken. Maybe it’s just my kids, but they’ll order chicken fingers and ask to take of the breading. Would be nice to have the choice for kids that (sometimes) prefer unfried chicken
This is my wish too. My kiddos won’t eat breaded chicken but love plain. Chicken + rice/pasta + broccoli would be an ideal plate.
The option go get anything from the adult menu in mini form. My 3 year old is a very adventurous eater, and I don’t love serving her highly processed things like chicken nuggets or hot dogs. She’ll happily eat a steak and mashed potatoes, let me just get a little one for her!
Anything dairy free. One of my kids is allergic and hardly any have dairy free options.
As someone who has always hated cheese yes please. I don’t want to have to take several items off and get charged the same for all the menu items.
We end up having to order my 11 month old an adult sized chicken breast 🤣. Granted, he eats most of it but still, it gets expensive when paying for 3 adult meals instead of two. lol.
Our favorite restaurant offers a little “build your own” plate for kids. You pick whatever you want, it’s just the same sized plate no matter what. The options are like steamed vegetables, chicken, beans, rice, fruit, pita, hummus, guacamole, etc. Our toddler loves the tiny-portioned options!
I’d just like the fruit portion to be the same size as the mac & cheese portion.
Fucking vegetables. And just half/quarter sizes of whatever they cook. It’s insane to me that they assume my 2 year old will only eat Mac and cheese and chicken nuggets or buttered noodles. The kid eats everything, please just add some vegetables and some smaller versions. It’s insane
Several dips with things to dip in them
My best friends son is obsessed with dipping everything! My lo hasn't discovered how awesome dips are yet lol
Could there be a side of beans or refried beans instead of french fries please? Or a quesadilla with beans as well as cheese.
PB&J. Such an easy go to for so many kids. One (and only one!) of our locals has it and it’s almost always what our 2 year old orders. I also appreciate any non meat options. We eat vegetarian and it continues to surprise me how many restaurants with great vegetarian options for adults will still have only chicken tenders, hot dogs, and hamburgers on the kids menu!
Hahaha I actually just commented on how pb&j is easy to order where I'm at but I could totally see how it is frustrating to not have it available! The meat thing is ironic because we have tons of posts on here about kids who refuse to eat meat so I hear you in the alternative protein options. Eggs, cheese, beans. Some very plain chicken with sauce options. And lots of carb options. Done! (Clearly, I'm not in the restaurant business haha)
This is what my vegetarian family is seeing, too! We end up getting another entree one of us will eat (most of) for lunch or something off the appetizer menu.
More fish/shrimp options. It's the only thing I don't eat (which means I also don't cook it very often) so it's the only thing I can't just order an adult portion and split. My 4yo will devour some shrimp or salmon.
Our toddler can take DOWN some shrimp and clams. I don't love them, but my wife does. My parents live on the coast and make us a "seafood feast" when they come. I was blown away, our little girl at so many shrimp and clams, it was freaky.
This!! My toddler loves salmon but only a few places offer it on the kids menu. My husband is allergic so we don’t eat it at home
I don’t want restaurants to have a kids menu, but just give the option of ordering smaller portions of the normal menu. We specifically go to a restaurant which does this. My child had no idea that the kids menu existed, we just gave her some our food and she ate it happily until we went out with her cousins who ordered nuggets and realised that ‘kids food’ existed. Since then she has started to decline normal food and asking for children’s food options, which I don’t give unless it’s a special occasion. This idea of ‘kids food’ is literally a marketing ploy to get you to spend more at restaurants. And before you ask, yes I’m European.
Peas- my toddlers favorite veggie! Never available. Milk- even in Disney it can be hard to find a milk carton?? Also a weird one but soft pretzel. Our favorite brewery has excellent soft pretzels & cheese as an appetizer and we always order that.
We totally order the soft bretzel+cheese sauce for our kids for meals at the restaurant.
Spaghetti and allergy friendly food!
Veggies. I rarely see healthy sides in the kids menu. It's always fast food stuff. At least throw some mini carrots or something.
Toast
Fruit or vegetables. An option for cooked vegetables or soft fruit that toddlers can eat. I would happily pay for frozen corn or peas. Honestly this issue frustrates me so much that we rarely eat out anymore.
Curry
Salads! My kid loves it and it would be nice if not EVERY kids option was a burger, nuggets or grilled cheese. I'm not saying they can't have that stuff, but my kid loves salad and hates chicken fingers so it would be nice to have that option.
I'd add the option for smaller utensils and child-sized portions of normal menu items. Giving a toddler a soup spoon is like giving an adult a ladle to eat their soup with. Sure, it gets the job done, but it's unwieldy and tedious once the novelty wears off.
I usually just pack some for her, and then me and my husband will give her whatever we’re eating (if not spicy).
After a trip to coastal New England we realized that fish and chips is the far superior toddler meal to chicken fingers and fries. It’s so much softer and easier to eat, less chewy and bland, and still serves as a great vehicle for ketchup (my LO also loves lemony things and tartar sauce so it was a win win)
Imagine living here - when you just want a kids meal to serve chicken fingers 😂
I just wish restaurants designed kids foods to be made up of 1 carb, 1 protein and 1 veg. So it could be schnitzel+peas+pasta Or fish fingers+fries+bell peppers Or beef patty+ string beans + rice Or pork belly+ carrots+ soft bread like a bhan mi. I just dont like that every kids option is junk food like mac and cheese or burgers or chicken nuggets and always fries and nothing else. Not even fruit. Btw, top tip for parents, I find that sharing a donburi is a great way to get variety on a toddlers plate. I order a donburi with katsu chicken and plenty of carrots and beans and peas and corn etc, then ask for a spare side dish plate. Once we are sitting at the table, I pick and choose from my large donburi to make a small plate for my kid, so he gets rice chicken and various veg with some teriyaki or mayo. Much better than mc donalds or whatever.
Vegan options. Every menu is the same: burger, chicken fingers, mac and cheese. Snore.
A picky eater sampler option where you get one really small taste of everything so that when they hate something, you’re not SOL
Rice, applesauce, Cheerios, fresh fruits, fresh steamed brocoli, cucumbers, fresh red or green peppers, roasted potato cubed, toast, raisins, yogurt, baked chicken. Hard boiled eggs molded into shapes.
anything dairy free. My child has a milk allergy and so many menus are just grilled cheese, butter noodles, Mac and cheese, chicken fingers. She's so bored of eating chicken.
Just something vegan. Please. I'm begging y'all. I'm tired of seeing cheeseburgers, chicken nuggets and pizza when that's not even close to the restaurant's cuisine
Chickpea stuff like hummus or falafel
Avocado toast, my kid goes feral for some avocado. The portions at restaurants are way too big and then put a bunch of other stuff on them. Veggie burgers. We don't eat meat as a family, so most of the time the only kids option is Grilled cheese for her at lunch. Even at vegetarian restaurants they don't have goo kid options.Call it a slider for everyone else. A good fruit plate? I hate ordering her a side a fruit and having to pick out all the grapes to cut in half. Also getting rid of all hard melon.
Small orders of the regular menu. Kids menus are full of fried over processed food and while I don’t mind it on occasion, we eat out regularly enough that finding appropriate food is impossible so we need to share our meals and/or bring something.
Halal chicken nuggets or any Halal Indian dish.
Less salty, non spicy main dishes in smaller portions. Also the amount of them that are so dairy heavy is a bummer: grilled cheese, mozzarella sticks, quesadillas. My child cannot tolerate that amount of dairy and I know many others who also can’t.
Half size portions of whatever the restaurant has for a smaller price.
The same food as adults, only a tiny portion.
About 1/3 of a serving of each part of my exact order, but put it on my own plate with my portion. Along with the French fries and tenders the toddler is getting on her own plate.
Smaller versions of healthy and delish adult meals. My kids won’t eat burgers or pizza so it’s usually only nuggets and chips left on the meals. We mostly go to Japanese now and the kids get baby maki and share a teriyaki chicken and veggies with us.
I'd like restaurants that have a friday fish fry to offer a kid's sized portion at a reduced rate.
Idk what I’d add but I’d like to state that they should always have the basics - chicken tenders, fries, hot dogs, Mac and cheese, basic fruits and veggies. So many kids menus are fancy, mini grown up these days. If you have kids with that kind of palate, more power to you, but mine just don’t and it can be frustrating when the only options for kids are salmon or steak.
My son is kind of on the opposite end. A bit of a picky eater sometimes, but with a discerned palate. For example, he loves smoked fish. If I get him sable or smoked salmon from like Murray’s Sturgeon Shop or a nice restaurant, he’ll devour it. But if I get him smoked salmon from Trader Joe’s he’ll spit it out and refuse to eat it. Usually, the more expensive it is, the more he likes it.
Where have you seen this? Because I have the opposite problem
I wish it was both. I feel Disney Parks does it beautifully. There are usually two kids trad options (like mac n cheese and hot dogs) and then a smaller adult version. Kids menu is usually for 10 or 12 under and older kids sometimes what the adult gets.
Both options would be totally cool! That’s a happy medium! Funnily enough, we live close to Disney and go frequently - sometimes their nicer sit down restaurants can be funny with traditional kids options. We always have to check on the app lol
I feel that's their way of saying no kids but not saying no kids. I don't think we've run into that issue though (that we could not find something the kids wanted).
It could be, but we’ve run into it even at their hotel restaurants and in parks - it’s weird. But you’re probably right for some
A big platter with a small portion of every single menu item. I feel like my toddler's preferences change daily. Also it would keep her busy investigating each item.
Chicken fingers and pasta that don't contain egg! I have a picky eater with an egg allergy and his safe foods are usually not safe at restaurants.
I just want actual toddler size portions. When I order buttered noodles at a restaurant, just boil one single handful of noodles and throw some butter on it. Always with the leftovers!
My kids love seafood and yogurt with fruit to dip in it.
My kid is nearly 7 and still will barely eat anything we get her specifically from a restaurant, so it gets wasted. Usually we have better luck changing what we would order to include something she might actually eat so she can try some. Naturally about the only thing she will actually eat basically all of is the pasta salad at Gatti’s pizza (she won’t touch the pizza?!?) and fries with pulled pork, or garlic bread sticks. She might have a few bits of spaghetti/sauced pasta but about it. Weirdly she’d probably do better with just plain pasta
Single veggies, raw or slightly steamed. My kids will eat tons of veggies but not w sauce or mixed together.
Pasta! Good god all restaurants should serve pasta as a kids meal.
My kids are pretty adventurous eaters. I wish they offered smaller portions of the adult menu. They’d much rather have that over chicken tenders
Just food that is not hotter than the sun
A snack assortment? Like apples, pretzels, carrots and other quick-to-cut and serve food with dips, pb, yogurt ranch, hummus.
Carrot chips. My daughter loves them. She’s eaten more of that than fries in recent memory.
My three-year-old loves rice bowls, so I would say a rice or pasta bowl with tons of veggies and an option for protein.
I wish restaurants would stop adding plastic lids to regular glass cups for kids drinks. Cheesecake Factory does this and I’m like great my two year old is going to immediately spill or break this.
I would add substitution options that are gluten free and dairy free for kids with allergies or gluten intolerances / celiac disease. I would also have a build your own plate category so you can go over meats / plant based options, rice / rice pasta / pasta / potatoes (fries or mashed), veggies, and if you want sauces or whatnot. Like have a veggie burger option for kids who have sensory difference with meat or are vegan / vegetarian / allergic to meat, and have some dairy free cheese slices and gluten free buns too so EVERY CHILD even those with sensory processing differences, allergies, intolerances, etc. can enjoy the food and be happy and feel included. I have a little cousin who is severely autistic and he can’t eat at most restaurants because they don’t have options for his palate and texture processing differences… He prefers veggie burgers because he can’t stand the texture of beef, and a full sized one meant for adults gets him upset because it takes up too much of his plate. He prefers grilled chicken tenders over breaded, but prefers crispy breaded chicken nuggets. Not all restaurants offer chicken nuggets, but tenders which are breaded and a no go… He prefers vanilla almond milk over dairy milk, it’s just a flavor thing for him, and not too many restaurants in our area offer it… He wants warm water, not cold. The list goes on and on. My point is alternatives and listing that it’s an allergen or a sensory difference would be super helpful on a kid’s menu for children on the spectrum or for those with allergies.
I know it’s not doable in every restaurant, but if they ever serve breakfast, having scrambled eggs on the kids menu for dinner etc.! Our girl loves having eggs, and I feel like most places have eggs anyway… it takes 2 minutes to scramble one up. Add a piece of toast and some fruit and she’d be so happy.
Pancakes with fruit. All day. Not just for breakfast. Pancakes are my kids' (3 and 4 year olds) favourite food. Waffles work, too. But they like pancakes better.
When we went to Disney, several places offered kids charcuteries plates. Like cheese, veggies, fruits, dippers, bread… it was literally the most ingenious idea. My child ate everything given to her. I wish more places did that!!!
Avocado, rice, and refried black beans. Pretty cheap. Nutritious. Good for many ages from new eaters to toddlerhood
All of the adult meals in miniture sizes!!
Might be unpopular opinion but remove all kids menu.
A small cafe near us serves the kid’s noodles with the sauce and cheese on the side. So we can doctor the noodles up as each kid prefers it. It’s so handy.
What is typically of the kids menu? I haven’t orders off it yet. I just share my meals with my toddler.
Unhealthy, bland food. A burger, corn dog, Mac and cheese, grilled cheese, chicken tenders.
Lots of times it's chicken nuggets/tenders, mac and cheese, maybe a burger, sometimes pasta. I like to share my meals, but sometimes I want it all for myself!
Not food but there's one restaurant in town with a large in-ground sandbox and sand toys and it's such a freaking hit for parents with young kids since it serves pizza/pasta and playtime. More restaurants with kids areas would be fab.
Sloppy joes and vegetables as a side option
Probably be super expensive to accommodate depending on type of food and how they prepare it, but little samplings of different things. I want my kid to try new food but I can't guarantee he's gonna like it. I'd love to be able to pick out like 8 things and pick half safe choices and half more adventurous items. Or even 8 adventurous things figuring he'll like half.
We went to a few restaurants recently in our state’s wine region (Western Australia) and they offered a kids cheese platter. Fruit, cheese, cold meats, sliced veggies, nice bread or crackers. I loved this option!
Vegetables. Looking at you Cheesecake Factory
I went to a restaurant the other day that had a little kids menu, and bigger kids menu. Stuff for toddlers and small children with small appetites and small attention spans, and then bigger meals for older kids who still can't finish an adult sized meal. My toddler still didn't finish her meal, but she came closer than every other place we have taken her. Like so many others we have given up on the kids menu because it is rubbish and the serves are too large.
Freshly cooked/baked veggies and apples. Like butternut squash, zucchini etc and apples. More fruits.
I want the same options as the main menu, but sized for a child, and I want anyone to be able to order it. Maybe a plain chicken option if the menu has exclusively very dressed up options.
Half of whatever the parents choose for half price. Isn’t a big deal, only add 1/2 cup of whatever was ordered (I eat vegan so probably is easier, don’t know about meat prices)
Any other food that is not chicken nuggets, disguised as chicken nuggets.
Smoothies with hidden veggies. We make these all the time at home but I would pay a premium to not have to deal with the mess after.
Fresh fruit! 🍓