Child friendly posh restaurants in London - can anyone recommend?

[Pennies]

DH is a bit of a foodie and we're going to London next weekend and I thought I'd try and book a table somewhere nice. Trouble is we have pesky children (aged 3 & 4, who are generally restaurant friendly but there are occasional off days). Where can we go for nice food and not have to worry that the children will annoy others.

[dg1]

amazing posh Indian food at Zaika in Kensington - DS happily gummed on a naan bread there on his 1st birthday!

[curiouscaseofnamechanging]

I keep hearing that Wolsey (sp?) is very child friendly...

[IlanaK]

There is a fabulous Lebanese resteraunt in Marylebone called Fairuz. They have been written up loads so look them up on google. They are very child friendly just in the fact that they are lebanese. They fuss over the kids and love them in that way.

[sunfleurs]

Chez Kristof, Hammersmith, TV/Play Room in the back showing a childs movie. Gorgeous food.

[hmc]

Hmmm child friendly - well I think you do need to have basic control over your children if you are going to eat out, or be prepared to take them outside if they shriek or tantrum, talk loudly and exuberantly etc.....Dh and I eat out all the time (TGI or Pizza Express with the children, somewhere Michelen starred if we are on our own - you need to be realistic!)

Atheneum is a 5 star hotel in London which does quality food in its restaurants...it is a child friendly hotel (even has a dedicated childrens concierge) ...so that should be a safe bet.

But truly aghast that you would want to fork out a couple of hundred quid on a decent meal and take the ankle biters.

[singersgirl]

We went to Nobu just off Berkeley Square recently and there was a couple with 2 children of about 7 and 5 at the table next to us. The kids both had Nintendos to keep them quiet and were eating some amazing chocolate pudding while the parents had sushi and blackened cod. The parents did look a bit like they might have been a footballer plus wife. There were four of us and we had the tasting menu which was fab! (But no children with us...)

[hmc]

7 & 5 whole different ball game to 3 & 4!

[MrVibrating]

3 & 4 is a difficult age for gastronomic dining - it's not the food that's the problem, it's the amount of time involved. Sitting still for upwards of 2 hours at that age is just not possible

You could book a babysitter (most hotels can arrange this) and go somewhere nice for dinner.

Failing that, it HAS to be lunch, in fact Sunday lunchtime often sees kids in unexpected places, some places even go for this market (Smollenskys springs to mind). We ate with our 5 year old at the Paternoster Chop House recently, twas good.

Final suggestion - lots of kids LOVE sushi (small, attractive tasty plates they get to choose as they go past on a conveyor belt - magic!) - Yo Sushi is the place to go, but watch what they are eating because it is as easy for a kid to grab a £5 plate as a £1.50 one (and the £1.50 cucumber maki are a good child pleaser, as are the edamame - lots of fun squeezing out of pods).

[SomeGuy]

Yo Sushi is in no way posh though.

[Quattrocento]

Define posh? It's an elastic term, after all

[FairLadyRantALot]

there are family/childfriendly restaurants in london....really...intersting and must take note....because I have never been treated as rudely when in london with kids in tow

[hifi]

fino have always been good with our dd

cecconis are great, but no kids menu, she has a few starters.

automat very attentive, again no kids menu, she has the adults chicken burger.

any of these are amazing, they do kids menus and have great offers on at the mo

this is dd, 5 years, fave

[thaliablogs]

River cafe, esp for lunch, v child friendly as there is a garden they can run around in. Fab food.

[thedolly]

Ping Pong for Dim Sum - tastey food, flowering teas (to fascinate the LOs) low tables so comfy for all but not sure if it's posh though.

[ZakuroFujiwara]

Have had good experiences in Fino, Sketch & Bluebird Cafe (varying degrees of posh) at weekend lunchtimes. Never ventured out with DS in the evening though - suspect it would be a very different story....

[PrettyCandles]

Au Porte des Indes (Goan food) and the Blue Elephant (Thai food) do a fixed price buffet on Sunday afternoons that is fab-u-lous. Very colourful interesting places, and while they don't particularly do anything special for children, they are totally chilled about them and the staff are very friendly and helpful. Because they are buffets with billions of dishes, to which you can return as many times as you like, you can be sure of finding something for the LOs.

[Rindercella]

Hifi - thanks for that. I am now reminded to take DH to the Crazy Bear near Oxford for a treat

[tigerdriver]

what thalia said : River Cafe spot on for kids. We took DS (7 admittedly) there on my birthday this year, for dinner. He was the only kid on the block (and he is a bit of a handful_ but they were truly fab with him, he had a lovely time (can we go there tomorrow : me - er, not in this bank balance lifetime), and so did we. I should go for lunch or a very early dinner with 3 and 4 yo though. They did produce the crayons and paper which I was surprised about there but it kept him amused quietly so obviously worked.

[ra29needsabettername]

Marine Ices in chalk farm is a a lovely child friendly italian and has fab ice cream for pudding!

[tigerdriver]

oh, yes, crazy bear is great, Oxford or Beaconsfield (weird, but great). Have taken DS to the Oxford one, he loved it.

[MollieO]

Le Caprice, Claridges, Boxwood Cafe.

[PortAndLemon]

Locanda Locatelli is supposed to be very child-friendly.

[foodmaniac]

Visit this site, I have recently discovered it.

It is a collection of the best restaurants, pubs, and takeaways listed throughout England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
It is quite appealing and a good source of information for all the food lovers like me. There is an extensive list of restaurants and takeaways for which it lets you search by restaurant type of county. You can even place your order online. It's is really cool site and is well worth checking out.
It has reviews, menus, pictures, driving directions and online ordering.

The website is

www.sideorder.co.uk

[rubyslippers]

15 seemed v child friendly

[skinnypunter2]

I found this list pretty useful when looking for a restaurant www.squaremeal.co.uk/selections/child-friendly-restaurants-in-london