Taking newborn to nice London restaurant - recommendations

[Lagirl20]

Hi, I will have a newborn this summer and would love to go to a nice restaurant in central/east London to celebrate our anniversary. Can anyone recommend baby-friendly restaurants that still feel fancy/special? Wondering about the Ivy / Ivy chain etc.
Or is bringing a small baby to a nice restaurant generally not advised? I am conscious of not ruining the dining experience for others.
Thanks!

I took my DC out to restaurants every week from birth.
Not necessarily super posh ones.
It meant that as they got older they were used to eating out and usually behaved well with no issues.

We took our DS to Nobu when he was only a few weeks old. They’re were really good - Nobu is always a family friendly restaurant, no matter what age.

Newborns are easy in restaurants. Just take a spare top for you as well as changes for the baby because you’ll enjoy it less if you get any stains.

When I want for lunch in Gymkhana, there was a tiny baby on the next table.

Agree that the Wolseley would be perfect. Afternoon tea would be even easier than lunch, because it can mostly be eaten with one hand!

DD was immensely portable as a newborn. She just slept! So definitely could have taken her to a nice restaurant for lunch. Enjoy!

We went to loads of restaurant when DC was tiny, much easier than crawling/walking! Wolsely and Hawksmoor were both great but best IMO was afternoon tea at Claridges - the baby change was bigger than our bathroom at home and had every size of nappy!

You might be lucky and have a perfect, non colicky baby but I would never have been able to take either of mine to a fancy restaurant when they were newborns, they would have howled the place down!

I used to take DD everywhere. Her first and second birthdays were celebrated at the local Michelin restaurants and some in Paris.

Michel Roux’s daughter would sleep under the table as a baby so it’s certainly not unusual.

You know your child, when they are tiny and easy to manage then it’s not a problem. As they get more adventurous it can get tricky but if you don’t allow them to wander around or annoy other diners it should be fine.

Unfortunately some parents can’t control their children or don’t think it important, which may be why none of the fine dining restaurants in The southwest allow children. London and other cities must have better behaved children as never had a problem in those places

(Sadly the fine dining didn’t affect DD’s taste buds and she is now a ‘chips with everything’ diner. )

I hope you have a lovely time.

There’s a very nice restaurant at the Wallace Collection museum, and they also have a superb and beautiful mother / baby room to feed in if you don’t want to do so in public. Best of all, the collection itself has huge twinkly chandeliers which a tiny baby can stare up at while lying in their pram. Get them appreciating beauty right away!! (The acoustics in the restaurant and in the wolesley will be brutal if baby decides to shout, however)

I don't know for lunch but I took DD with me to the Montague on the Garden (behind the British museum) to afternoon tea when she was tiny and the staff were absolutely lovely about it. Recently went back with a friend and staff still just as wonderful (child free that time). Afternoon tea is amazing there too; great quality and a lovely setting.

@Myee

I now know where to avoid!

Kids in restaurants especially high end are not on. I suppose every single parent has the sweetest, cutest, quietest child taking up no space at all, but they do take over, even if it is the attention given to them.

If you can afford Claridges or the Ritz you can afford a sitter.

Have you ever had a newborn?

I’d go for lunch…but I had a bad newborn experience. DS was a vomiting, howling, cluster feeding mess by 4:30pm as a newborn, thank you colic. Not the sleepy dream others here have had. We now quite regularly take 2 year old DS out to nice places to eat, but still usually bat for lunch!

@Myee

I now know where to avoid!

Kids in restaurants especially high end are not on. I suppose every single parent has the sweetest, cutest, quietest child taking up no space at all, but they do take over, even if it is the attention given to them.

If you can afford Claridges or the Ritz you can afford a sitter.

Maybe your children were just badly behaved when they were little? Or not used to nice restaurants?

Mine are perfectly capable sitting down for a meal in a nice restaurant without disturbing other dining patrons.

Fond memories ofCiccehetti’s with nb grandchildren. Excellent staff.

@Myee

I now know where to avoid!

Kids in restaurants especially high end are not on. I suppose every single parent has the sweetest, cutest, quietest child taking up no space at all, but they do take over, even if it is the attention given to them.

If you can afford Claridges or the Ritz you can afford a sitter.

I agree!

No one even realised my baby was there until we got up to leave. My first born was a total pain in the bum when he was a bit older but he was a total angel as a tiny baby.

I’ve been to the Wolseley with a small baby and they were absolutely wonderful. Would recommend completely.

Depressing to see posts from people who can’t cope with children in nice restaurants- such an alien idea to anyone who’s lived anywhere other than Britain.

Yeah, I think there’s a huge difference between tiny babies and toddlers. I wouldn’t dream of taking DD to a fancy restaurant at 18 months, but as a newborn it was super easy. I’ve actually just booked a couple of meals for the end of DH’s paternity leave based on this thread - DD will be in nursery and it’s been ages since we’ve been able to go to a nice restaurant

@ShadowPuppets

Yeah, I think there’s a huge difference between tiny babies and toddlers. I wouldn’t dream of taking DD to a fancy restaurant at 18 months, but as a newborn it was super easy. I’ve actually just booked a couple of meals for the end of DH’s paternity leave based on this thread - DD will be in nursery and it’s been ages since we’ve been able to go to a nice restaurant

I have had the complete opposite experience to this. DS has been easy to take anywhere from 18 months. Calm, sits nicely in the high chair, generally doesn’t shout, prefers to eat with cutlery and doesn’t throw food. I’d love to say it’s my great parenting but I think it’s mostly luck (and thank you nursery for the knife and fork skills )! Total nightmare as a newborn - cried all the time, didn’t sleep and wanted to be held and breastfed 24/7. I look in sheer amazement at people out with newborns, but I appreciate my experience probably isn’t the norm!

The tables are usually packed together at any or The Ivy brasseries, I'd take a sling.
We took DD to loads of lovely restaurants as soon as she was in a high chair, we never took the buggy, always drove into central London. She was a joy to take out. Would eat anything too, sea bass, scallops, lamb chops. The 2nd DC, totally different story.