Restaurant recommendations with a child menu

[Hunnybadger1]

Hi, anyone got a recommendation for a pretty decent restaurant in Lille that also has a child’s menu? He’s a mature 10 year old but eats quite little so don’t want to pay for an adults meal but we’d also like to enjoy some good food rather than pizza etc!

Just order a starter and a dessert for him, that way he gets a small portion of adult food.

Or 2 starters if he’s not fond of dessert.

@Mum2jenny Do you think a higher end restaurant would be ok with that on a Saturday night - wouldn’t want it to be awkward or even worse refused!

No idea about restaurants in France, but I used to do these options when my kids were little in the UK as neither would eat of the children’s menu.
I remember one place saying they didn’t have a kids menu and I said that’s not an issue, they’ll eat from the main menu. And they did! Mushrooms in a filo basket was the one that I remember to this day. The dc scoffed the lot!!

Le Barbier qui fume had a kids menu for under 12s, there are 3 branches We ate at the one at Rihour. We also ate at L'Abbaye Lille and I think kids had to order off the main menu there. If you are going the weather is warmer there is also a Haagen Dazs store just off from the Grand Place.

Bear in mind that French children's menus are almost never what you would see on a UK children's menu. Typically they are steak hache which is a patty of pure beef (none of the fillers etc that you would get in a burger here), a piece of ham (think a small gammon steak) or a piece of plain chicken.

Starters and children's menus are likely to be similarly priced, so I don't see why not. If it's not clear on the menu, I'd make sure they know you want a child portion of food not an adult, because all MN pre-teens seem to have outgrown Happy Meal sized portions by about 8 and often eat more than they do apparently.

If you find one at all, it will definitely not what you see in the UK.

I would go with a starter, maybe with a side of vegetables or salad.

I usually search for a steakhouse near me that also lists a kids’ menu on their website so I don’t have to phone ahead. Some of them are really good with smaller portions of proper meals rather than just nuggets. The one we went to last time even had colouring stuff and a quiet corner, which was a bonus during the evening rush.

@Hunnybadger1 Here is a list from The Fork of family friendly restaurants in Lille. Might be a good place to start. https://www.thefork.co.uk/search?cityId=311886&restaurantTagId[]=1#list0