Café Rouge menu pour enfant feedback thread: find out how the MNers got on checking out the new kids' menu! NOW CLOSED

[AngelieMumsnet]

This is the thread for the MN families who were invited to go and check out the new kids' menu at Café Rouge.

Café Rouge say "Using only the finest ingredients served in a stylish and relaxed environment, Café Rouge’s carefully designed menu has been created to tickle even the pickiest youngsters’ taste buds. To cater for fussy eaters, Café Rouge is offering easy first courses of warm fougasse bread finger with d’signy butter and crudités with a tomato dip. Other (hopefully) tantrum-busting dishes include the new tasty Macaroni Cheese, Le Burger which uses the best Aberdeen Angus beef and the sautéed ‘Poulet Ooh la la’ with all the trimmings. For children who like to eat like an adult, there is a selection of mouth-watering desserts such as traditional French crêpes with chocolate sauce or children can get their ‘five a day’ the Café Rouge way with a simple bowlful of fresh fruit salad. Ice cream is a classic summer indulgence and is available in six tempting flavours. All of the petits enfants favourite dishes can be washed down with flavoured milk, bottle green cordial or a selection of soft drinks. We look forward to hearing your verdict!"

Reviewers - please share on this thread your responses to the following questions

Which Café Rouge location did you visit and at what time of day/ day of week?
Generally - how did you find Café Rouge as a place to visit with the family?
How would you rate the food quality?
How would you rate the new kids menu? What did your child choose?
What about the food for adults?
What was the best part about your experience?
How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?
Did you know Café Rouge did a kids menu prior to this?
And lastly, would you go again?

We'd also love you to add a review on your relevant MN local pages (find restaurant reviews under - On the High Street>Going Out>Restaurants)

Thanks - everyone who adds their feedback on this thread will be entered into a prize draw where two MNers will win a £75 voucher for Café Rouge. Standard Insight T&Cs apply

Good luck
MNHQ

PS for non participants - there's a great offer here for Café Rouge

Thanks to MN and Cafe Rouge for selecting us for this test - I went with DH and DS(9).

Which Café Rouge location did you visit and at what time of day/ day of week? Cheltenham, Saturday at 12.

Generally - how did you find Café Rouge as a place to visit with the family?
We enjoyed eating there, and it was a nice experience

How would you rate the food quality? Good

How would you rate the new kids menu? What did your child choose? DS wanted me to say this I liked the childrens menu. I would have liked more of a choice of starter and dessert though'. He chose the macaroni cheese which 'was too strong' (and he likes strong cheese. The portion size was huge, and I think a lot of children would have filled up on the bread and crudites alone. DS couldn't finish his macaroni cheese in spite of being a big eater. He chose the fruit juice lolly for dessert, and was very pleased with having free refills of his drink which he considered to be good value*

What about the food for adults? We had a charcuterie platter between us to start, then DH had the demi poulet, I had the risotto. We enjoyed our meal, but the rissoto had a slightly odd addition of uncooked half cherry tomatos which didn't really go, but it was otherwise tasty. An issue for us was that there were very limited gluten free choices. I noticed the childrens menu would have a gf child eating crudites, plain chicken breast, then fruit salad which isn't very exciting

What was the best part about your experience? *Our waitress was absolutely lovely, and treated ds like a proper customer'

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming? Yes, very

Did you know Café Rouge did a kids menu prior to this? No

And lastly, would you go again If there was a bit more choice of gluten free food for me, definitely, but I think ds will be lobbying to go there again anyway

I emailed them Sunday night and still haven't heard. Hoping to go this weekend.

Which Café Rouge location did you visit and at what time of day/ day of week?

We went to the Bluewater restaurant at 5:30 on Saturday. There was me, DH and DDs who are 3 and 1.

Generally - how did you find Café Rouge as a place to visit with the family?

The staff were very welcoming and kind especially as DD2 is at quite a difficult age. I liked the crayons and menu that could be coloured in. The balloons also went down well when the girls were tired at the end of the meal.
However, other customers may not have been as happy to have us there.

How would you rate the food quality?

The quality seemed fine and DD1's burger looked homemade rather than factory processed. Everything was tasty but the crudités were a bit old and dried out.

How would you rate the new kids menu?

The menu was ok but I would have preferred something a bit different. Maybe snails in garlic butter? It was still sausages and burgers which isn't the kind of food I want to feed my children.

What did your child choose?

DD1 chose a burger and the crepe for pudding.

What about the food for adults?

I had the haddock fish cakes which were lovely and DH had the confit de canard which he enjoyed too.

What was the best part about your experience?

Sitting in a fairly 'adult' restaurant that catered for children and the staff were so welcoming and helpful.

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?

They were brilliant and we're the best part of the experience.

Did you know Café Rouge did a kids menu prior to this?

I did and used to take DD1 quite regularly when we lived nearer to Cafe Rouge.

And lastly, would you go again?

I would but I would go at lunchtime rather than for an evening meal.

We visited the Leicester Restaurant at 5.30 on Saturday the 8th.

The food quality was great.

I rate the children's menu highly and DS enjoyed the sauted chicken and veg, and the ice cream. He would have preferred another starter and I was surprised by the lack of choice WRT this.

The adult food was fab, we both had perfect mussels and duck, steak and then cake for dessert.

The best part of the experience was the opportunity to eat in a non family restaurant- the food and service made the whole experience relaxing and fuss free.

The service was great, not too intrusive or constant. We tipped well to reflect this!

We have taken DS there for the children's menu so were aware of it previously.

We'll definitely return, it is worth noting that we had a voucher code for 25% off which significantly reduced the bill.

Thank you again for the opportunity.

Which Café Rouge location did you visit and at what time of day/ day of week? Greenwich, London at Saturday lunchtime

Generally - how did you find Café Rouge as a place to visit with the family? We like it a lot - we usually go to the one in the Hays Galleria which is closer to us. DH likes the food, and DS likes the crayons and is generally better-behaved there than in other places - the Cafe Rouge effect!

How would you rate the food quality? Good

How would you rate the new kids menu? What did your child choose? I really liked the starter of bread, cucumber, and carrots - these are some of DS's favourites and he ate everything. He chose the burger for his main but it was quite large (he isn't yet 3!) and although he made a decent effort he abandoned it halfway through to steal some mussels from DH instead. DH and I did finish the burger for him and agreed it was a really good juicy burger, not dry at all but just a bit too large for DS! He had orange juice to drink and strawberry icecream with jellybeans for dessert - well, he was quite full so really he had a few spoons of icecream and played with the jellybeans. I didn't realise the icecream was that good (strawberry with frozen strawberry pieces? Yum!), I'd have ordered some more for myself if I'd known!

What about the food for adults? Huge portions for starters! We had the pate and our old favourite, deep-fried camembert. For mains DH had mussels, I had the duck confit. Mine was nice but cherry sauce very strong and not enough greens (and DS ate all my green beans anyway) and DH had the mussels and loved them, he was even reluctant to share with DS who was hovering about making eyes at them. I had a Page 24 beer too, I haven't had that anywhere else and it was delicious.

What was the best part about your experience? An excuse to go out to a lunch that we knew we would most likely enjoy! Felt very welcome, and although Cafe Rouge can't take ALL the credit for this - the sun was shining and it was a really lovely lunch sitting outside in the sunshine, and we had a nice walk in Greenwich Park afterwards to walk it off.

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming? Yes, our waitress was lovely and as we were leaving the manager came out with some balloons for DS and his baby sister, DS was thrilled!

Did you know Café Rouge did a kids menu prior to this? Yes. I would like to add that I like the new crayons too, less likely to break and DS was happily occupied for a while joining them together into new towering arrangements.

And lastly, would you go again? Definitely!

Which Café Rouge location did you visit and at what time of day/ day of week? We went to Cafe Rouge in Oxford at 12pm on a Saturday.

Generally - how did you find Café Rouge as a place to visit with the family? We liked the restaurant a lot, the front was all open which was lovely on a hot day.

How would you rate the food quality? The food we had was good quality

How would you rate the new kids menu? The childrens menu had lots of choice and seemed well balanced.

What did your child choose? Both had the starter of bread and veg with a tomato dip and both thoroughly enjoyed it.
The 4 year old then had fish cake and new potatoes followed by profiteroles and the 1 year old had chicken, new potatoes and peas and sweet corn followed by the fruit salad.

What about the food for adults? I had the Demi poulet and my husband had sirloin steak and frites both were lovely but the steak a little tough (although cooked well) I the. Had a fantastic chocolate fondant and my husband had a trio of deserts.

What was the best part about your experience? Good, prompt service, friendly staff and good food.

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming? Service was wonderful although we did have to send the childrens meals back twice, once because they were wrong (possibly for another table) and once because they were served with the wrong thing but there was no drama and it was done promptly.

Did you know Café Rouge did a kids menu prior to this? Yes we had eaten in a couple of Cafe Rouges before.

And lastly, would you go again? Absolutely we will go back, the service and food were very good and the menu choices suited us well.

Thanks for selecting us to go. I went with DH, DD (10) and DS (7).

Which Café Rouge location did you visit and at what time of day/ day of week?
Salisbury, Saturday 8 August at 12:30

Generally - how did you find Café Rouge as a place to visit with the family?
We enjoyed our lunch. It was a relaxing experience for us with older children. There seemed to be plenty of space for buggies and staff were helpful with moving chairs. I didn't see any high chairs, but that's probably because I didn't need one so it wasn't a priority for me. Toilets were upstairs, but I imagine there must be an accessible WC downstairs?

How would you rate the food quality?
Food was good, but not exceptional.

How would you rate the new kids menu? What did your child choose?
New menu was OK (we'd had it before at Center Parcs, Longleat) but nothing out of the ordinary - perhaps more 'French-style food' rather than trying to package the usual stuff as something out of the ordinary?
DS had the macaroni cheese. He enjoyed the starter, although said the tomato sauce could be spicier. There was too much bread with the starter. The macaroni cheese was actually penne with cheese sauce. Huge portion - too much for DS - although presented quite nicely. He said the sauce was too creamy and didn't have enough cheese. Could do with something green on the plate - herbs? Ice cream choice was nice and he enjoyed the jelly beans very much.

What about the food for adults?
We had the sharing platter to start which was loads for me, DH and DD. Could have done with some tapenade and a bit less bread, though.
I had the omelette from the 'menu rapide' - a bit thin and flabby with a meagre portion of ham. DH had the same menu and chose the chicken escalope which was nice and crispy. DD had the confit de canard with fries which she liked a lot. I had the pot au chocolat for pudding which was mainly cream so a bit sickly and unpleasant. DH had lemon tart which was very nice.

What was the best part about your experience?
The restaurant was welcoming and had a nice, busy atmosphere.

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?
Service was friendly, but we had several different members of staff serving us - not a problem but hard to identify any really good service.

Did you know Café Rouge did a kids menu prior to this?
Yes. Children's menu and colouring pencils were a nice touch and shaped so they couldn't roll under the table.

And lastly, would you go again?
Yes

Which Café Rouge location did you visit and at what time of day/ day of week?
Leamington Spa - Monday lunchtime

Generally - how did you find Café Rouge as a place to visit with the family?
The restaurant wasn't your typical 'family' themed place but they made DC happy with the usual kid pack and a balloon.

How would you rate the food quality?
Our food wasn't great. Both adults had steak frites and it was overcooked. The pudding was mostly fine - we had the trio but the base of the tarte tatin was raw.

How would you rate the new kids menu? What did your child choose?
The kids menu was fine. DC liked the starter but there wasn't any choice there. He had a salmon fishcake which he also enjoyed. The pudding was a chocolate crepe but he was too full for it (we weren't!). The portion size was huge. It is more expensive than competitors.

What about the food for adults?
As above, disappointing for us unfortunately.

What was the best part about your experience?
The waitress was lovely and I'm fairly sure she discounted our bill because of the steak.

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?
The service was very friendly and welcoming but it was also very slow. We only ordered a main and DS's starter wouldn't have been time consuming but we were waiting over an hour for our main course (not always easy with a 3 year old). We had to ask for some tap water a couple of times before it arrived.

Did you know Café Rouge did a kids menu prior to this?
No, although I would have assumed that they did.

And lastly, would you go again?
Probably not. I thought it seemed expensive for the quality of the food and the time it took to arrive.

Which Café Rouge location did you visit and at what time of day/ day of week?

We visited the Sheffield branch yesterday 10th August at 12.30.

Generally - how did you find Café Rouge as a place to visit with the family?

It was empty when we arrived but looked welcoming, the staff were lovely.

How would you rate the food quality?

In general very good.

How would you rate the new kids menu?

I thought it was varied, having not seen the last menu its difficult to comment however, it had plenty to chose from.

What did your child choose?

Dd chose Poulet ooh la la and the chocolate crepe. She was disappointed with the crepe, it was difficult to cut and was chewy and no chocolate to be seen.

What about the food for adults?

My Mum and I both had the lunchtime menu- She had the Tuna pate starter which she said was very nice. We both had the Chicken Escalope with frites and salad. Mine was delicious but Mums was much lighter in colour and less crispy, still enjoyable though. I had the profiteroles for pudding, four light airy choux buns filled with a lovely vanilla cream.

What was the best part about your experience?

Seeing Dd engaging with the lovely staff, the waitress encouraged Dd to speak some french and was very friendly.
She enjoyed the menu come activity pack which she did whilst waiting for her meal.

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?

Very! The manager ( i think) was lovely, very chatty and she answered all of our questions.

Did you know Café Rouge did a kids menu prior to this?

had no idea they had a childrens menu.

And lastly, would you go again?

Absolutely. Lovely experience and will definitely be going again.
Thank you Mumsnet and Sheffield branch Café Rouge.

Which Café Rouge location did you visit and at what time of day/ day of week?
We visited Leicester on Friday 7th August, at 2pm

Generally - how did you find Café Rouge as a place to visit with the family?
How would you rate the food quality?
We found it really welcoming and calm. DS gets very stressed if music is too loud so it was lovely to have music that was just the right volume!
The food was fantastic.

How would you rate the new kids menu? What did your child choose?
DS chose chicken goujons. He doesn't like peas so he was pleased that he could have salad on the side instead.
The goujons were delicious- massive too.
For desert he had the crepes, and he loved them.
He also tried the taster pot of snails, having been wanting to since Horrid Henry did!

What about the food for adults?
I had tuna pate to start, and smoked salmon omelette as my main-it was perfect!
DD had risotto aux legumes, and said it was really good.
We both had profiteroles for desert, and both loved having a separate pot of chocolate sauce for them

What was the best part about your experience?
The whole experience was brilliant. Really warm welcome, great atmosphere and great food. I honestly couldn't fault it.

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?
It was very welcoming and friendly. There were no long waits for food, and we didn't feel rushed. I started to get a bit anxious towards the end over what might happen when the bill was due, but the lovely waiter made it so seamless and straightforward there was no awkwardness there at all.

Did you know Café Rouge did a kids menu prior to this?
I didn't know what was on it, but assumed there would be one.

And lastly, would you go again?
Definitely! Hopefully soon!

Which Café Rouge location did you visit and at what time of day/ day of week?

We went to Bluewater 5pm Sunday Evening

Generally - how did you find Café Rouge as a place to visit with the family?

I wouldn't have particularly chosen cafe Rouge, it does have a grown up atmosphere. But there was live music, a lady singing swing classics accompanied by a man on the accordion. Five pm is a relatively quiet time so this worked well and was really enjoyable.

How would you rate the food quality?

Good

How would you rate the new kids menu? What did your child choose?

I liked the menu, it offered enough choice the drinks were 75 p extra for refills which was good value. There was a good choice of drinks we particularly liked the option of elderflower and strawberry cordials. Lots of choice throughout, 3 courses and a drink is good value

I thought the menu itself was really well designed, attractively presented and well thought out. French themed and lots to keep my 7 yr old and 5 yr old occupied. The crayons were also v good.

My son chose Macaroni cheese - he liked it and ate a good amount, he is 5 and has an average to good appetite, but I think the portion was too large

My daughter ordered Poulet ooh la la, she liked it she has a smaller appetite but ate well

They loved the starter and both chose ice lollies for desert. I think they were full I was surprised they didn't go for the ice cream with fun toppings!

I think there could be two portion sizes for smaller and larger appetites, (but it's probably not cost effective). I said to my husband that I would have been happy with a kids meal!

What about the food for adults?

I had minute steak and frites, it was nice but the minute steak was much thicker than usual (but cooked well - rare). There was a very big portion of fries I would have preferred less fries and some salad or veg.

Husband had Caesar salad he commented that it was a bit bland (I liked it though) the addition of green beans was a bit different.

We shared a portion of snails (5 yr old son insisted he wanted to try them) and the trio of deserts.

What was the best part about your experience?

I think that the background live music added to the ambience it made a more special experience. The menu provided lots of distraction for the children.

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?

The staff were all very smiley, friendly and welcoming. They made a couple of errors with the order, but corrected them quickly and without a fuss. Gave the children balloons at the end, always a hit.

Did you know Café Rouge did a kids menu prior to this?

No

And lastly, would you go again?

Yes I would definitely go again, it was a nice experience. We had a lovely evening. Thank you!

Which Caf? Rouge location did you visit and at what time of day/ day of week?
Bath Sunday 1pm

Generally - how did you find Caf? Rouge as a place to visit with the family?
Really good, it was a bit more of a proper grown up restauarant than the usual places we go to with with the DCs but they were very welcoming.

How would you rate the food quality?
Very good, the DCs weren't too keen on the fishcake becasue it was too fishy, but I think this is probably because it is better than the normal supermarket fishcakes we have.

How would you rate the new kids menu? What did your child choose?
Very good, particularly that it included a drink which a lot of childrens menus don't. We don't eat meat but do eat fish so were okay with pasta or fish to choose from, if we didn't eat fish it would be more restrictive. I thought as another french alternative to pasta they could offer omelette and frites as well.
They both had the starter, fishcake and ice cream.
The icecream was delicious.
I thought it would have been good if the fishcake had come with peas as a side veg rather than just chips.
Also the crayons and the menu to colour in and other activities was fab. Really good to keep them occupied whilst waiting. There were things on there to entertain younger children (colouring) and older children (word searches).

What about the food for adults?
Very good, I had the moules and DH had the goats cheese tart. We had olives to start which were a bit disappointing as a very small portion. The moules were delicious and I tried the tart as well which was lovely. The chips were also good.

And the was lovely too!!

I also liked that they automatically bought us iced tap water with the wine without us having to ask for it.

What was the best part about your experience?
The waiter was particularly good, the DCs said he was the best bit of the visit!! He was very good with them and very funny.

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?
Yes very. This is what made the visit good more than anything!

Did you know Caf? Rouge did a kids menu prior to this?
No

And lastly, would you go again?
Yes I would. Thank you for the visit we loved it!!

Thank you so much for selecting me. I went with my two DC, DS1 (3) and DS2 (1) I took a friend and her DD(2)

Which Café Rouge location did you visit and at what time of day/ day of week?

We went to Wokingham on Tuesday lunchtime 12.15 on 11/08.
Generally - how did you find Café Rouge as a place to visit with the family?
They were super friendly and welcoming, fetching highchairs for us and moving tables so we could fit out buggy in without blocking the aisle.

How would you rate the food quality?
We ordered the chicken goujons and chips for my two, and the fish cakes for my friends little girl. As they are small with short attention spans we asked that their starters came with their mains. This worked well as it stopped them filling up on bread. The food was lovely, fresh and tasty and very generous portions. They had ice cream and marshmallows for pudding which was also lovely and good quality ice cream.

The staff were really lovely here, definitely a cut above usual standards of service.
How would you rate the new kids menu?
I thought it was good, plenty to choose from and there were healthy and 'treat' options.
What about the food for adults?
I had olives, which were fabulous and the a chicken opulent salad. I really liked this, healthy and tasty and I appreciated that the dressing was on the side.
My friend had the chicken Caesar, also lovely.
What was the best part about your experience?
I thought the food was great and I liked that there were crayons and activity menus for the kids.
How about service: was it friendly and welcoming? The staff were really lovely here, definitely a cut above usual standards of service. We were fairly hectic as my youngest is hard work at meal times at the moment and they were so nice! They seem to genuinely like children!
Did you know Café Rouge did a kids menu prior to this? Yes I had been but not for a couple of years.
And lastly, would you go again?
Definitely although Farnham is my local branch so more likely to go there.

Thanks for selecting us for this one! We really enjoyed our experience. We went to the Windsor Cafe Rouge for an early dinner on Saturday at 5pm. The cafe is just by Windsor Castle so great location. The staff couldn't have been more helpful - our waitress anticipated our every need and got a well deserved generous tip to hopefully show her how much we appreciated her service. A restaurant that treats it's kids customers well is also treating the adults well by definition. Happy kids = good behaviour = happy mum. We had three kids with us - two eating from the kids menu (5 and 7) with our 1 year old sharing everyones! Kids loved the starter which i thought was similar but better than the pizza express one. They had a burger and plain pasta for mains and both liked them although in my opinion the kids burgers are always a bit too overdone when they are "well done" (i know they have to be) dessert was a highlight - chocolate crepe and icecream with marshmallows both which obviously went down very very well! We had steak and a goats cheese tart which was lovely. All in all a good meal and better menu choice for kids that we're used to. I didn't expect cafe rouge to have a good kids menu but this one is very good. I thought that the choices were varied and covered all tastes plus portion sizes good If a little over generous for younger kids.

I think we would go again and consider it a lot more rather than discount it as "adult french food" now that we've tried it out. I would have guessed that they had a kids menu but it would have been a guess but would not have guessed at how good it was as in my head (before our visit) the image cafe rouge had was french, adult and not very child friendly. Probably one of the better kids menus around for the money.

Which Café Rouge location did you visit and at what time of day/ day of week?

Café Rouge, Kingsway, London - 12pm lunchtime on a Saturday in August

Generally - how did you find Café Rouge as a place to visit with the family?

Great, spacious, had the all-important colouring sheets and these lovely multicolour swap point crayons that the kids (aged 2 and 4) loved and were allowed to keep!

How would you rate the food quality?

Good quality, how healthy depended upon your choices!

How would you rate the new kids menu? What did your child choose?

I think the kids menu was good value for money at £7.50 for 3 courses plus drink (which I hadn't appreciated was unlimited). The portion size was HUGE however, pretty much adult size. I have attached pictures to demonstrate. There is only one starter option, which is crudites with the dip and a sizeable white baguette. My kids are aged 2 and 4, so once they had ploughed through this alone, they were quite full! They also had chocolate milk as a drink option which would have filled them up. I was pleased they had filled up on the relatively healthy food first as next came the very large portions of chips with gigantic burger and croque monsieur. They ate lots of chips and hardly made a dent in the rest. They had profiteroles for dessert - 4 large ones each, but only managed 3 each thankfully! I think if I were going again, bearing in mind their age, I would not let them see the unhealthier options on menu and just offer them the chicken and potato and veg and fresh fruit lollipop that they would be happy with. That together with crudites would have been a really healthy meal. The issue for older kids is when they see what else is available, they would be less likely to make these healthy choices! I think an improvement to drinks options on kids menu would be to offer a babyccino (frothy milk). Generally, happy though.

What about the food for adults?

It was good, good size portions, decently cooked. It is not what we would ordinarily eat (we try to be healthier), it was mostly nostalgia-fuelled for me as used to go here as a student for a treat and always get steaks and citron presse. I had steak and chips and my husband had white bread sausage baguette There were a good selection of salads though, so we could have been healthy if we wanted to! Generally, a selection of foods to suit everyone.

What was the best part about your experience?

We were treated well, service was quick, kids were relatively happy, toilets were good with lovely rituals soap. We ordered what we would have done anyway regardless of the £50 voucher to spend and it came to just over £50, which was good value.

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?

Extremely so, we were treated like royalty and this was a busy Café Rouge since there were a couple of tour parties coming in on coaches (theatre/sights) - I was actually amazed at the service they had there considering!

Did you know Café Rouge did a kids menu prior to this?

No

And lastly, would you go again?

Yes, it is reasonably priced, seems to cater for all tastes and crucially, the one we visited was quite spacious (something of a premium in Central London)

Canterbury Monday 10th August midday. Me,hubby,parents in law and our 7 year old autistic son. We were very impressed. They were very good re: my sons nuances with food touching sauces. We were impressed with kids and adult menus. Healthy choices excellent for kids and good vegetarian choices. We will visit again ????

I visited Cafe Rouge, Leicester on Saturday 8th August at 4pm.
I thought that the restaurant itself was spacious and that the toilets were very clean and easily accessible. The staff were really welcoming and I liked the fact that we were given colouring sheets and a balloon for our two children.
The food we received was of a decent quality and was well cooked and presented.
The kids menu was very basic but covered all the things my two enjoy from time to time (pasta, chips, nuggets, sausages). My toddler chose nuggets, chips and peas (with vanilla ice cream for dessert). I asked for a small portion of macaroni cheese for my baby as well. I felt that the menu didn't quite 'fit' with the adult menu. It was fine but didn't feel special or different, unlike some of the other kids menus locally.
The food for adults was generally ok, although I was a bit disappointed with my 'moules'; the broth was quite salty. I enjoyed my salmon starter though, and my husband liked his chicken dish.
The best part of the experience was being able to eat in a 'proper' restaurant with my family.
The service was good. The restaurant was really quiet so we were served quickly. The staff were lovely with our two children as well.
I didn't know that cafe rouge did a kids menu prior to this visit.
Although we enjoyed the visit, we probably wouldn't visit again as we both felt that there were other restaurants locally that were better value, for us and for the children.

Which Café Rouge location did you visit and at what time of day/ day of week?

We visited the Haywards Heath branch during a Saturday lunch time.
Generally - how did you find Café Rouge as a place to visit with the family?

It was lovely. It was great to be in a restaurant that catered for and welcomed children while still feeling you were in a sophisticated restaurant. The children definitely loved the more 'grown up' atmosphere too.

How would you rate the food quality?

The food was amazing - fantastic quality!

How would you rate the new kids menu?

A great menu with plenty of choice that catered for most children. It would be nice for there to be something more in keeping with the adult mains - although to be fair my children probably wouldn't have eaten it! Was great to see a pudding menu that had variety on instead of the same old chocolate brownie or ice cream!

What did your child choose?

Both children had the starter, sausages and mash and a crepe.

What about the food for adults?

The adults had Camembert and snails for starters, chicken and beef for mains and a chocolate and banana cake for pudding - all were great!

What was the best part about your experience?

We enjoyed the whole experience but the food and the atmosphere was definitely the best parts.

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?

The service was fantastic - when we first got there we were seated quickly and although I did have to ask to order starters as we were sat in a corner and I think we were forgotten about. The staff went out their way for us and quickly replenished DS juice when he dropped it over himself and the floor.

Did you know Café Rouge did a kids menu prior to this?

No.

And lastly, would you go again?

Yes definitely. The food is resonably priced and competitive with other high street names but is much better quality than some. Before this I wouldn't have gone for myself, never mind the children but now it's definitely somewhere we would go for dinner!

Which Café Rouge location did you visit and at what time of day/ day of week?
Bath, on Sunday at 12.30pm

Generally - how did you find Café Rouge as a place to visit with the family?
I have been to cafe rouge several times with friends for lunch, but have never taken my children although we eat a lot. I have always thought it was not so much too grown up for children, but not really set up for them so I was pleasantly suprised. Most diners there had children with them, but they were all impeccably behaved which is a bit unusual! A PP mentionned the cafe rouge effect which may have something in it - although my DD was worse behaved than normal!!
One thing I did note is that the toilets really aren't set up for children. DD is very tall but was no where near reaching the sink so I had to manhandle her up to wash her hands. At nearly 5 and taller than everyone else in her pre school she's pretty unweildy!

How would you rate the food quality?
Good, both for adults and children.

How would you rate the new kids menu? What did your child choose?
I thought that the kids menu was excellent, very large portions though. That said it is definately better than way than too small! My daughter (4) has a very big appetite but was beaten by it. She even left one piece of sausage which is unheard of! Perhaps it would be good if you could just buy a main course for smaller children.
I liked the focus on getting lots of fruit and veg in, my daughter ate lots of cucumber, carrot, peas and sweetcorn which is great. She had the starter, then sausage and mash, then ice cream with jelly beans. There is loads of choice so I would be happy to take her again. I did find her gravy salty though, and would generally prefer no salt in kids gravy, but of course gravy can taste salty anyway.
Good value for the three courses and drink - my daughter loved the colouring in menu and crayons.
She didn't like the breadstick, I tried it and it was rather dry so I can see why.

What about the food for adults?
We both had the the demi poulet and chips which was lovely. I suppose I should have wanted some veg with it as I always demand DD has a veg with dinner but I loved it! For pudding I had a brilliant chocolate fondant (which technically could have been more melty in the middle, but with the raspberry bits it was delicious) and my husband had a "super lemony" lemon tarte.

What was the best part about your experience?
The wide menu with good food for adults and children, I struggled to choose. The staff were also very friendly and welcoming.

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?
The staff were very friendly and welcoming, but I did wonder how spontaneous this was as they obviously knew we were coming due to the pre payment. But I saw them being charming with everyone else too!

Did you know Café Rouge did a kids menu prior to this?
I didn't know, but I would have expected them to.

And lastly, would you go again?
I would - in fact I had a code for a discounted breakfast on the receipt and DD quite fancies trying that!

Thank you to mumsnet and to cafe rouge for giving us the chance to come and try the new menu.

Thank you for allowing us to go, it was myself, eager (and very hungry post rowing (ie the sport, not shouting) ) husband, dd5 and dd7, both using the children's menu.

Which Café Rouge location did you visit and at what time of day/ day of week?
We visted on Saturday at 1230, a very busy and sunny summer lunchtime.

Generally - how did you find Café Rouge as a place to visit with
the family?
Cross at myself that we've not visited before. Warm and friendly staff, made a lovely fuss of the children, and quickly presented them with the activity sheets, crayons, and brought their drinks within about a minute. Very easily accessible with a pushchair, highchair, etc, and a lady at the table next to us breastfeeding her daughter in the shade said she comes every saturday lunchtime, and receives the same impeccable service. The facilities (ie loos) were great, and the girls even braved going on their own, this is a big thing.

How would you rate the food quality?
A very high 4*. I wouldn't say 5 purely because we attribute the latter to eateries with finer, locally produced organic food, - I can't fault it, but there were qualities missing. Ie the frites weren't amazing, and the meats were very good but not fantastic. A few unavailable items, but still, really good.

How would you rate the new kids menu? What did your child choose?
The kids menu although not extensive in choice, was lovely, wholesome, great portions, and exciting. Plenty to choose from, and not over the top with busy ingredients. Girls went for Bangers Et Mash and Fab Fishcake (it lived up to its name). Both had the vanilla ice cream with jelly beans and loved it, you could see the pods and erm, mum and dad had to taste test, just incase....

What about the food for adults?
Really good. First and only negative, we got there and both intent on ordering moules (being a french restaurant) were told that at the start of a Saturday lunchtime service they had run out. Beyond that, there was too much to choose from. The charcouterie was generous, super tasty, and we all tried snails - the children loved them and even used up the sauce with their breads.

What was the best part about your experience?
The food was very good but the service was amazing, the waitresses and waiter that we experienced were extremely attentive, professional, and faultless. I've asked the girls their favourite part and that was the escargot taster pots, a great idea and both devoured!

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?
As mentioned above, the service was absolutely impeccable.

Did you know Café Rouge did a kids menu prior to this?
Hmm no, Id assumed that they would have something to offer ie half portions but the children loved the interactive menu, really got stuck in, and even learnt some french words with it.

And lastly, would you go again?
Completely. Whilst we wouldnt go there for a romantic meal for two, we would defiantely take the children back. Value for money, friendliness, and overall experience was lovely. Previously we would head straight for Pizza Express or Prezzo, now the third contender is Cafe Rouge. Merci. x

Just feel I need to add to mine - the staff were great & it was definitely genuine and not because we were there to review the meal - we turned up on the wrong day (embarrassing) so they had no idea we were there or were having a prepaid meal.

Visited Dorking Tuesday 11 August at 5pm.

Cafe Rouge is a great place to visit with a family.

The quality of food was very good.

The children's menu was excellent with a very broad range of choices - far more than I've seen on other children's menus. Our eldest son [8] had pasta with tomato sauce (his favourite), exclaimed, 'this is yummy!' after one mouthful and ate it all. Our middle son [5] had sausages, mash, peas and sweetcorn with gravy which he really enjoyed and ate most of. Both had pancakes with ice cream for pudding. The portions were nice and big, well cooked, well presented and tasty. Lots of drink options too. Top marks all round. (In case you're wondering our littlest is 4 months old so had to content himself with watching us eat!)

My husband and I both had the vegetable risotto and they were very accommodating when I asked for mushrooms instead of butternut squash in mine. We also had garlic bread to start and a side of frites (excellent!). We enjoyed and finished all the food. It's a shame there aren't more vegetarian options (particularly without cheese) and it would be nice if the omelette was available all day. Two veggie options on the main menu (particularly when one has goats cheese - yuk!) is not enough!

The best part was enjoying a tasty meal in a lovely restaurant with our family.

The staff were exceptionally welcoming and friendly. Service was quick (though we were the only people in there for the first half of our visit!) and we were very well looked after.

Yes we knew it had a children's menu though I don't remember it being as extensive as this.

We would visit again for the children's menus alone but will wait until there are some new vegetarian options available. Though I'd be happy with a giant bowl of their frites!

Thanks for a great meal out!

Thank you for choosing us, it was a treat for us all and somewhere we had been meaning to visit for some time.

Which Café Rouge location did you visit and at what time of day/ day of week?

Weybridge, Saturday 08th August 17.30.

Generally - how did you find Café Rouge as a place to visit with the family?

Wonderful! When we arrived it was virtually empty and we were able to choose our table. The garden area was also fully enclosed and immaculately clean and tidy. The ambiance was exactly how we would have liked it.

How would you rate the food quality?

Very good.

How would you rate the new kids menu? What did your child choose?

The portions were really huge, our little one is almost 3 and the main meal would have fed her for at least 2 of her normal sized meals. She really enjoyed the starter but was more preoccupied with waiting for her chicken Goujons to arrive. I would say that 1 Goujon would be equal to 3 McDonalds chicken nuggets and there were 4 on her plate. She managed 2 and a bit which was very good going for her. She then chose the Vanilla Ice cream which she again, really liked. For her drink she had apple juice which although was ok seemed a little watery. I'm slightly confused that some reviews state unlimited refills for children's drinks? This wasn't the case at the Cafe Rouge we visited and isn't really consistent for a brand image.

What about the food for adults?

My partner chose just bread to start as they had already decided they were going to have a dessert! Although it was nice, I think it was over priced for what they got. I had Crevettes which were sublime. We then chose a Rouge Burger with Cheese and a Rib Eye Steak. The Burger was massive, very good quality and cooked perfectly. The steak was slightly under cooked for a medium but as I prefer this, it wasn't a problem. Both adult meals would have been better presented with a side token of salad but this is just our personal preference and didn't affect our enjoyment of the food at all. I skipped desert but my partner had the salted caramel ice cream and vanilla ice cream both of which were excellent.

What was the best part about your experience?

An excuse not to cook on a Saturday evening! The whole experience was very good and one we will definitely be repeating.

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?

Yes very. Our waiter was attentive but not intrusive. I was also impressed that he didn't need to write down any of our orders or requests which is normally only witnessed in high end restaurants.

Did you know Café Rouge did a kids menu prior to this?

Yes but I didn't realise how large the portions would be.

And lastly, would you go again?

Most definitely.

Which Café Rouge location did you visit and at what time of day/ day of week?

We visited Cafe Rouge in Loughton on Monday 10th August at 5pm.

Generally - how did you find Café Rouge as a place to visit with the family?

We liked it, as our children are getting older and we no longer have toddlers it's nice to have dinner somewhere that's more 'grown up'. My daughter is learning french and she loved translating the menu and the signs around the restaurant. The actual children's menu opened out into an activity sheet with lots of different colouring and puzzles to keep them amused whilst waiting for their food to arrive. It worked and it kept them busy.

How would you rate the food quality?

Very good, we all enjoyed the meal.

How would you rate the new kids menu? What did your child choose?

My three children all ate from the kids menu, they loved the starter - the bread was a hit for sure. My son had a kids burger with frites and the chocolate pancake, he ate it all, my older daughter went for the Mac & Cheese and really enjoyed it, I had hoped for a taste but she ate every bit, she was very impressed with the additional pot of cheese to sprinkle on top, salted caramel ice cream with jelly beans was her choice of dessert. Youngest daughter is 7 and she chose the croque monsieur with cheese and ham, she left a few of the fries but dh hoovered those up, she had chocolate ice cream with popping candy afterwards. We were very pleased with the option of bottle green cordials to drink, they all chose the strawberry.

What about the food for adults?

Dh & I both ate from the Menu Rapid, he had the croque monsieur with frites and I went for the Chicken Escalope with salad and frites, mine was huge and I gave half away to dh, it was delicious but far too much for me. For dessert dh had the pancake basket and i went for the trio of desserts, the lemon tarte was amazing, the tarte tatin was also delicious.

What was the best part about your experience?

Overall we had a very enjoyable meal, he restaurant was clean, the staff helpful and the food good. It 's hard to say what was best as there wasn't any aspect that could have been better.

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?

Yes, the staff were extremely friendly and helpful without being overbearing, although we were around 20 minutes early for our reservation we were seated immediately, the table was ready and waiting, our order was taken promptly and the food arrived in good time, it was fairly quiet when we arrived however it started to get much busier as the we were there.

Did you know Café Rouge did a kids menu prior to this?

No, I had always assumed it was rather adult orientated.

And lastly, would you go again?

Absolutely - we enjoyed our meal and would visit again.

Which Café Rouge location did you visit and at what time of day/ day of week?

Bluewater - Tuesday lunchtime

Generally - how did you find Café Rouge as a place to visit with the family?

Great - nice atmosphere and we all enjoyed ourselves.

How would you rate the food quality?

Overall very nice, see further comments below.

How would you rate the new kids menu? What did your child choose?

Menu seems very good overall, plenty of choice. Our 2.5 year old chose the burger but that was unfortunately a mistake on our part really, as it was served quite charred/flame grilled and she didn't like the taste. Her dad tried it and didn't rate it that highly. She ended up eating more of our food than hers. It was served in a crusty roll which again wasn't great for little ones though older kids would have been fine. The starter was very nice and healthy and she enjoyed that. The 'fruit ice lolly' turned out to be a Callippo which I wasn't expecting but she did eat some of it.

What about the food for adults?

Very nice, we had steak and fish cakes. The chilli ice cream pudding was ok to start with but the novelty wore off!

What was the best part about your experience?

Just being out together and not having to worry about the cost.

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?

Very much so. Our waitress was very friendly and did kind things like bringing small cutlery; suggesting we used the disabled loo with our toddler which was near our seat, bringing extra jelly beans! She was very nice without being overbearing.

Did you know Café Rouge did a kids menu prior to this?

Yes, we had eaten at a London Cafe Rouge a few months ago. The service there was equally good so I didn't feel there was an extra effort for Mumsnetters on this recent occasion, I've always had good service at their restaurants.

And lastly, would you go again?

Definitely but would guide my little one to make different menu choices.

Thanks MUMSNET ????