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

Hi, here is my feedback

We visited the Trafford Centre on Wednesday 12th at 17:00.

I thought it was a nice place to dine. I would probably have avoided it as I have 3 children under 4 and although it is nice to eat out it is difficult to find nice child friendly places. Or maybe I just feel bad subjecting other diners to my brood. The staff were friendly and helpful getting us a high chair and kids menus with coloured pencils straight away. This made it much easier to settle in.

I thought the food quality was good, especially for the children's meals as sometimes these can be of a very poor standard.

I liked the new menu especially the little paper colouring in sheets and great pencils, it kept my chiildren amused for pretty much the duration of the meal - which is a difficult task. Both my children who were eating chose the chicken goujons for their mains. This was great for them both as it was a nice size, not too big to be over faced. I would have maybe liked to see a fish option as my little boy is not a big meat eater. The starters were nice too, and my baby kept herself busy with these. The desserts were nice,the fruit salad was very tasty and my little boy enjoyed the chocolate icecream immensely.

The adults food was very nice, my husband and I both had the pate and the chicken breton. The desserts were ok. I wasnt sure about the sorbet as itwas very peppery. The wine was lovely though, haha.

I liked the new menu the most, and the fact that it was ok to eat there with children and not feel awkward.

The service was very good. There was even a nice maitre d' type person (sorry I cant remember his proper job title) called Ben who was very cheerful.

I did know that cafe rouge had a children's menu as I have visited the one at centreparcs many times, but I like the new kids menu much better.

I would go again, with the children or without.

Thanks again for picking me to visit cafe rouge :)

Which Café Rouge location did you visit and at what time of day/ day of week?
Canterbury 5.30pm Wednesday
Generally - how did you find Café Rouge as a place to visit with the family?
It's nice to go somewhere slightly more adult with the children where I know I will be looking forward to the meal as well.
How would you rate the food quality?
Very good
How would you rate the new kids menu? What did your child choose?
It seemed to be good quality, my 5yo DD had chicken goujons and vanilla ice cream, so nothing particularly exciting but she enjoyed it. She particularly liked the mini baguette, the portion sizes were large.
What about the food for adults?
Lovely, me and DH both had the French onion soup to start which is one of our favourites, I had the beef bourguignon which was delicious and DH had steak which he enjoyed.
What was the best part about your experience?
Food lovely as always
How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?
Sadly we were really not impressed by the service we received, our waitress seemed quite distracted. She asked us if we wanted some crayons for dd and we said yes but then had to ask twice more before she actually brought some over, the menu she had been given had already been coloured in by another child, we were only served one starter and had to ask again for another one, we had to ask for the butter for the bread on the children's starter, the children's dessert was served with jelly beans instead of smarties and it was only when questioned that we were told they didn't have any smarties. Obviously these are not big things and they were all rectified immediately but when something like that happens every time you speak to your waitress it's quite a dissatisfying experience.
When it came time to pay the bill, they didn't know anything about the product test and I had to find the invitation email on my phone before they took the £50 off the bill, this was all dealt with politely but I'm still not sure they knew what it was all about and it makes me suspect that if they had known about it we would have had a better customer experience.
Did you know Café Rouge did a kids menu prior to this?
Yes we have been before
And lastly, would you go again
Yes, my Dd felt very grown up going to a more adult restaurant and based on previous experiences of cafe rouge we would go again.

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

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

How would you rate the food quality? good although mixed - starters were wonderful, mains ok

How would you rate the new kids menu? we were with dd who is only 10 months so it was perfect but I would expect a choice of starters for older children.

What did your child choose? the tomato pasta and fresh fruit

What about the food for adults dp and I had the Croquettes and crevettes for starters which were both beautiful. Steak baguettes had a fair bit of gristle

What was the best part about your experience? the starters

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming? yes, all staff were very friendly and gave dd a balloon which kept her entertained between courses!

Did you know Café Rouge did a kids menu prior to this? no but I would expect it of a large chain like this

And lastly, would you go again? yes

Thank you for choosing us for this product test

Which Café Rouge location did you visit and at what time of day/ day of week? Birmingham Mailbox at 1pm on Wednesday 12th August

Generally - how did you find Café Rouge as a place to visit with the family? It was great, lots of space between tables, which I think is important when you have high chairs, changing bags etc. Also, although it doesn't feel like a children's restaurant it is clear that children are welcome.

How would you rate the food quality? Overall, very good. Better than food pubs of a similar price per head.

How would you rate the new kids menu? What did your child choose?
Food on the children's menu was good quality though still the usual burger/nuggets/sausage options, I would prefer more adventurous food to be available. Ds would like more choices for the starter. Ds aged 8 had the starter, the burger and ice cream with apple juice to drink. He enjoyed his meal, the burger looked nice and not processed. Dd aged 2 had the starter, chicken goujons and ice cream with milk to drink. She seemed to enjoy it though she struggled with the raw carrot on the starter. It was nice to see milk as an option to drink as dd only drinks milk or water.

What about the food for adults?
Dh and I chose from the 'Rapide' menu. He had the bacon salad, chicken escalope and profiteroles. I had the pate, macaroni cheese and chocolate pot. We both enjoyed our starters, Dh said the chicken was nice but I found the macaroni cheese to be a bit bland and it was just macaroni cheese, I'd have preferred some salad or veg with it. The desserts were also good, especially the chocolate pot.

What was the best part about your experience? Eating somewhere that feels a little more 'grown up' despite having the children with us.

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming? Very friendly and welcoming, the waiting staff were lovely with the children, especially with dd who they kept proclaiming to be 'so cute!'

Did you know Café Rouge did a kids menu prior to this? Yes, but had not been with the children for a while so had not tried the current menu before.

And lastly, would you go again? Yes, definitely.

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

We went to the Kingsway location in london ( near Hoborn Tube station) for Sunday Lunch.

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

I was pleasantly surprised with how child friendly the restaurant was. From the children's colouring activities when we were first seated to the menu which contained a lot of fresh vegetables and entrees that my children liked a lot! Normally when we go to a restaurant our main concern is if the kids are going to enjoy the food and be reasonably entertained and this ticked all the boxes.

How would you rate the food quality? I thought the food quality was excellent, especially the kids food.

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

One of my DC's had chicken goujouns and the other had sausages and mash and the mash was very delicious! the starters were fresh veggies which were great! The puddings were fantastic. They had ice creams with a choice of jelly beans, popping candy or marshmallows, ( they were generous portion sizes as well. ) What I liked was that the sweets were kept on the side for the child to decide if they would put them in their ice cream or eat them separately.

What about the food for adults? My DH and I both had the steak and chips along with a chilli chocolate and lime pudding. It was delicious! The desert in particular was delicious and tasted like something out of a french patisserie.

What was the best part about your experience?

The best part of this experience was discovering a pace that the 4 of us could eat at and enjoy the food together, there is really something for everyone.

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?

The staff were lovely, attentive and child friendly. Many restaurants I have been to in the past have had staff who were quite sullen so this was a welcome change.

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

I did not!

And lastly, would you go again?

Absolutely!

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

Kingsway, London on Thursday lunchtime

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

Great. Staff were very friendly and accommodating. As we'd booked in advance the children's menus and crayons were waiting for us on our table. They brought out the kids' starters early. We are now buggy-free but there was plenty of room if you wanted to take a buggy to your table.

How would you rate the food quality?

Good quality chain -restaurant food.

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

There's a good choice. It's pretty standard children's fare which suits my children well as they're quite unadventurous! They chose the pan fried chicken with new potatoes and sausages which come with mash on the menu but for which they were happy to substitute fries. There was a very good choice of drinks and I liked the 75p refill option. Pudding choices also great and they loved the popping candy on their ice cream.

What about the food for adults?

It's was nice. I had a steak with some very nice Bearnaise sauce and DH had Boeuf Bourguignon and herby mash. I also had a very nice Creme Brulee.

What was the best part about your experience?

The smooth service.

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?

Very friendly and welcoming.

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

Yes, though it has definitely improved in terms of choice.

And lastly, would you go again?

Yes we would. It's not a "destination restaurant" for us but definitely if were out for the day and looking for a restaurant it's a great choice when you have fussy family members as there really is something for everyone.

Which Café Rouge location did you visit and at what time of day/ day of week? Bluewater, Tuesday at 5.30pm

Generally - how did you find Café Rouge as a place to visit with the family?
With 'A' family- great. Staff very attentive, kids activity pack was brilliant, great menu with a huge variety of food, reasonably priced refils. With 'My' family- the DS's (7 and 3) are a nightmare to take anywhere - disruptive, loud, clumsy, 3 year old is prone to tantrum throwing- so CR was no exception!

How would you rate the food quality? Great. Everything was cooked to perfection. Of course, in the interest of leaving a fair and balanced review I had to taste the DS's food which was as good as ours.

How would you rate the new kids menu? What did your child choose? A really varied menu with lots of choice. DSs both had the burger, and DS1 had the lolly and DS2 had the profitteroles- a BIG hit!

What about the food for adults? Pate and camembert to start, duck for me and beef bouginon for DH and we shared the banana chocolate torte- which was amazing!

What was the best part about your experience? See below.

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming? The staff were lovely and so welcoming. Especially the manager (?). She was so attentive towards the boys which was so nice to see, especially from the minute you step inside a restaurant.

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

And lastly, would you go again? It was quite pricey (£70 and we didn't drink alcohol) so not with the kids as a regular meal out. Perhaps with the kids on a birthday but DH and I will definitely return (and I will NOT be sharing the chocolate and banana torte!)

Thank you very much for selecting us for this product test HQ

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

Canterbury, Wednesday 12th at 13.30.

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

Have not been before and found it very friendly and good service. The crayons were a bit pants though as they kept snapping.

How would you rate the food quality?

Food was lovely

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

There was a great choice on the kids menu. Dd chose the bangers and mash which she really enjoyed.

What about the food for adults?

I was pleasantly surprised by the choice as i don't usually like french food. I had burger and frites and dh had beef bourguignon. The portion sizes were good and we both enjoyed our meals.

What was the best part about your experience?

My burger

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?

The service was good. When we ordered dds dessert they didn't have smarties although they were advertised on the menu, staff were very apologetic for this and offered an alternative.

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

I didn't, i've always assumed the Cafe Rouge wouldn't be child friendly.

And lastly, would you go again?

Absolutely.

Which Café Rouge location did you visit and at what time of day/ day of week? Greenwich today at 2 with ds 8 and 12 and daughter 21
Generally - how did you find Café Rouge as a place to visit with the family? very family friendly provided colouring for ds 8 and nice spacious seating area not too busy
How would you rate the food quality? food quality was excellent everything was fresh and tasty
How would you rate the new kids menu? What did your child choose?
kids menu was very good value the boys had bread and salad sticks to start macaroni cheese and chocolate crepes. they really enjoyed it and chocolate milkshake too. there was plenty of food and they were full up!
What about the food for adults?
i had half chicken and chips which was delicious. my daughter 21 is vegetarian/vegan so it was more difficult for her to chose. she had tomato pasta from the children menu and sides of chips and green beans with bread to start. it was very good but she suggested may be they should do adults pasta on the menu.
What was the best part about your experience? it was all very nice the waiter was friendly and helpful particularly with my daughters choice of food it was no problem
How about service: was it friendly and welcoming? service was very good waiter was attentive and food was served quickly
Did you know Café Rouge did a kids menu prior to this? no we have not been there as a family before. i was suprised how good it was
And lastly, would you go again?definately
thank you mumsnet and Cafe Rouge for the opportunity the food was delicious cant wait to go again

Which Café Rouge location did you visit and at what time of day/ day of week?
Visited Solihull restuarant on Thursday 13th August at 1.30pm

Generally - how did you find Café Rouge as a place to visit with the family?
Even though the restaurant was busy and I had only emailed to book the day before everything was set up for us, our party was 3 adults including our overseas visitor and 2 children aged 5 and 1.

How would you rate the food quality?
From the food we had seemed good,

How would you rate the new kids menu? What did your child choose?
Menu has good choice of drinks, mains and desserts however would have liked a choice for starter. Was a nice touch that even though only my older child was ordering from the kids menu our waitress brought over two children starters which my 1 year old enjoyed nibbling on. 5 year ordered chicken goujons and chips and ice lolly dessert. Was surprised that the frites were salted for children would have preferred option to add own.

What about the food for adults?
Only looked at the lunch specials menu which had a good selection. The 3 adults in the party each had the two courses - starter and main. All food was lovely although needed more baguette with the pate.

What was the best part about your experience?
Receiving 2 starters for both children even though only ordering 1 kids menu. Lovely having a meal we didn't have to pay for.

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?
Service was great, waitress attentive and helpful

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

And lastly, would you go again?
Yes probably

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

My DH and myself visited Café Rouge Leamington Spa on Friday evening (14 August) at 6 pm. It didn't start well as they had no booking for me, nor any idea that they would have more than one Mumsnet customer visit per week (and they already had one booked in for Sunday). Despite this confusion, after going through all the emails with them they recovered well. We were offered a lovely table, and a very warm welcome.

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

It was excellent. The cleanliness was better than a lot of restaurants, the ambience was relaxed but formal so I felt that I was having a special occasion. I hate the fact that some 'family friendly' restaurants make me feel the same way as I feel in a soft play centre.

How would you rate the food quality?

It was absolutely excellent. The kids starters were great. Soooo much better than Pizza Express. The children had burgers which were great. My twins are older (10) but the children's menu offered portions which were large enough to satisfy even their growing appetites. I had the superfood salad (with a side order of frites just in case you thought I was being healthy), which was amazing. My husband had steak which he loved.

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

The children's menu was perfect for my two. Not too challenging but still a little bit different. They had burgers and frites, with crepes and ice cream for dessert. The only negative comment I would make is that the children's drinks were very small! A free refill would have been a nice touch. I'm not complaining though - the children's menus were absolutely excellent.

What about the food for adults?

I am vegetarian and I don't eat fish, and I am allergic to goats cheese! Given these constraints, I was slightly limited on what I could order - but I loved the superfood salad and frites I had. My husband really enjoyed his steak and frites. I had the trio of desserts for afters, which was amazing. I will probably have dreams in the future about that lemon tarte! My husband had the chocolate ganache which, again, we will probably return just to re-sample!

What was the best part about your experience?

The food.

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?

Service was very very warm and welcoming and felt very genuine. We eat out a lot (a lot more than we can probably afford), and I can't remember the last restaurant where the service was this good. It was friendly, quick (but not rushed) and attentive, without being intrusive.

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

I did know but I don't remember it ever being such a good experience.

And lastly, would you go again

Can I go tomorrow? I would never have thought of going out to dinner at Café Rouge and this experience has completely changed that view. I will definitely be back.... Thank you so much to Mumsnet and Café Rouge for such a generous, subsidised evening out!!

oops, above, it should say my DH, my 10 year old twins and myself visited Café Rouge Leamington! Sorry, combination of lemon tarte, tiredness and merlot.

Which Café Rouge location did you visit and at what time of day/ day of week?
We visited Haywards Heath branch on a Friday evening at 6pm.

Generally - how did you find Café Rouge as a place to visit with the family?
Really good, my son was very happy with his balloon and the crayon stick was an excellent idea better than the large pack of crayons you get elsewhere that just end up broken and all over the floor.

How would you rate the food quality?
Very good and nicely cooked.

How would you rate the new kids menu? What did your child choose?
my son is two and a half so i only gave him the options i wanted him to choose else he would have gone for chips! he had the starter which he enjoyed, asking for extra bread, the poulet Ooh la la, chicken with new potatoes and veg. He followed that with the ice lolly. He didnt manage all of his main meal, as others said they were big for toddlers but probably fine for older children. I was disappointed with the drink selection, they were a bit sugary so he had water with his meal and a glass of milk later.

What about the food for adults?
I had the warm chicken salad, which was excellent and really filling. OH had the half chicken and chips & Grandma & Grandad both had the chicken in the leek sauce. We were all really pleased with our meals and thought the quality was good. I would have like them to come with veg though and not have to pay extra.

What was the best part about your experience?
Going out to somewhere more grown up that still catered for children, plus not having to cook and wash up on a Friday night!

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming? The service was excellent i couldnt fault it at all. They were great with my little boy and very friendly generally without being over the top.
Did you know Café Rouge did a kids menu prior to this? No i didnt and i thought it was really good value and much healthier that some
And lastly, would you go again?
Yes definitely, we enjoyed it and the service was good.

ooh forgot to add thank you so much for the opportunity to try the menu and have a night out with the family :)

Which Café Rouge location did you visit and at what time of day/ day of week?
We visited Solihull on Wednesday lunchtime

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

How would you rate the food quality?
Food quality was good

How would you rate the new kids menu? What did your child choose?
I thought it was fairly good & the croque Monsieur my DD had was lovely. I thought the starter was not so good, more choice would have been nice & the tomato dip seemed like tinned tomatoes. Personally, I felt that whilst the choices all sounded nice, they were quite ordinary, DD would have loved mussels or something more adventurous. Also, DD is nearly 10 & I felt the menu was aimed at younger children.

What about the food for adults?
Teenage DS & I had baguettes, his with Sauscisson & mine with steak, both of these were lovely.

What was the best part about your experience?
Eating out for free! It made school shoes shopping bearable!!

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?
Yes, the waitress was attentive. She did get our drink order muddled up & said she'd got 3 orders open at that time & I felt this was irrelevant. When we ordered refills she said they'd run out of glasses & we had to wait a few minutes! It was busy- but not packed so this seemed a bit strange.

Did you know Café Rouge did a kids menu prior to this?
Not really, I'd sort of presumed they did something but hadn't really investigated.

And lastly, would you go again?
Yes probably, however I wouldn't expect DD to eat from the children's menu as I feel she'd enjoy more adventurous choices next time.

Which Café Rouge location did you visit and at what time of day/ day of week?
We visited the Café Rouge at the Trafford Centre, Manchester, for lunch on Wed 12th August.
Generally - how did you find Café Rouge as a place to visit with the family?
It was friendly and pleasant.
How would you rate the food quality?
Lovely. All cooked fresh and served quickly.
How would you rate the new kids menu? What did your child choose?
The new kids menu was more extensive than I remember previously. Our kids, aged 2, 5, & 8 chose Macaroni cheese, chicken goujons and frites, and sausage and mash. The food was fresh, well cooked and nicely presented. The icecream was lovely quality.
What about the food for adults?
We chose the same as each other, avocado and bacon salad, chicken escalope and frites with salad. It was well cooked and presented.
What was the best part about your experience?
The children were made very welcome.
How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?
Yes.
Did you know Café Rouge did a kids menu prior to this?
Yes.
And lastly, would you go again
We would.

Thank you for our little outing.

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

Blackheath, at 7pm on a Friday (daughter is six years old, and fairly well behaved, and an occasional late night gives us a lie-in the next day!)

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

It was a little bit difficult to gauge how family friendly it would be normally, as we went on a rainy Friday night.

I noted there's a baby changing table in the loos, along with nice plants, soap and hand lotion, so there's been some thought put into little touches.

How would you rate the food quality?

Good. We all enjoyed our meals.

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

I think the menu had a good variation; though many of the meals were standard sausage/chicken/pasta/burger, there were some more interesting choices available. The starter of cucumber, carrots and bread went down very well (possibly too well).

For the main course she chose a burger and chips - there was no talking her out of this. The portion size was pretty massive, and she couldn't manage any of the burger bun at all! It would have been a bit more manageable on a full sized plate. My husband tried a bit of the burger and said it was a bit too charred. The fries were lovely though.

I was impressed with the choice of deserts on the children's menu. Again there was no talking her out of strawberry ice cream, with marshmallows (her favourite part of the meal). Apparently the icecream had 'crunchy bits' in it, but I wasn't granted a taste.

She had a Sprite to drink, which she's only allowed in restaurants. The portion size was fairly small, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing - sometimes we ask for a small lemonade, and she's given such a large glass it sends her completely loopy! It's also served in a plastic glass, which is less of a concern than having to keep an eye on her tipping over a glass glass.

What about the food for adults?

We shared a garlic bread to start - lovely presentation, piping hot, and nice flavour. My husband then had steak and frites with garlic butter, and extra green beans on the side. I had sea bass, which came with potatoes, sugar snap peas and olives. We both enjoyed our meals.

Afterwards I had the trio of deserts, which were all delicious. Husband had tarte tatin, which he says could have been 'a bit flakier and crunchier and more caramalised' (he managed to eat it all though!).

We may also have had some wine and beer...

What was the best part about your experience?

For me, the deserts. For husband, the bread and beer. For daughter, the marshmallows. Oh, and the colour-in placemat/puzzle sheet and crayon - it's the most entertained I've seen her with one of these in a restaurant, and all three of us like a word-search!

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?

Very much so. There was a little bit of confusion where we arrived - I think they'd saved us the best table, then when we arrive decided we weren't us after all; quickly changed their minds and gave us a not-quite-so-good table table.

The staff were efficient, and very friendly. Daughter was given a little French lesson, and was happy to talk to the lovely waiters. They even seemed amused at her VERY lifelike toy rat she likes to place next to her plate.

The bill arrived without the MN discount, which was quickly sorted out.

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

No, but I would have guessed that they would.

And lastly, would you go again?

Yes. It would be a good choice for a family meal. I'd like to try breakfast or lunch in their lovely garden, if we have any more nice summer weekends.
Thanks Mumsnet and Café Rouge.

Oooh, we went today but I am too tired to post, so I shall review it later!

Thank you very much for choosing us, DH, DS (4) and I visited Cafe Rouge in Wokingham for lunch today.

Generally - how did you find Café Rouge as a place to visit with the family?
It made a nice change, it was a bit more "grown up" than places we usually try with DS and felt like a treat without being one of those places you have to keep shushing!

How would you rate the food quality?
Really good, DH and I ate there quite a lot before DS so knew it was good for us, we were pleasantly surprised about the quality of Ds' food, everything was very fresh and quite balanced.

How would you rate the new kids menu? What did your child choose?
The kids menu was great, DS had the starter (no choice), fishcake and then strawberry icecream. I felt the starter was a bit big (Ds isn't a huge eater) and just a bit less of everything would be good (he basically filled up on bread before his more nutritious main meal). The fishcake was lovely, great quality and I was pleased that it came with peas and sweetcorn as well as chips (which wasn't reflected on the menu). Again the main course was a little big, a few less chips were needed. The strawberry ice cream looked great (i wasn't offered a taste!).

What about the food for adults?
Lovely, as always. We shared the deep-fried mussels to start with, which were a revelation, I then had the salmon croque and DH had the rib eye. We shared a tarte tatin for pudding which was amazing. Everything was fresh, hot and very nice.

What was the best part about your experience?
Being somewhere a little nicer and more sedate that still welcomed children and DS being able to have a relatively healthy (and definitely good quality) meal out. Oh and we loved their crayons and colouring in menu, both far better than usual.

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?
Yes, super friendly. They offered to bring food for DS as soon as ready. If anything their service was a bit efficient for the size of food they were giving him, I think they expected a quicker table turnaround (we didn't feel rushed though) but the starter definitely took him longer than they were expecting.

Did you know Café Rouge did a kids menu prior to this?
I assumed there was something for kids but I didn't expect it to be this good.

And lastly, would you go again?
Absolutely, we had a great time.

Thank you again!

Which Café Rouge location did you visit and at what time of day/ day of week?
Salisbury – 1830hrs Saturday 14th August 2014. I went with DH and my two young children (4 and 2.5) – Friday night treat!

Generally - how did you find Café Rouge as a place to visit with the family?
I would not have normally considered Cafe Rouge for a place to visit with the children. When I have walked by the restaurant it screams adults or older kids only, definitely not young children. However, When I approached the restaurant last night I could see a table prepared with a balloon and other children eating at some of the other tables and this instantly put me at ease. I did love the fact that we could at last go to a seemingly adult restaurant with our kids and not been put in the corner and stared at with alarm by the staff or customers!

How would you rate the food quality?
All the food we have brought to us was fresh, correctly cooked and well presented.

How would you rate the new kids menu? What did your child choose?
There were little menus on our table which the kids liked looking at. My DD (4) loved the crudities and scoffed them all down (although she did not like the tomato dip, too rich for her). My DS (2.5) scoffed down the bread but needed a little more encouragement for the cucumber etc (typical 2yo) but he did eat them in the end. As a parent I loved the little starter and thought it was a great way to get them eating some healthy fresh food before the main event arrived.
DD chose the chicken Goujons and the overall feeling was ‘Wow, that is a big plate of food’, however, I would prefer my child to be full and leave some rather than being left hungry! When asked if she enjoyed the food, she said she loved the frites the most (not a surprise). My DS had the tomato pasta and I was a little disappointed, I thought there might be more to it than just pasta and tomato sauce. I would have like to see some more vegetables within the pasta and maybe an option for some meat. He got bored of the food quite quickly and we were feeding him from food off our plates to give him some variety and meat. I would not order this again for him. I also noted that there was no cutlery for younger kids, my DD was fine at four but my DS was really struggling which meant I have to physically feed him, leaving my food to get cold.
My DD was most excited about the prospect of pudding and when presented with the choices, she shouted pancakes. The pancakes did not disappoint and with a chocolate smile she rated her pudding 5 out of 5 and the best thing about her meal!
My DS had an ice lolly and this was pretty standard fare, with no complaints.
I thought the menu choices were good and covered most tastes. I was disappointed with the refills of small glass of apple juice costing 75p, I would have liked to see refills as part of the price. However, on checking my bill I noted that I was not charged with the additional drink my children had, so maybe this needs to be clarified.

What about the food for adults?
Both me an my DH loved the food we have. DH had a Rib Eye Steak with snail and garlic butter, whereas I had the mussels with frites. The food was good, enjoyed and we both said we would be happy to pay the price for good freshly cooked food. However, I noted that every little extra had an extra cost, which I found a little off putting. The bread starter (which was just bread and butter) and the sauce for the steak which I would expect as part of any good restaurant experience, was an extra charge and although I realise that I had a significant discount on my food, for future visits this would sour my experience a little (Ryan Air dining?).

What was the best part about your experience?
Being able to dine out with my kids for an evening meal, in an adult restaurant (grown up food) but in a kid friendly atmosphere. The table next to us, commented on how lovely it was to see the kids out dining with us.
When you become a parent thee is an expectation that you have to give up some of the activities enjoyed pre children including dining out at anywhere apart from Mcdonalds! When I have visited countries abroad, they have the exact opposite attitude and children are regularly seeing dining out late with the parents in lovely restaurants (this is accepted and encouraged). I love the fact that Cafe Rouge has adopted this European approach to family dining.

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?
Waitress was lovely (loved the fact that she was French!) DS had a balloon to keep him occupied, which he proceeded to hit anyone that walked past us with. Staff were very attentive but not overbearing which was great.
Got us everything we needed when asked. I was a little disappointed there was no activities for the kids, I have seen that others had this and so maybe they had non left but would have liked to have something to keep DS distracted (2 is a tough age!).
We were not rushed (I have experience this when going to restaurants with kids before) and food was brought out in good time. Overall we were there for around 2 hours.

Did you know Café Rouge did a kids menu prior to this?
No, I would not have even thought about CR as a kids options until I saw this on MN.

And lastly, would you go again?
Yes, whilst I was there I saw a menu for lunch and would like to try that out some time soon. Thank you for letting me and my family take part in this trial, we had a lovely evening and look forward to seeing you all again.

We're booked in for Thursday. An after swimming treat. Looking forward to it.

Which Café Rouge location did you visit and at what time of day/ day of week?
Dorking, Friday at 6pm with husband and 9 year old twins.

Generally - how did you find Café Rouge as a place to visit with the family
Lovely. Cafe Rouge has a more 'grown up' feel than some of the places we go as a family and the French on the children's menu added to this. It was a shame that the children were given plastic cups and tiny knives and forks just because they were ordering from the children's menu, but we asked for these to be changed and the staff were very helpful in doing so.

How would you rate the food quality?
Excellent. Everything very fresh, hot and tasty. Very generous portions.

How would you rate the new kids menu? What did your child choose?
It was a bit odd that there was no choice of starter on the children's menu. DS doesn't like butter so didn't really fancy the starter. I shared a starter from the adult menu with him instead. DD really liked the starter and ate all of it.
DD had the burger followed by profiteroles. DD had the chicken goujons followed by ice cream and marshmallows. DD's burger looked delicious and freshly cooked, but was a bit big for her. She doesn't have a particularly big appetite though. Both children thoroughly enjoyed mains and puddings. DS particularly liked the option to have extras with his ice cream.

What about the food for adults?
Excellent. I had mussels and my husband had steak. I had tarte tartin to follow and DH had crème brulee. Everything was delicious and the mussels were some of the best I've had anywhere. Service was incredibly quick and extremely friendly throughout.

What was the best part about your experience?
The lovely atmosphere. We all felt very relaxed.

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?
Excellent. Couldn't fault it.

Did you know Café Rouge did a kids menu prior to this?
Yes, we've been to Café Rouge before with the children, but not for some time.

And lastly, would you go again?
Definitely, we'll be going soon!

Thank you so much to Café Rouge and Mumsnet for choosing us and giving us a lovely treat

Which Café Rouge location did you visit and at what time of day/ day of week?
We visited Solihull today (Saturday) at 5:30pm.

Generally - how did you find Café Rouge as a place to visit with the family?
It was very nice, very child friendly and seemed to have a nice atmosphere.

How would you rate the food quality?
Most was lovely but our main was awful.

How would you rate the new kids menu? What did your child choose?
Dd (3) had the pesto pasta and ice cream which we asked for chocolate sauce with. The bread was lovely; fresh and warm. We tried the pesto and it was very nice.

What about the food for adults?
Both DP and I are veggie so there wasn't a huge amount of choice for us (3 items, one a salad). All of the options were very unimaginative (butternut squash risotto, goats cheese tart, and salad) and I would have expected more from Cafe Rouge. I was disappointed that I was being charged £3 more a dish for the same food I could get at my local pub!
The bread platter was lovely; fresh and warm with a good selection of breads. The olive spread was beautiful.
The main course was awful though. We both had the butternut squash risotto but I there were only 5 slim pieces of butternut squash in mine and only 3 in DPs. The risotto itself was very creamy and it would have been lovely had it not been spoiled by the amount of chives in the dish. It completely overpowered every other taste. I don't mind chives and quite like them in the right dish, but after a few bites I couldn't bring myself to eat anymore. I normally love butternut squash risotto, so I was really looking forward to this dish. I was really disappointed, this is only the second dish I have ever not been able to eat in a restaurant. I complained to the waitress who apologised but didn't make any effort to rectify the problem. I'd have thought she would have at least called the manager over.
Luckily I had ordered a side of chips for the table so I ate those instead (thigh still had to make myself a meal when I got home as I didn't eat my main) These were lovely, some of the nicest I've ever had which DP agreed with. We decided against dessert as DD was getting tired. Instead I ordered a hot chocolate, which was very nice.

What was the best part about your experience?
Having a family meal out together, something we can't normally afford. Thank you Mumsnet and Cafe Rouge.

How about service: was it friendly and welcoming?
It was, especially the first waitress we had who just lit up the room and had all of her customers laughing and smiling with her.

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

And lastly, would you go again?
The kids menu was great, as was the service for the most part. But unless the vegetarian offerings get better, we won't be back.

Thank you so much for the opportunity Mumsnet and Cafe Rouge.

*though - not thigh!