How to take a 1 year old to a restaurant?

[2020newmum]

My DS will be 12 months old by the time our local restaurants and pubs reopen. How on earth do you take a baby that age to a restaurant for lunch? We’ve only been a few times before and he was very little so just napped in his pram.

I assume I’ll definitely need to go somewhere where they have high chairs and time it so our lunch coincides with his regular meal time and he eats with us.

At the moment he has home-cooked food for every meal - I could take a tub along in a cool bag but how would I heat it up? Or can he have restaurant food by that age - but what if they don’t have a children’s menu?

Should I take his own bowl and spoon or do restaurants have those for babies?

Should I also take wipes in case he drops loads of food on the floor?

What else do I need to consider?

You can get fold out booster seats and bamboo bamboo do plates with actual working suction. They fasten to the table and god it made life easier. Loved going out with my at the time one year old however she's going to be nearly 3 when things lift here and she's about to become a big sister. What did I do?! Hahah

I remember this well as DS especially was a challenge at that age in a restaurant. This is what we used to do:

Go to pizza express. Even now (and he is 13) I won’t go to pizza express if I don’t have school with me, as I went so much when he was little. Unlike a change.

Look at the menu online before you go and decide what you’ll eat. Then order at the same time as you are being seated.

When the food arrives, ask for the bill at the same time.

Pay either in cash (you may not be able to now) or if possible, pay remotely (I know you can in Wagamama).

Don’t have expectations of a leisurely lunch. You are going for the variety and to be fed!

As long as it's a family-friendly place then just relax and enjoy. Please avoid anywhere that doesn't have children's menu and high chairs on display though -
Yes a bit stressful trying to keep him quiet (banging on the table) saying WOW at everything very loudly. It was so cute though
No, a thousand times no! Other diners don't want this unless the place is full of noisy families.

My theory usually is that if they don’t have a children’s menu then they don’t really want children there.

Yep.

Also, if it's anything like last time the pubs opened you have to be seated at all times, so if your kid decides to go for a wander the staff might not like it.

Don't sweat it. Before we locked down again we took our one year old DS about once a week. Mainly places like Harvester. Take a little bowl, give them a bit of what you're eating and just relax. They have to learn to eat in those environments. We always smile sweetly and ask for a dust pan and brush at the end.

Just don't. It's too stressful.

Between the ages of 1 and 3 we basically stopped eating out. So much more hassle than it was worth

Take Snacks as toddlers get hangry. I'd share my food or get them a starter like pitta and hummus but take their own suction plate with me to stick to the table for less mess. It's an ordeal honestly.

I can see why you're overthinking this as it must be quite daunting to have not had a chance to gradually build up to this like you would have done normally. And I imagine the significance of actually being able to eat out will mean that you want a chance to sit down and enjoy your meal yourself.
For the first trip, I recommend a chain restaurant and going outside peak service time so it's a bit quieter and you'll get your food faster (not usually a problem with a baby as I seem to recall mine had lunch about 11.45/12.00 anyway). When you book a table, tell them you want a high chair and your table will be set up with one.
At that age, I mainly took food for the DC but we might order some bread and they'd have some of that and then various bits off each of our plates depending on what we'd ordered. For the DC, my plan was always to keep them eating as long as possible so they'd have a tub of blueberries or raisins or something else which they ate one by one - but which didn't make a massive mess if spilled.
Take a bib, your own cutlery, drink cup etc. A few toys for them to do that the table. Wipes ... all the wipes! You might need to wipe down the high chair before you start (although I rarely did) and you'll definitely need to wipe it down afterwards and possibly the floor. With the floor, if there were big bits (sandwich crusts type stuff) in easy reach, we'd clear it up but otherwise we tended to leave a larger than usual tip and leave it to the waiting staff who had a dustpan and brush and could actually reach it.
If you're lucky, you'll find yourself near a table with kids who like pulling faces at yours and keeping them distracted that way or someone who sees your baby start crying just as your food arrives and steps in to give them a cuddle or play peek a boo. I've paid that forward a few times as I am still so grateful to the people who did that for us a couple of times.
My general theory was that, as long as they were quiet and not disturbing anyone else, we were fine. We'd always try and get a table in the corner so there was a bit more space and they could stand up and move around a bit but without getting in anyone else's way. As they got a bit older, by a window was good and then we'd give them important jobs like looking out for buses or counting the number of dogs they saw.
Both of our DC were fairly placid and have always enjoyed being in restaurants. I know friends with livelier kids who just avoided restaurants from the age of 1 - 3 as it was just too much like hard work.

I found age 1 lovey for eating out as they were happy to sit in a high chair, have snacks and play with the (admittedly huge) selection of toys I brought with me. By about 2.5 it was much more difficult to get them to sit still.
I think it's important to get young children used to eating out. Yes it's not as relaxing for you and you have to be on entertaining duty and prepared to take them outside if needed but it's worth it.

In case my post sounded really sanctimonious, there have been a few occasions where it has gone wrong and DH or I have spent most of the meal taking it in turns to be outside with a grumpy child.

Plate of pasta and babycino.

I would stick to places with children’s menus. You know what you’re getting as do other diners. My heart always sinks when I go to a nice non child friendly restaurant and someone brings little ones in. I just wouldn’t want to disturb other diners. People are much more tolerant in the child friendly places. There’s going to be a lot of first experiences for a lot of children once this whole shot show is over that’s for sure.

Good luck op.

Toby carvery was always a good call for us. At that age they would just give us an extra plate, no charge.

My DD will be 1 in a few weeks and I was thinking about how it works with eating out when we are allowed.... to be honest, it sounds more faff that it’s worth! Might stick to picnics in the park if the weather is nice

Places like Pizza Express, Zizzis, family pubs with food, Harvester are made for families. Most have crayon, high chairs, kids menus etc and if you go at 12pm then they are full of families doing the same thing.

A Michelin star restaurant in the evening? Get a babysitter.

Another vote for Italian, preferably family run. Grumpy babies / small children often get a tour of the kitchen or taken to look out the window.

Also small cafes can be good.

I have good memories of eating out with my brother's children, who are now all adults.

I went to a lot of restaurants with my two when they were babies oh and until the world shut down. They are now 6 and 8. It can go badly it can go well and everything in between but to me it’s far better than cooking at home for every meal.

So yes - make sure it’s a place with a high chair even if it’s just for when you are eating. Food off your plate at that age is fine. And maybe order a side dish if they’re big eaters. Always bring a sippy cup of water, favourite pram toys or books. Bib if you have one. Be prepared to have to take it in turns to eat, especially if the child has learned to walk! But otherwise enjoy! Oh I would always give the floor a quick check to see if it needed our attention if it it was hideous.

Definitely over thinking. It isn't compulsory, take all the things you usually take with you. Offer some food from your meal, go somewhere relaxed so you don't feel too stressed.

We took DS out even younger than that a couple of times. He's 15 months now. I found the harvester kids menu pretty good. Grilled chicken and veg. He also likes Nando's...

Now and again I don't see the harm. As far as chucking food at the floor I just made sure I picked it up before we left. I take his cup that he drinks from and ask for tap water. It was good fun.

1 is ok as they're normally contained in the high chair. We used to have a little folding plastic booster seat with a tray (the Summer Infant one) which we'd take to avoid having to faff about with finding a high chair and cleaning it (they're normally filthy!).

Take your own 'picnic' for them in a lunch box. Take things which take a while to eat...cereal, tiny cubes of apple and cheese etc. Then they can just pick at those while you have lunch. Don't give them their food before yours arrives.

We had a 'restaurant toy' that we tied to the highchair (it was often thrown) and which DS was given before the food arrived. It changed over time, but at age one, I think it was a little crinkly book or something like that. Something soft, with a loop, that didn't make too much noise. When DS was older, we used to take one of those little pillows with lots of different buckles for him to do while we ate and that kept him busy for ages.

I'd say give it a go and don't have high expectations. Wipes definitely!

I think you're worrying too much about this. You don't need to coincide your lunch with your baby's. If your baby eats earlier, feed them at their usual time; if they eat later, take along a few pots of food they usually like to eat, plus a toy and a book for them to play with. (Like you, I always made my baby's food from scratch. If we were going out, i would just take his usual food along with me e.g. cooked salmon / chicken, fruit salad, carrots to gnaw on if they're teething. If he wanted to, I always let him share whatever I was eating when we went out.)

If you're in northern Europe, you'll have no problem getting a high chair or having staff warm up baby food / milk for you. In the UK, it's more hit and miss. To be honest, for a first time eating out, it's unlikely you'll be out that long - you won't make it through a three course meal for example, unless your little one is asleep.

No, you don't need to take your own child's bowl and spoon. They can feed themselves finger food out of a lunchbox. If they need a spoon to eat, they won't do much damage using a teaspoon from the restaurant.

Yes, take wipes. Here is what I usually took in a small bag when I went out each day:

• small toy
• book
• snacks
• water / milk (ready made formula)
• milk bottle
• wipes
• muslin
• a couple of nappies
• nappy cream
• changing mat
• spare change of baby clothes

I found it only possible in places where they could get up and have a potter, which is not really the done thing just now. Literally impossible when I had 2 toddlers; just an awful experience. I left in tears more than once, then gave up.

Don't go anywhere that isn't obviously child friendly - particularly when establishments have been shut so long, in nice places, people will get arsey. They did before covid, so they definitely will now...

Take many snacks and also feed them from your plate. Take wipes (though one would hope the highchairs might be properly cleaned between use now, they are traditionally often grim). If your child is not food focussed (DS loved food, DD couldn't give a toss), just don't bother as it will be horrible for both of you.

We don't/ didn't really bother but the odd time we did, we tried to go to places with a garden or even better seats outside, as others have said the earliest lunch booking slot is good too as kiddy lunchtime is a bit too early for many people. But we generally don't bother with anywhere sit down properly as I don't think we'd enjoy it. The having to takeaway and sit outside at the country parks and things actually worked out well for us last year and meant there were loads more places doing it than there have been in the past!