What makes a family friendly pub? Share and you could win £100 NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

As part of the Mumsnet Family Friendly Programme we'd love to know what you think makes a family friendly pub and to name any pubs in your local area which you believe have a great family friendly environment.

Here's what Carrie Longton, co-founder of Mumsnet says "we all know you can have a great family time in your local - but also that it can often be disappointing. We'd love to know what's good and not so good in your local pub - or even about one you discovered on holiday!"

So how do you think pubs could be more family friendly? Should they include a nutritious family friendly menu? Maybe there should be adequate baby changing facilities in the bathrooms? Perhaps slot machines should be replaced with a toy chest for younger children? How about older children - how would you like to see them catered for in pubs? What about customer service - how important is this? Would well-insulated outdoor areas do it for you? What do you NOT want to see?

We'd also love to hear what local pubs you think have a really good family friendly environment. Please state their name, and location (town or village) where they're situated.

Add your views (and pubs!) and you'll be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £100 Amazon voucher!

Click here to learn more about companies who are working to make the UK a more family friendly place

Thanks and good luck
MNHQ

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DS is 8 months so the main thing I look for is somewhere with enough space and noise that we won't be disturbing anyone else's meal if he gets a bit cross.

I like to be able to get slightly smaller versions of adult meals rather than just chips and other beige food. A nice garden is also a bonus

Definitely a good outdoor play area but also the option of plastic plates and small cutlery. Hate the fear of over excited toddler smashing their (roasting hot) plates!

I think a pub is family if there are enough place to sit down, the food options consider children (menu or less spicy meals wit possible half portion), the toilets are clean, in good condition (a changing place/table is also a good point), and it is also good if the service is quite quick (children are sometimes could be sooo hungry). An ultimate bonus is a colouring page with some crayons or pub quiz for the youngsters?

Indoor/outdoor play area with good lines of sight so you can supervise from a distance - I'm not a fan of separate rooms with a small ball pool where I end up spending the whole time in there to make sure the kids are behaving.

Good kids food options that go beyond x and chips (not that I object to x and chips, but that's not always what's wanted so other options are good).

Clean accessible baby change facilities, and decent highchairs where the safety straps are present and functional and don't need an engineering degree to work out how to use them.

A good menu with healthy options, clean changing facilities, patient staff who aren't pressuring you to hurry up and somewhere you aren't judged for making a bit of noise

a nice kids menu and a good play area

I recently visited the Pipe Major, Rainham its a Theakston pub and restaurant. This is a newly built restaurant/pub and I was keen to visit as it always looked lovely outside. It has a secure play area for children where parents can see the children whilst they play there is a seating area outside also. My ds is 14 so he avoids childrens areas now but in this place its always busy. They do special menus for children plus it has a carvery where you can have small medium or large. there is something for all tastes. Weekends are always very busy. We went on a weekday about 6pm and it was just right. The food was lovely and the staff were very friendly. They do a curry night from 5pm on a Wednesday where you get a curry and drink for £7.99, from what I saw it looked quite nice. They can cater for large families as they had some long tables.

Not a play centre bit- I've never been to a pub like this that I would describe as classy.

Outdoor play area is nice.

Indoor and outdoor play area (not soft play but an area for colouring etc) that is easily in view of all tables and no swings

Comfy sofas
Dogs allowed
Outside play area
no swearing every three words

Gated small play area with colours, few toys etc.
Quick service and table service.

Dog friendly inside, beer garden, a good mix of food from different foods, not just burger and chips for the kids. Decent wine.

Somewhere which isn't too echoey and loud.
Somewhere with a good range of food, not just nuggets and sausages- healthy choices like fish (unbattered) or risotto or grilled chicken.

Ideally with some activity sheet for them with word search/puzzles and colouring and plenty of crayons so they don't fight over two sad stubby browns!

And quick service.

Choice of high chairs so younger children can have one with attached tray rather than losing all the food from the journey table to mouth.

Small toys or books that they can take to the table to play with until the food arrives

V small meals for under 3s. Don't want to pay £6 for a large meal when DD at 2 may not eat any of it anyway. And no pudding included as standard.

Childrens cutlery and small cups

Not a pub but Woburn sands frosts garden centre has child corner with some robust attached toys which is great til food arrives.

If providing a climbing frame ideally one without open sides high up so they can't throw themselves off when you've got distracted by the food arriving.

Crayons and paper, no colouring pencils. Two sizes of portions on the child's meal. Agreeing to halve an adult portion in the kitchen so the child doesn't think they don't have their own meal. A quiet hand dryer that isn't triggered by a toddler walking under it. A sink they can reach. Clean highchairs and prompt offering and arrival of high chair. Child cutlery. Taking the wineglass off the table in front of them. Not putting a lit candle in front of them. Not putting nuclear hot food directly in front of a toddler. Offering to get the child's food as soon as it's ready. Not saying the words ice cream in front of the child. Not putting full glasses of water in front of a child.

Such simple things but really all of them avert disaster. It can be really stressful to eat out, and it makes all the difference to know the venue has thought about what works and the staff are clued up.

Living in Scotland its rare to find a pub that allows children!!

No gimmicks - I like a pub to feel like a pub not a childrens playground.

My kids are a little bit older now but things that would have made a positive difference when they were babies and toddlers would be decent baby changing accessible to both mums and dads and a low level sink in the toilets.

Nowadays I like a bit of outdoor space. Also, if I'm out with my db and his partner, we're often found with 8 kids in tow so I like it if a pub will serve us a couple of jugs of cordial instead of buying expensive fizzy drinks, which sometimes get knocked over. Strangely, it's often the old fashioned boozers who are more likely to do this.

For toddlers/ preschoolers-

Highchairs
Child friendly cups / bowls / cutlery
colouring in supplies or other entertainment at the table
Bring the kids' food first - don't make them wait longer than necessary

Large sofas, low chairs and coffee tables, for breastfeeders and small children. There's a large Wetherspoons in Wimbledon we often meet other families in as can take over a large corner for an afternoon, kids can play without disturbing others, and there's a range of food. Basics like plain chips or bread need to be available.

Pub near me is meant to appeal to all but since a re-model it's no longer friendly to my family - the gate from the beer garden used to be emergency exit only, now is open to a main road, so can't go there. And they do burgers and little other food, so the only chips are curly spicy fries. Used to go at least once a month for kids to have some juice and mini cheddars, now never.

The thing I want most is a gated family area with a regularly cleaned floor. DD wants to crawl/cruise around rather than sit waiting so i pick places where she can do so safely.

Healthy pudding options on the kids menu would also be good, like a piece of fruit or a yoghurt. Also basic options like a ham or cheese sandwich.

Enclosed outdoor play area - could just be a field so long as you can let the kids run safely and sit somewhere you can see them. Outdoor area that is non-smoking. Kids menu that caters for special diets.

Ooh, where to start??
A pub that will do smaller versions of the main meals for kids, so we aren't stuck with a children's menu of something & chips & beans because they will eat some salad or veg if it's on the plate.
Extra space if the pub has it is brilliant, more space between tables or an outdoor space with some basic play stuff - one of our favourites has a beer garden with a pirate ship ( some bits of wood knocked together with a flag on top) in it.
An activity sheet - word search, colouring in - with pencils or crayons.
But THE most important thing for us... welcoming staff. Not tolerant staff but genuinely welcoming staff as in - yes we know your kids might fuss a bit, but we won't shoot you looks - we know you might want smaller cutlery so we have it or we don't but here's an extra teaspoon instead. You want something warmed up? We'll do that. The unspoken agreement - make sure that your children don't run around tripping staff up or bother other people, and you're all welcome here as long as the youngest one will let you stay...

Food and drinks that come fast. How bloody hard is that? Specially drinks. Or if the food doesn't work then some bread or something

Food that isn't absolutely boiling hot when served. Definitely not boiling hot crockery. This must be a health and safety issue, some of them are blisteringly hot.

Not particularly keen on fruit shoots but they're handy when the only other drinks on offer are served in glasses or cups that spill easily.

Toddler sized cutlery - it's so cheap, it amazes me that hardly anywhere offers this.

Le Bistrot Pierre (small chain) has a really lovely activity booklet that is a bit different to the rest and kept the older children entertained.