Eating Out With Young Kids

[too true]

Had a search around the Bkk forum, but didn't see anything on this. Hubby and I have been living in bkk for almost 4 months now, and are dying for a meal out. Thing is, we've got two boys - 6 and 3. They're good kids, but they're active, as little boys are.

Is there anywhere we can take them for dinner that's not too expensive and has got an outdoor area or garden where they can wander around? They don't do well confined to seats.

I know there are loads of you out there who hate dining in restaurants with small kids around, but we don't have a babysitter, nanny, or mother in law near us, so we've got to take them with us! I'm just looking for the best place to take them.

We live mid sukhumvit area and have no car, so are on public transportation.

KFC, McDonalds, BK....not really what I'm looking for.

Thanks!

Cheers,

TT

[Dr. Burrito]

Try taking them to Tawangdaeng Brewery out on Ram-Intra. It's a family style German beer brewery with acrobats, musicians, magicians and more. We have two little boys, 4 and 2, and the littlest one is a hellion of activity. We take them there and he is all eyes and ears on the stage.

It enthralls them both.

They also have a branch on Rama 3, the original location, but not sure of the shows there. The one time I was there was later at night and it was a very loud rock band.

Oh yes, be sure to reserve your seats ahead of time. They are very, very busy on the weekends.

Dr. B

[polecat]

Might be a little young for your 6 year old, but in CentralWorld, there is a restaurant called Sylvanian something or other. It basically looks like a play centre that has a proper menu for parents to tuck into, while the sprogs tear around, colour in, climb stuff and eat burgers with happy faces drawn on in ketchup. There was a Bangkok Post restaurant review about it a few months back which you might search for.

[too true]

Super guys, thanks a million! I'll give both those places a look with the mister and hopefully we'll be able to enjoy an evening out and be able to have dinner and drinks together, as opposed to the alternative of eating in shifts while one of us chases the monsters around.

Cheers,

TT

[leisurely]

Sunday brunch (what a ghastly word) is always a good bet too. Many hotels have either a children's play room or a roaming entertainer, ideal for that 'let's not get too stressed family meal'

[Valjean]

I have a 2 1/2 year old who is very active. First off I'd say that Thai's overall are pretty relax about kids so most typical Thai restaurants don’t get uptight of the kids are being normal kids and wandering around a little. Much less uptight than you’re experience in the US where I come from. That’s not to say abuse things or let them cause problems but having them a little in the way walking around isn’t going to be frowned on. It’s possible in many places your little farang is going to end up being taken care of by the waitresses anyway.

One good thing to do is to find a few places close to you and go regularly then the staff will get familiar with our kids and vice versa. Everyone gets more comfortable and relaxed. Just find some typical open air Thai restaurant and the food should be good and everyone easy going. Should be something up one of the sois around you.

Places along the river can be nice – the kids can watch boats go by. Public transport won’t get you there but a taxi can.

MK is always chaos and noisy so no one will hear if your kids are screaming. And they are booths so they can climb around a little more. Not however a good place for them to run around.

Good luck.

[too true]

I have a 2 1/2 year old who is very active. First off I'd say that Thai's overall are pretty relax about kids so most typical Thai restaurants don’t get uptight of the kids are being normal kids and wandering around a little. Much less uptight than you’re experience in the US where I come from. That’s not to say abuse things or let them cause problems but having them a little in the way walking around isn’t going to be frowned on. It’s possible in many places your little farang is going to end up being taken care of by the waitresses anyway.

One good thing to do is to find a few places close to you and go regularly then the staff will get familiar with our kids and vice versa. Everyone gets more comfortable and relaxed. Just find some typical open air Thai restaurant and the food should be good and everyone easy going. Should be something up one of the sois around you.

Places along the river can be nice – the kids can watch boats go by. Public transport won’t get you there but a taxi can.

MK is always chaos and noisy so no one will hear if your kids are screaming. And they are booths so they can climb around a little more. Not however a good place for them to run around.

Good luck.

Thanks for the advice We've moved here from up north, not from abroad, so the issue isn't so much how people treat kids, it's more of finding the open air places, as you mentioned. Our regular eat-out family dinner places "back home" (Chiang Mai) were outdoor restaurants with little grassy playground areas. Not so much of that here, I'm noticing. But I'll keep asking people I meet with kids and I'm sure eventually I'll be let in on a secret gem of a place perfect for us.

MK is scary for parents with kids, I think, with all those pots of boiling water - same goes for mookata bbq places. Disasters waiting to happen with kids there.

I think you're probably right about finding somewhere close and then becoming regulars. The staff get to know us and the kids and it's more comfortable for everyone.

Thanks again!

Cheers,

TT

[Valjean]

There you go MK is perfect - your kids can be screaming from first degree burns and no one would look up. Truly I only go to MK under duress.

I did think of some ideas however…

I think it is called Terminus or something like that. It's on Soi Ari a short walk from the BTS station. Walk down Soi Ari (Phahonyothin 7) on the right hand side. Past the condo building with the video store and Italian restaurant on the ground floor. There is a soi going off to the right after that building and you should see the sign for the restaurant. Walk to the end of that soi and back there they have a nice outdoor place with a big lawn and rabbits for the kids to chase.

Also behind that condo building is a little café Macchiato and there is a play area there. I’m not sure who it belongs to but the worst someone can do is tell you to leave. They have snacks, sandwich and such. Also WiFi and PCs. Might be nice for weekend morning snack and coffee.

[too true]

There you go MK is perfect - your kids can be screaming from first degree burns and no one would look up. Truly I only go to MK under duress.

I did think of some ideas however…

I think it is called Terminus or something like that. It's on Soi Ari a short walk from the BTS station. Walk down Soi Ari (Phahonyothin 7) on the right hand side. Past the condo building with the video store and Italian restaurant on the ground floor. There is a soi going off to the right after that building and you should see the sign for the restaurant. Walk to the end of that soi and back there they have a nice outdoor place with a big lawn and rabbits for the kids to chase.

Also behind that condo building is a little café Macchiato and there is a play area there. I’m not sure who it belongs to but the worst someone can do is tell you to leave. They have snacks, sandwich and such. Also WiFi and PCs. Might be nice for weekend morning snack and coffee.

That sounds exactly like what I'm looking for! Thanks so much for that, Valjean.

Now, if I can just convince my husband to venture out into the busy streets for a meal. He's the kind of guy who finds something he likes and then sticks with it. Not so interested in trying anywhere new. Bodes well for my relationship, granted, but it's like pulling teeth to get him to go to new restaurants.

Keeping my fingers crossed....

Cheers,

TT

[Misty]

Hi TT,

Another suggestions: a place called Great American Ribs on Sukhumvit Soi 36 (nearest BTS Thonglor) that has picnic style seating ("leafy open plan garden") and should be pretty kid friendly. Check out www.greatrib.com

Cheers, Misty

Had a search around the Bkk forum, but didn't see anything on this. Hubby and I have been living in bkk for almost 4 months now, and are dying for a meal out. Thing is, we've got two boys - 6 and 3. They're good kids, but they're active, as little boys are.

Is there anywhere we can take them for dinner that's not too expensive and has got an outdoor area or garden where they can wander around? They don't do well confined to seats.

I know there are loads of you out there who hate dining in restaurants with small kids around, but we don't have a babysitter, nanny, or mother in law near us, so we've got to take them with us! I'm just looking for the best place to take them.

We live mid sukhumvit area and have no car, so are on public transportation.

KFC, McDonalds, BK....not really what I'm looking for.

Thanks!

Cheers,

TT

[geriatrickid]

As a former kid, I think you're one totally excellent mom. My parents did stuff like this for us, although I'm sure a family of hyper mutants made it a stressful event, but I still have decent memories.

[PeaceBlondie]

I made six kids who have made ten kids so far. Some of my grandkids know how to behave in public; others don't. Even my semi-active grandson had to be literally yanked out of an Irish pub by yours truly, and taught his manners as forcefully as a pacifist can teach them. Another 9 year old grandson, I simply avoid, because he's an unholy terror. So, it depends on how your kids behave.

I was sitting in the Hua Hin Burger King when this Austrian family barged in and totally disrupted the place. The unruly children and the father were all at 100 decibels. Then there was the wild Thai kid on the train to Bangkok who started beating on me! If your children are like that, you have failed Parenting 101 and might consider giving them up for adoption, or going to take remedial courses.

But if your kids are just normal like most Thai kids, there might be 92 places in Bangkok where they would be fine. After four years here, I find that most Thai kids are usually less rowdy than farang kids. Hopefully yours are no problem; have fun.

[keithk2007]

Might be a little young for your 6 year old, but in CentralWorld, there is a restaurant called Sylvanian something or other. It basically looks like a play centre that has a proper menu for parents to tuck into, while the sprogs tear around, colour in, climb stuff and eat burgers with happy faces drawn on in ketchup. There was a Bangkok Post restaurant review about it a few months back which you might search for.

This place should suit u for the reasons mentioned. They have computer games for ur 6 yr old if he/she doesn't want to use the playcentre. Is located at the top of the escalator on the floor below the cinemas.

[bkk_mike]

If you use Google Earth (or a GPS), there's a fish restaurant on a lake at 13°51'46.62"N, 100°47'53.36"E

(It is Bangkok, but it's pretty far out... - not sure if it's Minburi or Nongchok)

Basically, while you're waiting / chatting or whatever, you buy the kids some loaf or fish food, and they can feed the catfish. (virtually all the tables are next to the water, and some of the fish are pretty large, and there's a lot of them scrambling for the food.)

I know there are other restaurants that do this, but this is the only one I've been to recently...

(One warning - all menus are in Thai).

[too true]

The Great American jRib place looks great and it's really close to us. And hubby's a huge ribs fan. Expensive? The website shows the menu but not the prices, which is generally a sign of 'if we tell you how expensive we really are you won't come' marketing strategy. But it looks superb.

Very sweet comment geriatrickid. The boys love going out and are usually very well behaved. My mom says I'm lucky, but I like to remind her that they didn't come out that way - we worked very hard to teach them how to behave in restaurants when there are other people around. But, they do get bored if there's nothing to keep them busy and I want to be somewhere where we won't hear "I wanna go hooooommmeee. Let's gooooooo". The Sylvanian restaurants I'd heard of before, but they're in a mall, and we're more an outdoorsy look at the trees and flowers and fish kind of family. Listen to some music and have a couple of beers.

The lake place sounds great, too, but yeah it's far. It's all about finding a regular place, I think. We had regular dinner places up north and the staff knew us and would play with the kids or take them to get ice cream from the shop next door and stuff like that. It's all part of moving to a new place and making a home, I guess.

If I come across anything different than what you've all said, I'll be sure to let you know.

Cheers,

TT

[Moonfruit]

Great American Rib company on Soi 36 is exactly what you are looking for. Very kid freidly, the even have a little playground with swings and stuff, round the back but still in the compound so they cant get into trouble.

Great food too.

[Misty]

Haven't been there in awhile, but as I recall the prices were reasonable. Enjoy!

The Great American jRib place looks great and it's really close to us. And hubby's a huge ribs fan. Expensive? The website shows the menu but not the prices, which is generally a sign of 'if we tell you how expensive we really are you won't come' marketing strategy. But it looks superb.

Very sweet comment geriatrickid. The boys love going out and are usually very well behaved. My mom says I'm lucky, but I like to remind her that they didn't come out that way - we worked very hard to teach them how to behave in restaurants when there are other people around. But, they do get bored if there's nothing to keep them busy and I want to be somewhere where we won't hear "I wanna go hooooommmeee. Let's gooooooo". The Sylvanian restaurants I'd heard of before, but they're in a mall, and we're more an outdoorsy look at the trees and flowers and fish kind of family. Listen to some music and have a couple of beers.

The lake place sounds great, too, but yeah it's far. It's all about finding a regular place, I think. We had regular dinner places up north and the staff knew us and would play with the kids or take them to get ice cream from the shop next door and stuff like that. It's all part of moving to a new place and making a home, I guess.

If I come across anything different than what you've all said, I'll be sure to let you know.

Cheers,

TT