American Girl Bistro

[SEA333]

I would say absolutely take her. The time to do those sort of things is very fleeting, and at age 6, you are getting to the end of it, so take advantage of every minute and enjoy it while you can. We have only been to the Dallas location. We have done it twice and enjoyed it both times. At least the times we have been there, which the last time was probably 2 years ago, in the Dallas location they did not seat everyone at once. It was just like a regular small restaurant. The food was a little expensive, but not overly so (I think they charge about $15 a person regardless of your menu choice, but that does include an appetizer- if I remember right dessert may have been additional, but I could have be wrong about that and if I'm wrong, then the price really isn't expensive at all. I remember DD had a chocolate mousse flower pot and it was adorable.), but it was good and we felt like the portion size was fine. DD loved having her doll at the table and the doll getting its own plate and cup. Again, it has been a while so things could have changed, but when we ate there the cup and plate were china and we did not get to take them home, nor did we have a take home napkin ring/hair tie. It could be things have changed, or that could be dependent on location.

DD was hugely into AG from age 2 (thanks to seeing a catalog we got after buying something for our older niece) to 7. Most of her friends got really into it by age 4. At age 8, she doesn't play with her AG stuff nearly as much. She still likes it and does play with it some as she is big on dolls, but most of the girls in her grade at school and her other friends her age are not interested in AG much at all anymore. Enjoy it while you can! Those couple of AG lunches were some special times that we fondly remember and do not regret!

Yes, I agree that it would depend on location. Chicago, which is the one we go to, is a huge multilevel store and the food is expensive, just like everything else downtown. We got the hair tie, too. I can see how in smaller markets, pricing would be less expensive, stores smaller, and "extras" not available.

 

[jillily]

I just went to the one in Natick MA last week and thought it was worth every penny. My girls are 4 & 7. $7.50 for the 4 year old and $16.50 for the 7 year old and adults. You get an app and a lunch entrée for that price. Everything was pink, pink, pink and very girly. The dolls get their own chair and place setting that you get to take home. Its a tea cup and saucer. They sell the set of 4 in the store for $16. You also get to take home your napkin holder bow/ponytail. I have a few pics on my phone that I will upload.

We also went to the salon. They range in price but we did the $10 hairstyle where they just fix the doll back to the original style. Although we did end up braiding Isabelle's hair.

The experience was very special and definitely worth it.

 

[DisneyTravelers2008]

That would be great if you could post pictures. If we decide to go it will be the one in MA which I'm sure is a smaller one. DD doesn't have an AG doll yet but she has been asking for one for a while

I will post some later tonight when I get home. I agree with the other posts that it is worth it for sure!

The food is not all that expensive...the stuff that goes w/ the doll is.

My daughter was never really into dolls so I bough her one of the "Our Generation"brand dolls at Target for about $25 to see if she liked it.
These dolls are a very good quality and have the exact same dimensions
as an AG doll...check them out!

Once I could tell she really enjoyed it (The only doll she ever played with)
I got an AG doll. Even then I bought it from Ebay and the 2nd one from
Craigs list

Walmart, Target and Michaels sell the clothes that fit them as well...much cheaper

As for shopping in the AG store, we set a limit before we got there
and that helped. Basically we spend about $30 on the meal for 2 people
and $20 to $35 for a treat at the shop

 

[rramsr]

I will post some later tonight when I get home. I agree with the other posts that it is worth it for sure!

The food is not all that expensive...the stuff that goes w/ the doll is.

My daughter was never really into dolls so I bough her one of the "Our Generation"brand dolls at Target for about $25 to see if she liked it.
These dolls are a very good quality and have the exact same dimensions
as an AG doll...check them out!

Once I could tell she really enjoyed it (The only doll she ever played with)
I got an AG doll. Even then I bought it from Ebay and the 2nd one from
Craigs list

Walmart, Target and Michaels sell the clothes that fit them as well...much cheaper

As for shopping in the AG store, we set a limit before we got there
and that helped. Basically we spend about $30 on the meal for 2 people
and $20 to $35 for a treat at the shop

DD did get 3 of the My Generation dolls for Christmas with some clothes and she has been playing with them non-stop. One of them even has her name just spelled wrong and she is thrilled with that

 

[SEA333]

DD did get 3 of the My Generation dolls for Christmas with some clothes and she has been playing with them non-stop. One of them even has her name just spelled wrong and she is thrilled with that

So, with all of the reports of $16 lunches, I was curious to see if AG has lowered their prices in the two years that it has been since DD and I have eaten there.

Wow...I cannot believe how many stores have opened up! It used to be a special New York/LA/Chicago trip that would get you even close to an AG store. I know they had one in MoA, too, because DD and I went there when we did our girls weekend last winter.

So, it seems that these smaller versions of the Flagship stores have a Bistro rather than a Café, so it's a little different. In the Bistro, seating is like a normal first come, first serve restaurant, and it seems, much less expensive. Food quality seems about the same from various reports.

In the Flagship stores Cafe's it is a "4-course" service, with seating schedules for breakfast, brunch, lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner. I do not remember if it was a set price or based on the entrée, but I do know that I spent over $60 on brunch for the two of us the first time, and around $200 for me, DD, and her three friends for DD's birthday lunch. I looked up the menus and they are pretty similar to the choices we had in 2012 and 2011, but there were no prices listed.

If you are lucky enough to live by a Bistro location, you will pay less for your meal, but you won't get the awe factor that the Flagship stores give (my opinion only as I have not been to every location, and said opinion is also based on travel sites and opinions from posters here). The MoA site was nice, but definitely not as awesome as Chicago, and I would think that the MoA location would likely be bigger than most of the other ones.

Also, if you look at sites like Tripadvisor, all of the "average" reviews state that the atmosphere and service is wonderful, but the food is below average and expensive. Pretty much everyone agrees that it's def worth it at least once.

 

[Crystal824]

Thank you for the response.

I tried so hard in December to get one of the deals from the Today Show, it would show in my cart and when I went to check out it was gone

Me too. I was going to do the Our Generation Doll for Christmas. Then I saw the Zuilly deal. I actually took back the Our Generation stuff I had purchased and got the My American Girl doll.

 

[skw444]

We went for their afternoon tea a few years ago. It was $10 a person and included fruit, little tea sandwiches, muffins, a cupcake and hot chocolate. I didn't think the food was bad and it was such a fun experience for my daughter. I would definitely recommend doing it at least once.

 

[DreamIsaWish]

Some folks have mentioned just having dessert. Is that an option at the Chicago store, or am I stuck with the full meal? My daughter got two dolls for Christmas (thanks to the steals and deals) but I think I'm more excited about them than she is. She'll take Anna and Elsa any day, but we have been reading the historical AG stories at bedtime and she seems to like that.

And for those that talk about the moments being fleeting, I agree with that. I was visiting my son's classroom a few years ago and the girls already thought that American Girl was for little kids (and these were second grade girls -- supposedly the target age!).

 

[DreamIsaWish]

Last year was an unprecedented year for American Girl items on sale through Jill's Steals and Deals and AG.com. Whether or not AG needs to move stock through offering these sales is dependent on quarterly earnings. If there are items that you want, keep an eye out for free shipping, $10 off $100 codes, and usually there is a late spring/early summer sale. AG moved ALOT of stock between September and December. I wouldn't count on waiting for the same types of sales if they now have stock to manageable levels.

I would agree with that. The American Girl message boards were shocked at how many sales there were this year. Of course I was happy and stocked up (have next year's presents already stashed away), but I'm not counting on this level of sales next year.

Having said that, they did have a Today Show deal in March 2014 (Bitty Babies, I think) so I don't think they're limited to the holidays. They're just totally unpredictable to keep your eyes open and you might get lucky.

 

[lehmaac]

They still do the warehouse sale of furniture, clothing and accessories and the Madison Children's museum benefit sale which us dolls, clothing, books, and accessories.

Seriously? That might be the best news I've heard all day! That's how my Mom got me my 1st (and only) doll when I was a kid. Now I'm thinking about AG & MCM! Happy thoughts!

 

[STLDisney_Freak]

I have been to the actual restaurant in the Chicago store and my kids loved it. It was very neat. Food was eh, but we were there more for the surroundings than food. There is quite a bit of space inside to eat.

We have also been to the bistro in the St Louis store and it was eh. It is small and the menu is so-so. My girls didn't enjoy it as well as the Chicago store.

Both of these locations are nothing alike.

 

[rramsr]

Thank you everyone for your responses. I think we will end up doing it, at least once .

Now I just have to get DD an American Girl Doll

 

[Mizzoufan]

I never knew this existed. Sounds like fun

 

[ktlm]

Thank you everyone for your responses. I think we will end up doing it, at least once . Now I just have to get DD an American Girl Doll

If you don't want to pay store prices and don't mind that someone else has owned her, you might want to keep an eye on eBay. We bought one there for less than her original price and she looked brand new, came with 2 extra AG outfits and even had her original box with her.

 

[DreamIsaWish]

If you don't want to pay store prices and don't mind that someone else has owned her, you might want to keep an eye on eBay. We bought one there for less than her original price and she looked brand new, came with 2 extra AG outfits and even had her original box with her.

Sounds like that might have been one of the Today Show deals that folks were buying to resell.

 

[rramsr]

If you don't want to pay store prices and don't mind that someone else has owned her, you might want to keep an eye on eBay. We bought one there for less than her original price and she looked brand new, came with 2 extra AG outfits and even had her original box with her.

I have been watching on Ebay for less expensive one's