California Grill - Kid friendly?

[jen_mangini]

Hi - Would you bring 3 kids under 5 (7 month's, 2 1/2, 5)to the California Grill for dinner? We're on the dining plan and dh and I would love to dine one night without Pooh or Ariel . . . .

Then again, if everyone has to really behave it might not be worth the effort.

Thanks
Jen

 

[Hannathy]

The real question is how will they behave, will they sit quietly for over an hour? Age doesn't matter it is their behavior. Another question if they misbehave are you willing to leave or have 1 of you take the kids and the other stay and eat. How do they do now when you go out. Meals at Disney take a long time. And yes they have to behave, people are paying a lot of money for a nice meal they don't want fussing kids at the next table.

Personally I would wait till they are older and chock it up to having 3 kids close and young and one of the things I have to look forward to when they are older.

 

[ducklite]

The real question is how will they behave, will they sit quietly for over an hour? Age doesn't matter it is their behavior. Another question if they misbehave are you willing to leave or have 1 of you take the kids and the other stay and eat. How do they do now when you go out. Meals at Disney take a long time. And yes they have to behave, people are paying a lot of money for a nice meal they don't want fussing kids at the next table.

Personally I would wait till they are older and chock it up to having 3 kids close and young and one of the things I have to look forward to when they are older.

Well put. IMHO it would be VERY stressful bringing three kids those ages to a nicer restaurant where they will ahve to be quiet and sit still for 90 minutes or longer. And when you're stressed, you won't enjoy the meal.

I would either get a sitter or wait until they are older. If you do decide to go, book when they first open at 6:00pm, get there to check in ten minutes early, tell your server to keep things moving and eat fast, and be very prepared to have it all wrapped and have to leave--fast. And that means one parent taking the kids out of there while the other parent settles up.

Also there is a dress code.

I just booked all of my sister and BIL's ADR's for an upcoming trip. Three years ago when they had kids 7, 4 and 14 months, we ate at a lot of sugnature places. But there were four adults to wrangle three kids, and I left one of the meals with the 14 month old because she was getting tired and cranky, and no way we were going to subject the restaurant to that.

This time, they've got a 10, 7, 4, and 18 month old, and we decided it was just too much, so I booked a lot of moderate places, and one night DH and I will take the kids "someplace" while my sister and her DH go eat at Citrico's.

For good food that's not character dining and is family friendly, try the Kona Cafe, Yacht Club Galley, Chef's de France, 50's Prime Time, and Mama Melroses.

Anne

 

[jen_mangini]

I've never been to the California Grill and it sounds like it isn't a great place for young kids. Thanks for the info - I wasn't sure what kind of restaurant it is.

Jen

 

[badblackpug]

My kids did fine at the Clifornia grill in November. The waiter brought them crayons and let them color on the "table cloth" (paper) They are used to eating out, and will behave in a restaurant. As long as you are willing to step out and soothe the smaller ones if they get fussy, you will be fine. On a side note, the 9 or 10 year old sitting at the table next to ours acted worse than any of our little ones, so it is all about behavior. Eat there and enjoy...it was one of our favorite meals. (and if you can book during the fireworks it is GREAT!)

 

[jen_mangini]

I have to say, our kids are pretty good @ restaurants too as long as they are hungry and we go early enough. Glad to hear about your experience. I just don't want to be the only people there with young kids but I don't want to be stressed out about it.

Thanks again
Jen

 

[WDWSuperFan]

We ate here for our Thanksgiving dinner in 2006. We have two children (at the time were) 6 years old and 10 months. We felt perfectly welcome. Our waiter brought our 6 year old crayons to color on the paper tablecloth and she loved drawing while waiting for our food. The food was excellant and arrived quickly. She loves California Rolls and shared our appitizers and our dinner. She snacked on her kids meal but liked ours better. I was prepared to leave with our 10 month old if necessary. She did fine and our Thanksgiving dinner was perfect. I would give it a try if it is a restaurant that you really want to try.

 

[amarberry]

We took our DD there when she was 14 months old. We made the earliest reservation possible, which I think was 5pm or 5:30pm. Because it was early, the restaurant was far from full (and this was during free dining). I also got the impression that they tried to group families into one section, but I could be wrong about that. Anyhow, there were LOTS of kids there in our section that night. I think that if your kids are good at restaurants and you have your heart set on it, you should feel okay about eating there.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I would not bring so many children that young to the California Grill. It's not really a restaurant for young children.