Chefs de France ok for an 18 month old?

[Mommy2Abby]

I am planning our September trip and when I called for ADR's, I wasn't able to get my first pick (Le Cellier) for an Epcot restaurant for the night we will be there, so the CM that took my reservation talked me in to Chefs de France instead.

We have eaten there before, but its been about 8 years and I think I remember it being sort of fancy. My DH and I enjoyed it then, but we didn't have 18 month old DD with us at the time.

So...will we be out of place with DD? She's generally well behaved, but she's also somewhat unpredictable and I don't know what effect being out of her usual routine will have on her behavior. I don't want to feel embarrassed or deal with nasty looks & comments from other guests if she's being a typical 18 month old.

Obviously...if she's being too horrible we would take her out. I don't want to subject the other diners to an all out tantrum.

Also, is there anything for an 18 month old to eat there? I'm assuming they have a kids menu, but I haven't looked at it yet. I wasn't expecting to eat there.

Thanks!

Mommy2Abby

 

[csarenz]

We took DD to Chefs de France when she was 17 months old. We were a little nervous, but she was just fine. Ate well and didn't destroy anything. You shouldn't be any more worried here than at any other Epcot restaurant.

 

[buzz1fan]

We are planning on taking our 27 month old and 5 Yr old next summer. I was worried too, but I really want to try it, so I think we are.

 

[Mommy2Abby]

Thanks for the replies! I checked out the kids menu and it sounds fancy...but I'm pretty sure it's just chicken fingers or a hamburger, so I guess that makes it kid-friendly enough for us to try!

Mommy2Abby

 

[buzz1fan]

It seems like many of the places in Epcot I want to try are fancy for little ones. We may do Chefs De France for Lunch instead of dinner.

 

[disneymagic02]

We did Chefs with our 11 month old last September for dinner around 6:00pm and he was great, there were a lot of other kids around also. I think it just depends on your child.

 

[disneystacy]

We booked lunch for our Dec trip. My son will be 22 months.

 

[PrincessKitty1]

I don't have any children, but Chefs de France is a very noisy place (I can personally attest to the fact that you can knock over a wine glass and nobody will notice ) so I can't imagine that a fussy child would disturb any other diners. The restuaurant is very large, with lots of hard surfaces (tile floor etc.) and all the diners chatting, silverware clinking, and so on brings the general noise level up to a dull roar!

 

[djblu883]

dining in France....the restaurant will be fine for your family....at 18 months old my DGD ate easily off our places and was satisfied...you can always supplement with a fav snack, I'd not spend extra funds for an entire meal for the child!!

 

[littlele]

I wouldn't worry about whether or not your child will be too noisy-if people can't deal with that they shouldn't be at Disney!

But, I would worry about whether or not your child would be happy to sit there for a long meal. If I recall correctly, Les Chefs was one, if not the, longest meal of our trip. Its a slow dine-and a wonderful one at that!

 

[PrincessKitty1]

I wouldn't worry about whether or not your child will be too noisy-if people can't deal with that they shouldn't be at Disney!

But, I would worry about whether or not your child would be happy to sit there for a long meal. If I recall correctly, Les Chefs was one, if not the, longest meal of our trip. Its a slow dine-and a wonderful one at that!

Other people have posted that Le Chefs was a slow dine too--but DH and I have had dinner there about 4 times and, except for the last meal (where we purposely lingered over coffee and dessert), all the meals were very, very quick--one of our servers tried so hard to rush us once that we were actually amused (I felt bad for her, though, since she was so obviously stressed!).

 

[SingingMom]

I think you will be fine at Chefs de France. It's my favorite restaurant and we've always seen families there. I wouldn't, however, try the Bistro with a child.

 

[daisy112878]

You'll be fine. We've always seen kids of all ages. It's a noisy restaurant anyways so a little bit of a fussy kid wont be heard most likely.

Also the kids meal isn't that fancy. They just make it sound fancy. The chicken and pasta is chicken fingers and noodles. My nephew is picky and they gave him the chicken with no noodles.

 

[shellybaxter]

I wouldn't worry about whether or not your child will be too noisy-if people can't deal with that they shouldn't be at Disney!

What a rude comment!! - Sure, Disney will have children in it (have them in it - not be exclusively for them) and as a diner I expect that there was be child like noises, especially at the non-signature restaurants, but children should be expected to behave as well, or be removed by their parents. Several times in Disney restaurants we've seen children screaming, crying, running from table to table, and one time an adult was trying to restrain a child so they wouldn't run around and in doing so allowed the child to kick my husband. To me parents allowing these behaviors are just terribly rude.

To the OP - taking an 18 month old to Chefs should be as fine as taking an 18 month old anywhere. At that age they are so unpredictable and their moods can change so quickly. Try to make your ADR at a time your child is well rested and with a little bit of pixie dust you should be just fine.

 

[Hollymom1229]

We dined here last October with my 1 y.o. niece. It was great, we fed her off our plates, and the waiter just adored her. Actually once when she started getting a little noisy and we shushed her, he told us to leave the poor little girl alone she was just expressing herself. It was a great experience and one of the dining highlights of that week.