San Francisco Dining

[map]

Heading to San Francisco with the kids ages 9,7 and 1 for the Labour Day Weekend and am looking for some nice dining options with the family.

We will probably be staying near Union Square but will have a car..

Thank you.

[annachan]

I like Delancey Street. It's a very reasonably priced place with big portions and lots of choices. It's kids friendly. Some items are better than others, so my recommendation is to stick with the roasted/bbq items. There's street parking (metered - $2 an hour) and valet parking ($4). It's also by the water so you can take a walk across street before or after the meal.

There are several chain places that the kids may enjoy as well: Bucca di Beppo (Italian), Mel's Diner, Lori's Diner and Bubba Gump's.

[ingridsf]

I'm sure you'll gets tons of suggestions but here are mine: Either Chow or Park Chow. Cal-Italian with some Asian noodle stuff. It's inexpensive, casual and really tasty.

Chow is on Church at Market, not terribly far from Union Square. Parking's hard but you can hop on the Muni's F Line streetcar and it's a short ride.

Park Chow is basically the same, in the neighborhood called the Inner Sunset, on Ninth Ave. at Lincoln. The entrance to Golden Gate's Park's Arboretum is right there, and just a few blocks from GGP's playground and carousel.

For weekday breakfast/brunch/lunch, Zazie on Cole Street at Parnassus is good. Cal-French, good prices.

If you go to Park Chow at night, there's a parking lot on Ninth for $5. Street parking is possible but tight. Same with Zazie. You could take Muni's N-Line streetcar to both from Market Street.

Don't know what kind of food you all crave but you could easily take a stroll down Clement St in the Inner Richmond from Arguello to 6th or Seventh Ave. There are all kinds of Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Burmese, places. I like Minh's Garden (Vietnamese at 3rd Ave.) and Burma SuperStar at 4th. Clementine at 2nd is a great reasonable French place but might not be great with the kids. Your call.

Oh! Your kids would probably LOVE Toy Boat on Clement at Fifth Ave. Ice cream, candy, toys, what's not to like?

These restaurants are on level streets, BTW, no steep hills immediately near by.

[robyn]

I don't know how sophisticated your kids are taste-wise - but I'd do dim sum with them at least once. You can get a nice big round table. Everyone can try lots of different kinds of small dishes (including a lot of fried things - which even fussy kids tend to like). The meals are relatively short (kids usually have short attention spans). And - in my experience (which is not mostly in San Francisco) - it is very normal for large families to dine together at dim sum places. Children are not frowned on. If possible - borrow a grandmother and grandfather to accompany you . Robyn

[map]

Thank you so far! Good suggestions....Grandma is coming however I find most restaurants these days (especially in the summer) are quite accomodating, our children don't mind trying different things.

I guess middle of the road type places, not fine dining, not Olive Garden type but quality comfortable dining with the family.

Hope that makes sense.

[ingridsf]

SF has even more decent local chains besides the ones above. Chevy's, Pasta Pomodoro, Fuzio, ZAO Noodles. I'm not enthusiastic about Mel's and Lori's but no biggie. Bucco de Beppo's fun but killer loud and does attract the younger crowd looking to get hammered, at least when I've been there.

[lmc]

A lot of it depends on your kids food likes, of course. My daughter would eat oysters or mussels at every meal if she could, so we tend to stick to a lot of seafood places. Any preferences or neighborhoods you are interested in?

I agree with the Chow/Park Chow recommendation though I would go with Park Chow because it is easy ½ blocks walk into Golden Gate Park.

The Macys at Union Square has a Cheesecake Factory if you’re looking for something near your hotel and if that is the kind of thing your kids like. Also, about two blocks up Powell Street from Union Square is Uncle Vito’s pizza, which is a decent place to sit and have a casual meal.

Taylor’s Refresher in the Ferry Building (where the great Farmer’s Market is) has a big outdoor patio and a great people-watching atmosphere and has burgers, sandwiches, salads, etc.

If you are at Union Square you can take the cable car all the way to the Wharf which has lots of places that kids would like and is a fun trip.

I’d also suggest taking public transit as much as possible, you’ll probably get where you are going faster and with less stress!

[lizard]

Puccini & Pinetti just off Union Square has a great kid's program. They are also run by the Kimpton Group - a well-respected hotel and restaurant group that owns famous high-end restaurants like Fifth Floor & Postrio

http://www.pucciniandpinetti.com/papkids/index.html

Also, for a terrific kid's meal excursion, take a historic F Market streetcar ($1.25 adults, .35 kids) straight down Market Street to the Ferry building and its famous market. Finish off a tour with a meal at Taylor's Refresher - Great American burgers & shakes made with QUALITY ingredients (skip Mel's & Lori's diners)

http://www.taylorsrefresher.com/

[edited for typo]

Edited July 29, 2005 by lizard (log)

[dvs]

eastside west has a great brunch on saturday & sundays and at that time the restaurant is very child friendly - there is a great fish tank in the back room too.

(located at the corner of greenwich & fillmore in the marina/cow hollow dist.)

[coda]

I was wondering if we could revive this topic... If anyone can share experiences bringing children to non-chain places in the SF, I would love to hear it.

What great places have you tried with kids?

[annachan]

I was wondering if we could revive this topic... If anyone can share experiences bringing children to non-chain places in the SF, I would love to hear it.

What great places have you tried with kids?

←

Chouchou in Forest Hill is actually great for kids. Kids are always around during brunch and sometimes at dinner. We actually saw an infant there during New Year's Eve dinner. That's why we picked Chouchou for my husband's birthday, so we can be inclusive of our friends' kids.

Many of the casual restaurants are kid friendly, it's the fine dining places that are more restricted. One thing to consdier is the food. Though many restaurant welcome kids, the menus may not be suitable for the picky eaters.

[JAZ]

Chenery Park in Glen Park has a kids' night every Tuesday. In addition to the regular menu, they offer a kids' menu with smaller portions of their popular dishes (lower prices too). They try to set it up so that parties with small children are all seated in the upstairs section, keeping the rest of the tables a little bit quieter.

(You can check out their "Kids' Club" on the web site.)

[JayTee]

We went to Ti Couz with our (then) 8 month old daughter, and she sat happily on our laps taking nibbles out of the food we ordered, along with bites of the food we brought her. That being said, we did rush through our meal to make sure she wouldn't get upset and bother the other patrons.

Any recommendations for restaurants that work for the children on the younger end of the spectrum? our daughter is now 10 months old, and I miss frequenting the SF restaurant scene. she's usually very good, but i don't want to go to places where a child would be frowned on or seem out of place either.

[Jambalyle]

Seems we always end up at the ballpark (Go Giants?), Mel's, or at a Dim Sum restaurant when we are in the city with the kids. For lower-end Dim Sum that the kids love, we usually end up at Canton on Folsom.

[coda]

Apparently Foreign Cinema has a kids menu. Has anyone taken kids there?

[annachan]

To my surprise, there were several tables with kids (one w/ a toddler) at Cafe Jacqueline last night.....