Anniversary Dinner and my 3 year old

Hi
its my first time on this site, people have really good comments and suggestion so I deicded to register and hping to get some help.

My 4th anniversary is coming and all those four years I have never took my wife to a romantic restaurent in Chicago.

I can spend upto 50 dollars per person and another important thing I wanted to add is that I

have a three years old and we cannot leave him to babysitter or any relatives (since we dont have any) and my wife would never like the idea of leaving my son to a babysitter.

Is it OK to take our son with us to fancy restaurents in downtown since I noticed that few restaurents even have a dress code of tie and a jacket so I just wanted to make sure if its OK.

I don't mind going to NOT romatic restaurent as long as its NICE

Mostly we have been to
maggianos, Fogo De Chao, PFChangs, BigBowl etc

I would appreciate all your help
Thanks

Hi rpervez, welcome to LTH.

Here are a couple old threads about eating out with young kids (not just at nice places, but the higher end places are discussed too):

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=2956
http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=6688

For your upcoming anniversary, let me just pass along some general advice (much of this is also found in the linked threads). I would recommend either going out for lunch instead of dinner, or going for an early dinner. A place with outdoor seating might be a good choice.

Your son is going to be able to sit still for only a limited amount of time, so whatever you can do to minimize the total time at the restaurant will help (e.g. look at the website ahead of time and think about what you might want to order). Find a place that will have something your son will eat and order it as soon as you are seated, so his food will come out right away. Have something to keep him occupied once he's done eating, a toy he can play with quietly, or paper and crayons.

I will also add one specific suggestion for you to think about: Sabatino's.
http://www.sabatinoschicago.com/

It's not downtown, but I think it would be a nice combination for you of a special-feeling place that is not unwelcoming for kids. We went to Sabatino's when our son was five and he was amazed by the waiters preparing flaming dishes at nearby tables and the sparklers in birthday cakes that we saw going by. He had an order of "tortellini bolognese" which he enjoyed (of course, much of it was brought home in a doggy bag).

Good luck, and happy anniversary. Let us know how it works out.

Amata

Amata wrote:I will also add one specific suggestion for you to think about: Sabatino's.
http://www.sabatinoschicago.com/

It's not downtown, but I think it would be a nice combination for you of a special-feeling place that is not unwelcoming for kids.

While I like this suggestion very much for the reasons you describe, I would offer one caveat...meals at Sabatino's often occur at a rather leisurely pace.

If you do choose Sabatino's, it is perhaps more important than elsewhere, to heed Amata's advice about an early dinner, making your choices quickly, and in addition, advising your waiter of any timing issues.

I don't mean to put you off at all, because our kids have also enjoyed Sabatino's, and we've enjoyed it with them.

Good luck, and happy anniversary.

I'd agree on Sabatino's. With a reservation. And go early.

It's not "kid friendly" like Big Bowl - no crayons etc., but the staff is sweet, enjoys well behaved kids, and the strolling musicians will dote on him and play whatever songs you ask for.

When my daughter was younger, i'd order something for her right away - at Sabatino's there's bread and pizza bread nd plenty of soup and sides of spaghetti to go around. Like others said, Cherries Jubilee or Baked Alaska are a fun dessert to watch and good to eat as well.

If Old Irving is too far, I'd say Greek Islands is a good choice.

For something very fancy, any of the hotel restaurants should be ready to accomadate children. We've had nice meals at the Drake.

While the food isn't outstanding, dinner at the 95th is pretty and also fairly welcoming of kids as well - again -early seating is key. Good Luck to you!

Sabatino's is indeed a good suggestion. They are used to dealing with kids and you will be able to stay within your $50 price point, which will be tough to meet at many of the nicer restaurants in town regardless of their child-friendliness (or lack thereof).

rpervez wrote:Is it OK to take our son with us to fancy restaurents in downtown since I noticed that few restaurents even have a dress code of tie and a jacket so I just wanted to make sure if its OK.

In answer to your question, I'll take the bait and deliver the unpleasant news. If a restaurant requires jacket and tie, I think a kid would definitely not be welcome. The very few restaurants these days that actually require jacket and tie are aiming for a very special, serious and formal dining experience. Even if your kid is well-behaved, most of the other diners do not see a child as part of that "serious" experience (and indeed may have left their children home in an effort to make the evening more adult).

So, having said that, I think Amata's suggestion of lunch or an early evening at "nice," but non-jacket and tie place, would be preferable.

I would also avoid restaurants that aim for trendiness.

Sabatino's may be a good suggestion, but, just so you know, it's an "old school" Italian with decor straight out of the '60s; very dark, smokey bar with a genuine piano bar. That may or may not be what your looking for.

If a restaurant requires jacket and tie, I think a kid would definitely not be welcome.

Neither, for the most part, would a $50/person tab.

I suggest Sola. They have a children's menu and everytime I've had an early dinner there (5:30 or 6:00), toddlers and infants have been present. It may take some careful ordering to keep it under $50 per person but it's definitely doable. There are several threads on Sola on the forum.

sola restaurant

3868 N. Lincoln Ave.
@ Byron
Chicago. IL 60613

call (773) 327-3868
fax (773) 327-3696

dine@sola-restaurant.com

Dinner Hours:
Open nightly at 5:30 pm
Lunch Hours:
11:30 am - 2 pm Thu/Friday
Brunch Hours:
10:00 am - 2 pm Sat/Sun

Thanks for all your help guys. You guys are really awsome.

I have another suggestion, a different sort of option: Cafe Suron is kind of casual and therefore doesn't mind kids - but is housed in an former Tea Salon and has a romantic atmosphere in a shabby-chic sort of way. It's well under your budget, BYOB, but the food is good - order appetizer sizes for your little one unless you plan on taking a doggy bag home! It might not be a splashy night on the town, but you're not going to enjoy a black-tie kind of place with a three-year-old. We took Sparky there several times, everyone enjoyed it, and if your little guy gets antsy it's easy to duck outside for a short walk to the lake.

Another suggestion - which could also go either way - on Thursdays this month, there are free dance lessons and a band right next to the patio seating for Chef's Station, a more upscale restaurant in Evanston (there's a swing band tomorrow) I think it's sponsored by Evmark or the Evanston Chamber if you do a websearch. Last week, Sparky really enjoyed the Cajun band last week along with many other kids - depending on how your child reacts to music, it might help keep him occupied and offer an atmosphere where nobody minds a little more noise.