Looking for fancy kid friendly restaurant...Prefer N Burbs

Please recommend some nice restaurant that's kid friendly. I would drive to the city too if it's worth it.

How about Bluegrass in Highland Park?

I actually had a great experience at Yoshi's with my toddler. The waitstaff was exceptionally nice bringing my son little extras and to my surprise, they even have a children's menu.

Yoshi's Cafe
3257 N. Halsted
Chicago, IL
773-248-6160

Thank you but they both seem a bit too casual.

maybe you could provide us more details about what you are looking for? also, what constitutes kid-friendly?

It's been quite a few years, but we once wandered into Russian Tea Time with our young children and another couple also with a child, and were surprised at how fancy the place was, not sure it would work with little kids, but the waiters were just wonderful and really made us feel comfortable, making all sorts of helpful suggestions, and bringing the kids hot chocolate when we had tea after dinner. Of course it is in the Loop, not exactly the location you were looking for.

Cheesecake Factory in Old Orchard.

Any Lettuce Restaurant - Wildfire, L Woods (our fave)

babyduke wrote:Thank you but [Yoshi's and Bluegrass] both seem a bit too casual.

Yoshi's definitely has some "fine dining" flavor in the atmosphere, even just a touch of formality, even though it is a friendly neighborhood place. Any place more formal than Yoshi's would be one that I couldn't reconcile with kid-friendly.

Nghe wrote:Cheesecake Factory in Old Orchard.

While perfectly fine, and def. kid friendly, I would not call them fancy. Unless they've changed significantly in the 6 (8?) weeks since I was there last...

You might want to consider Quince in Evanston (at the Homestead Hotel). I haven't had an official meal there since Andy Motto took over the kitchen, though I was there for a wedding reception at which the food was quite good. In any event, it is a bit fanicer than some of the other places that have already been mentioned above, is technically in the northern burbs and we've brought our son there many times.

Another place that might fit the bill is Restaurant Michael in Winnetka. I personally don't love the place, though it definitely has its fans. That said, it's certainly fancy and chef-driven (Michael Lachowicz), and our son did very well there.

Lastly, Le Titi de Paris in Arlington Heights might be what you're looking for. It's fancy but the vibe is friendly and the food is very good.

The bottom line is that if the kids are reasonably restaurant-savvy, any of these places should be fine. If not, they're probably all best avoided. While all three are extraordinarily accomodating, if the kids aren't happy, it won't be pleasant for you or anyone else in the dining room.

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Quince Restaurant (in the Homestead Hotel)
1625 Hinman Ave
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 570-8400

Restaurant Michael
64 Green Bay Rd
Winnetka, IL 60093-4006
(847) 441-3100

Le Titi de Paris
1015 W Dundee Rd
Arlington Hts, IL 60004-1419
(847) 506-0222

Just wanted to add that while I'm not a huge steakhouse fan, I've had very successful meals with my entire family (including nieces younger than my 12-year-old) at both Ruth's Chris and Morton's, both in Northbrook.

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Ruth's Chris
933 Skokie Blvd
Northbrook, IL 60062-4004
(847) 498-6889

Morton's
699 Skokie Blvd
Northbrook, IL 60062-2804
(847) 205-5111

Not fancy, but certaintly upscale are Prairie Grass Cafe in Norhbroow and Abigails in Highland Park. PGC is definitley kid friendly and Abigails is more so earlier then later.

GL

iblock9 wrote:Not fancy, but certaintly upscale are Prairie Grass Cafe in Norhbroow and Abigails in Highland Park. PGC is definitley kid friendly and Abigails is more so earlier then later.

I was going to mention Prairie Grass Cafe because I am a huge fan of it (and am friends with the owners) but if Yoshi's and Bluegrass aren't fancy enough, then PGC probably isn't either. That said, the food at PGC is great and it's immensely family-friendly.

I've only been to Abigail's once and definitely enjoyed it. I do think it's slightly fancier than PGC. Our son did well there but it's a relatively tight space and when it gets crowded I'm not sure how kid-friendly it would be (though it would be loud enough that they'd have some noise cover).

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Prairie Grass Cafe
601 Skokie Blvd
Northbrook, IL 60062-2813
(847) 205-4433

Abigail's Bistro
493 Roger Williams Ave
Highland Park, IL 60035-4704
(847) 433-2540

I don't know if this is the sort of thing you're looking for...the other day we saw a movie, and Sparky asked for sushi, so we went to the closest place, Makisu sushi, located in the same strip mall as Chuck E Cheese's and Barnes and Noble at Touhy and Carpenter.

It's very much a place that's more about style and less about substance, and it's got a very adult vibe, but we went relatively early (7pm on a Saturday) and Sparky loved it: particularly the maki roll they served on a soup bowl with a little slick of flaming spirits (I forget what the spirits were.) The maki and sushi we had were very good, and every plate was garnished with some sort of artful fruit carving (carrot swans, apple peacocks, a votive candle wrapped in a paper-thin beet skin.) It's the sort of place I would avoid like the plague, except that its location puts it in the range of so many families that you can't really take the whole place (hewn-rock backdrop to the sushi bar, ultra-modern minimalist leather-and-wood decor) too seriously, considering there are goggle-eyed kids with bad-pizza-smeared faces and people looking for sofas walking around the courtyard outside.

As I'm reading this, it doesn't sound like a ringing endorsement - but if I wanted to impress someone with a hip and stylish place where the food was beautiful and good and they treated my kid very well without any condesencion this would be where I'd go. (Admittedly, Sparky (9) was wowed enough by the vibe to really behave himself, even though he was still being a kid and asking lots of questions somewhat loudly - we sat at the bar and the chefs seemed to enjoy it: you should carefully consider how the kid you plan to bring can handle fine dining.)

If I wanted Japanese, I'd go to Renga-Tai, if you get the difference.