Chain restaurants with decent children's meals?

[Lisoula]

I admit it - our family eats out a lot. Although we're cutting back, it's still usually a thing we do after church on Sundays. Most restaurant's children's menu's consist of fried chicken fingers, hot dogs, or frozen pepperoni pizzas. Are there any chain restaurants that you can think of with better options??

And for the sides....I know a lot of them offer carrots and dip or broccoli, but if my kids KNOW that french fries are an option, guess what they're going to ask for?!?!

[emski4379]

I like Chilli's, Chick Fil 'A, Cracker Barrel, even KFC now that they have grilled chicken. Also, Mimi's Cafe has a good selection.

[425lisamarie]

we just order off the adult menu and share, get extra plates or soemthing or ask for "lunch" sized portions for cheaper.

[KatWrangler]

McAllister's Deli

Not sure where you are at. But McAlisters Deli have yummy food! The kids grilled cheese is like $1.99. Large portions too.

http://www.mcalistersdeli.com/

[Carley]

Originally Posted by 425lisamarie

we just order off the adult menu and share.

That's what we do! We don't go to a lot of chain restaurants (being in the city we're blessed with a LOT of options... there aren't that many chains!) & some of the places we go don't even have kids menus.

Sharing is a great way to go! I usually share an entree & order a side salad.

How often do you go out? French fries are delicious... moderation in all things, you know?

What I didn't mention is that usually Syd orders her own side that comes with the dinner, & usually that's fries... which I "don't mind" since we get to share those too

[Raene]

Instead of kid's menus, we either have our kids share the food we choose or we select side dishes for them. Places like Chili's have beans, broccoli, corn, etc...all as side dishes. We may get something more junky like chips and salsa as an appetizer, but the main part is always healthy.

[ashleyhaugh]

olive garden has a plate that has a chicken breast, spaghetti and red sauce, and broccoli. its a ton of food, and its only like $5

and panera is always good too

[BetsyS]

My 2 year old isn't a big eater, so we're just now starting to order kids' meals. And, honestly, we often eat Mexican when we go out. That's super easy. One cheese enchilada with a side of beans, plus chips and salsa, and it's all good.

We also like Jason's Deli. Sandwiches, with a side of fruit.

[WC_hapamama]

Outback Steakhouse has a pretty decent kids menu, as does Claim Jumpers. I also like the kids menu at Daphne's Greek Cafe.

[gardenmom]

Originally Posted by 425lisamarie

we just order off the adult menu and share, get extra plates or soemthing or ask for "lunch" sized portions for cheaper.

We don't eat out much, but this is us. I don't see why we should settle for a junky "kids" menu when our kids usually prefer real food. Too bad more people don't think of this option. It opens up a lot of variety.

[ChetMC]

Ideas

When we were living in Seattle, the Cheesecake Factory used to bring out a complementary plate of bread and fruit for small kids. They didn't do that for DS at the location we ate at here in San Diego though.

Any restaurant with a salad bar or all day breakfast is usually a safe option. The kids get a bit of meat or pasta from my meal or DH's and we top it up with fresh veggies from the salad bar, or a fruit cup from the breakfast menu.

Also, if your kids are small and you really don't need much food, don't be afraid to ask for a dish of something they would have in the kitchen... if they've got banana splits on the menu, they'll probably give you a banana if you ask for it, or if they serve carrot and celery sticks with their chicken wings ask for a few carrot and celery sticks. Most decent restaurants will do this for you, often for free, though on occasion it's come up on the bill for $0.25, $0.50 or $2, or something like that. We've even gotten free carrot sticks at Chuck E Cheese, and I wouldn't describe Chuck E Cheese as a decent restaurant.

[lil_earthmomma]

We don't eat out often, but when we do, I usually just share my main with ds. (He's 2) and order him off of the appy's menu. For example, my parents took us out last week, and the kids menu had the regular junk, which ds won't even eat. So I ordered pizza (they make it fresh with local ing and it's just so yummy! and scanned the appy's. They had sweet potato fries with garlic aioli, and ds and I were all over that. Why can't they put things like that on the kids menu?!? Ds also ate half of Grandpa's calamari, proclaiming it to be "yummy chicken"!

[avendesora]

$12 to feed my family at Chipotle!! No sales or coupons needed. We ordered a veggie burrito for DH and I to split (it's BIG), and a three-taco dish for the three kids to all split (they're young, so it was enough). We go easy on the salsa for the kids, but otherwise they love it. Beans, bell pepper, cheese, lettuce, tomato. Yum.

Aven

[mistymama]

My favorite "chain" restaurant is PF Changs. Mmmmm. For the kids they put the sauce on the side, which is a big deal for ds with sensory issues.

Cheesecake Factory does not have a kids menu, but has sooo many options, lots of them fairly healthy for ds.

I also like CPK, California Pizza Kitchen. Great kids menu with crayons.

[Pinky Tuscadero]

Chipotle! They will make anything your kid wants!

[BetsyS]

In the Chipotle vein, Moe's is good for kids. My family doesn't like Chipotle (too bland), so we only eat there if it's free. LOL

My 2 year old loves Moe's, though, cause he can eat as much salsa as he wants. We usually get a bean and cheese taco on a soft corn tortilla. That, with the chips and salsa, is usually enough.