Louisville Mojo: Louisville's truly family-friendly restaurants

When it comes to restaurants, the term "family-friendly" usually means something fairly specific, something that you have to pick up from cultural clues, not the words themselves.

Any restaurant in town, surely, would be friendly to a couple celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary with their grown children. But the particular sort of friendliness that Chuck E. Cheese would offer might be, well, less than welcome.

When restaurants say they're family-friendly, they really mean they're child-friendly. Nothing wrong with that. Sometimes if the kids are happy, then everyone is happy. Chuck E. Cheese has its place in the world. (I guess.)

But often enough, what parents long for is a place that is truly friendly to the WHOLE family. That means a place where the children can eat well and relatively quickly and can even get cups with lids, but where the parents can also experience something of the thrill of a restaurant meal. I mean, sure, Moe's is nice. But I'm talking about a meal in which I don't have to ice my own drink, unwrap my food, or try to cram my plastic bowl into a trash can when I'm done.

Lynn's Paradise Cafe: Lynn's can be crowded at certain times of the day and the week and a long wait is never family-friendly. But they take reservations so a little pre-planning will help you avoid that. This truly is a great place for a big, extended family gathering because it easily accommodates vegetarians, meat-n-potato lovers, and children.

Tony Boombozz: Boombozz always has great pizza, but their location at the corner of Hurstbourne and Westport is also a great place to actually eat. (The one in the Highlands looks nice as well, but I've received no first-hand reports.)

Yang Kee Noodle : Okay, you do have to ice your own drink here and it's in a mall. So, I'm sort of stretching the category. But the overall quality of the food, the relatively dim lights and kind of cool decor elevate it, for me. The children love it and we can easily make it work.

Cheesecake Factory: I wasn't going to put any chain places on the list, but if you have small children, the wait staff brings you a plate of cut-up bananas and bread as soon as you sit down. For free. That deserves a mention.

Mark's Feed Store: I'm not a big meat eater, so I'm not quite as wild about this as the rest of the family. But it undeniably works well for children. There's pigs outside that you can pretend to ride on, short waits, crayons on the table, non-fried options for children. It also has that sort of loud, casual atmosphere where parents don't have to sweat the occasional voice-modulation problem. (Toddlers think if something is worth saying, it's worth saying loudly.) And they do have vegetarian options, just not many.

Le Relais: This is the only place I'm suggesting without first-hand experience, but two friends (both of whom have bigger bank accounts than mine) swear that this can actually work well if you time your meal to coincide with heavy airplane traffic at Bowman Field. Children of a certain age are riveted. Judging by my own pleasant breakfasts and lunches at Nancy's Bagels, where the children are entertained by trains, I would guess they could be correct.

What are your favorite places?

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Rick Redding tue nov 03 2009 at 10:54 am ·


	I just went to the Boombozz in the Highlands over the weekend and, though I didn't have one in tow, it seems kid-friendly. Although I wrote a terrible review when it opened, I hear Incredible Dave's on Westport Road has improved and definitely has the "parents can drink, kids can play" vibe.

Mixed Mojo wed nov 04 2009 at 2:14 pm ·


	The BBC in St. Matthews has a stage with toys all over it. I've had my kid there once and I have a friend who goes there all the time to have a meal with his wife as their kid plays on the stage next to their table not bugging a soul in the whole place.

Beverly Bartlett wed nov 04 2009 at 9:15 pm ·


	You're right. BBC is an excellent suggestion. The stage with the toys is perfect!

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