Baby Friendly Restaurants?

Trev M

Hi All,

Yesterday was our first day out in town with our little guy, he's 3 and half months now, it was slightly stressful, very busy and he's so tiny. As a new parent I have no experience of the complexities involved in selecting a suitable location to have a pit stop, bit of an eye opener. Overall though had a great day.... Ive concluded people are either really considerate or absolute morons:rolleyes:. Teen Girls in UGG boots are without doubt the worst:mad:

So we had a couple of pit stops. Bewleys in Grafton Street ....that was a bit mental, but mum was able to feed no hassle upstairs on the first floor. It was a little confined with the pram thing so probably wont go back in there until we're in something smaller(little buggy or something). Small lift you'll just about get mum dad and pram in there. Changing facilities were ok according to mum too. Overall though not a great choice for a pit stop;) , too busy (Obviously D'oh).

Later in the evening we went to Cafe Bar Deli. I was a little hesitant and didnt think they were gonna be too delighted to see us bundle in with pram, bags etc but to my surprise they couldnt have been more accomadating which which was great. Plenty of space to move around, changing area(Downstairs) was very clean. Id recommend this place....friendly staff, good service and made us feel welcome back.

So just thought Id report out on that

We live in Dun Laoghaire, so anyone has any recommendations round there good for access/feeding with a baby feel free to shout.

Trev

eviltwin

This country is so baby unfriendly its unbelieveable. My eldest is 12 and back when she was a baby I found it nearly impossible to get anywhere for a cuppa where you could fit the pram. It was bad enough with dad there but when your own your own no one will help you carry a tray or anything.

Actually at the time my sister was working in the bewleys you mentioned and she even told me DO NOT take her in there!!!

Now I have a two week old son and have had the exact same problem. Lack of space, rubbish baby changing facilities, no help getting bottles heated

The only place I found helpful was the Starbucks at the Mama's and Papa's in the the Blanchardstown Centre...took my little boy over there last week on my own and the staff couldnt have been anymore helpful

Trev M

I think town is always gonna be difficult with small pokey places obviously trying to squeeze every last table and chair into the real estate , I reckon the places in the burbs are likely to be more helpful.... TGI fridays in Black rock were pretty good to us a couple weeks back too....plenty of space, and friendly folk.

Reckon it could be a bit of a niche for some enterprising restaurant owner given there's a bit of a baby boom on

mumto3

Probably the reason mc donallads is so popular!!I definatly find myself in there more often because of the convieniance.:mad:My youngest is almost 3 now,but what i found when she was a newborn was that most places no longer heat babies bottles for you anymore because of health and safety issues(back in 2000 this was no problem),now they offer you a small over-full teapot to stand it in,so when you put the bottle in ,hot water spills everywhere!!
Also i dont understand those tiny narrow doors most places have?Very un-inviting,then again maybe their ment to be!
Have to say tho,slightly going off topic,spare a thought for people who dont have cars,and need to do a weekly shop,but cant just leave hte buggie in a car-why the hell dont supermarkets have anywhere to store pushchairs!!!When i go shopping iv got to get my 9 yr old to push my youngest in her buggie,while i push the trolly,and also keep an eye on my 7yr old,its a disgrace!!

silverharp

Probably the shopping centre ones, Debenhams in Jervis (have a play area) or the one upstairs in Stephen's green centre

big syke

Trev M wrote: »

Hi All,

Yesterday was our first day out in town with our little guy, he's 3 and half months now, it was slightly stressful, very busy and he's so tiny. As a new parent I have no experience of the complexities involved in selecting a suitable location to have a pit stop, bit of an eye opener. Overall though had a great day.... Ive concluded people are either really considerate or absolute morons:rolleyes:. Teen Girls in UGG boots are without doubt the worst:mad:

So we had a couple of pit stops. Bewleys in Grafton Street ....that was a bit mental, but mum was able to feed no hassle upstairs on the first floor. It was a little confined with the pram thing so probably wont go back in there until we're in something smaller(little buggy or something). Small lift you'll just about get mum dad and pram in there. Changing facilities were ok according to mum too. Overall though not a great choice for a pit stop;) , too busy (Obviously D'oh).

Later in the evening we went to Cafe Bar Deli. I was a little hesitant and didnt think they were gonna be too delighted to see us bundle in with pram, bags etc but to my surprise they couldnt have been more accomadating which which was great. Plenty of space to move around, changing area(Downstairs) was very clean. Id recommend this place....friendly staff, good service and made us feel welcome back.

So just thought Id report out on that

We live in Dun Laoghaire, so anyone has any recommendations round there good for access/feeding with a baby feel free to shout.

Trev

+1 on the Teen Girls in UGG boots. We went to McDonalds a few weeks ago. The place had a load of kids in it and these two tools walked past us (we hava a 4 month old) and wee giving out to each other saying in their stupid posh accents "McDonalds is too child friendly". Of Phucking course it is, there's happy meals for KIDS and this bloody mascot is a clown. Dopes seriously cant wait until they have kids fools. /Rant

Anyway any place weve been to have been more than friendly (probably because my baby is awsome and so frickin cute hahaha). But seriously no issues with staff/ resteraunts only the odd look from a teenager or grumpy single middle aged bitter person!!

hairyfairy00

I normally go to La Croissanterie in the Eyre Square Shopping Centre, if you sit on the outside seats there's loads of room for the buggy, although they don't have a changing room but Mothercare is just beside it and they have one! Kelly's Bar (old Livingroom) is also great and the staff seem to love babies, quite often they 'kidnap' my daughter for a few minutes. But Milano has to be the most baby friendly place there is, whether you have a newborn or toddler, they have bottle warmers and a kids menu that my niece (5) and nephew (3) love.

ziggy23

Hi all

I have to agree this country is totally child un-friendly:mad: I have a 10 week old baby and dont drive. It's such an ordeal going round town...especially this time of year!!! The bus is the worst. As u prob know the newer buses have a space for one wheelchair or buggy. The amount of times I've gotten on a bus and there has been someone (always young) standing there that wont move to let u put the buggy in and this is always when theres seats. I mean do they want u to stand there in the middle of the bus in everyones way? Then theres the bus drivers that see u at the bus stop but still stop the bus a couple of feet away from the kerb so its really awkward trying to get the buggy on:mad: And dont get me started on those narrow doors in most of the shops!!! I usually have to go in backwards cos most people dont hold the door!!!

One place I can mention that are very helpful is Cafe Aroma both their branches...one in GPO Arcade and the other on Abbey Street. They always make room for the buggy etc

Anyway rant over!!!

Waternews

Hiya,

M&S on Grafton Street - go to the top floor - loads of room, nice staff.

I know this might sound odd, but some of the pubs are far better than restaurants. Most do food, most have no problem moving furniture around - are much more likely to be helful. Changing facilities would be hit and miss though.
As you're generally out in the day, the pubs really aren't busy - and if you're not in ones like Kehoe's or Davy Byrnes, there's bags of room - e.g. Duke on Duke Street, Cafe en Seine, Ron Blacks.

But that's it as far as town is concerned for me.
Dundrum has always been my destination of choice, not least from a toilet point of view - they have the family ones, where you go in to a room, lock the door - there's room for any size buggy, changing facilities, a chair for feeding (not recommended as you'll have people pounding on the door!) - and best of all an adult toilet!!!
Going out on your own with a baby means never going to the toilet!!

All the cafe's etc in Dundrum are very baby friendly.

HTH

richardjjd

Ikea has a brilliant play area beside their large, family friendly restaurant.

We've stopped going to pubs now (it was grand when the children were in pushchairs, but we need more space now that we've entered the toddler stage) - we find hotels much handier... Park Plaza in Blanchardstown Shopping Centre and Camden Court Hotel on Camden St have decent lobbies and child friendly staff.

kelle

And we haven't even started on breastfeeding yet! When I had my first baby in 2001 I was too shy to breastfeed in public, I'll never forget going to a friend's wedding reception at a hotel, then asking if there was a room I could feed my baby. I was shown to a tiny cubicle-sized room with a shelf and about 10 chairs stacked up - even if I could prise off one of the chairs while holding baby there wasn't enough floor space to place it on. I had to feed standing up but I was so grateful to have privacy I never questioned to inappropriateness of the facility!

Blanchardstown Shopping Centre is great, there's a baby changing room and a feeding room. And the restaurants are spacious, and the staff don't bat an eyelid when you breastfeed.

kenco

Trev M wrote: »

Hi All,

Yesterday was our first day out in town with our little guy, he's 3 and half months now, it was slightly stressful, very busy and he's so tiny. As a new parent I have no experience of the complexities involved in selecting a suitable location to have a pit stop, bit of an eye opener. Overall though had a great day.... Ive concluded people are either really considerate or absolute morons:rolleyes:. Teen Girls in UGG boots are without doubt the worst:mad:

So we had a couple of pit stops. Bewleys in Grafton Street ....that was a bit mental, but mum was able to feed no hassle upstairs on the first floor. It was a little confined with the pram thing so probably wont go back in there until we're in something smaller(little buggy or something). Small lift you'll just about get mum dad and pram in there. Changing facilities were ok according to mum too. Overall though not a great choice for a pit stop;) , too busy (Obviously D'oh).

Later in the evening we went to Cafe Bar Deli. I was a little hesitant and didnt think they were gonna be too delighted to see us bundle in with pram, bags etc but to my surprise they couldnt have been more accomadating which which was great. Plenty of space to move around, changing area(Downstairs) was very clean. Id recommend this place....friendly staff, good service and made us feel welcome back.

So just thought Id report out on that

We live in Dun Laoghaire, so anyone has any recommendations round there good for access/feeding with a baby feel free to shout.

Trev

Good local one for you! The Milanos down opposite the Train Station is fantastic with young kids. No problems at all and they are very helpful.

The formal restaurant (Fir Tree??) in Avoca Kilmacanogue is also very good and reasonably priced for Brunch/Lunch.

SerialComplaint

Milano's kids menu is great value - €8.50 for three courses - dough balls, pizza & tiny side salad, ice cream sundae & bambinocino.