Best restaurant staff ever!

I am extremely finicky about taking my baby to a restaurant that doesn't have baby chairs. Not that she sits in through dinner, but it is good enough to keep her busy for a good part of the meal.

So with a lot of hesitation and apprehension, I agreed for dinner at Her Name is Ming, at the Clarion Hotel (erstwhile President Hotel). One reason being the baby chair and the other being, well, it is a renovated version of President Hotel, hello! Wasn't President always associated with adjectives like "sidey" or "shadey"?

However, I was in for a big surprise! The restaurant was done up really well. It was elegant and chic with giant huge bird cages adorned with lights ( I am a sucker for any thing bird cage!). And the staff! I have to tell you, they were possibly the most considerate and baby friendly staff I have come across in Chennai!

Food Factor:

- The menu has Malay, Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese dishes.

- Reasonably good Asian fare. Nothing that sent us over the moon, but nothing bad either.

- The dish that stood out for us was the Sichuan Chicken, it is a slightly fancier and spicier version of Chilly chicken.

Baby Factor:

- The staff were super baby friendly!

- They actually took care of my baby and let me enjoy the entire meal. I have never been able to do that! They carried the baby around, entertained her, showed her the live kitchen and pretty much managed with very little help from me.

- I couldn't have cared less about the restaurant not having a basic baby chair or even couch for that matter. The staff were just top notch!

- There aren't too many options in terms of food that you can give the baby except probably fried rice or dimsums. And yes, they do accept a request of no MSG, so its safe for the li'l one.

Dinner at Spaghetti Kitchen

I hate it when good restaurants open up their only branch in the city at a mall. This means double the work for mums who have to handle not just dinner, but also running around the mall!

But the Zara sale and a good Italian dinner were too tempting to give up, so we headed to Spaghetti Kitchen at Phoenix mall anyway.

Food Factor:
I have to say, I felt the quality of food at Chennai's Spaghetti Kitchen was a bit of a let down compared to their Bangalore branch.
The menu is your typical Italian fare with a good selection of pastas, pizzas, grills and desserts.
Most of the starters seemed similar with a slightly tangy taste. None of the main course dishes really stood out  - the Black pepper chicken, Aglio Olio pasta nor the Bassa fish. We had to skip dessert because the li'l one got a tad cranky!

Baby Factor:
- Wooden baby chair available.
- Booth seating also available if your baby prefers to sit next to you.
- Friendly staff. They brought some chocolate rolls for all the kids at the restauarant.
- If your kid likes soup, the cream of mushroom soup is a great option.
- Wood fire pizzas and spaghetti in alfredo sauce are items most kids would enjoy too.

Do choose a weekday if you are going with your li'l one though because the weekend rush may be a bit too overwhelming!

Address: Spaghetti Kitchen, 2nd floor, Phoenix Market City, Velachery, Chennai - 600042.
Phone: 044 30083730

The Brew Room - with my li'l one

A little stone path on a small grass layout, gorgeous al-fresco seating and quirky artifacts which include a cycle covered with twinkling lights make for a great cafe!

Food Factor:
The menu lists good options for coffee and tea drinkers, light bites, pastas and sandwiches. Inside, displayed under glass cloches are interesting sweets such as White Velvet Cake, Chocolate Eclair, etc. 
What caught my attention was the all-day breakfast options and after battling between a Souflee with eggs & cheese, and Eggs Benedict, the latter won. Soft gooey eggs (that Matt Preston would have been proud of) served with crispy bacon and a slightly salty hollandaise sauce on a light bread.

Baby Factor:
- Wooden baby chair with table available.
- Staff very polite. The waitress asked if we wanted a baby chair (I did not expect a small hip cafe to have one).
- The open space is convenient for the kids to run around.
- If your kids like cakes and eggs, you have quite a few options.



Address: The Brew Room, Savera, JP Ave, Krishnapuram, Mylai, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600004.
Phone: 044 2811 4700

Dinner with bub - China XO

     

On top of my list in "best places to dine with baby" is The Leela. Undoubtedly, some of the friendliest staff who make sure you and the baby enjoy the dining experience.

This experience is about China XO. I will cover Spectra in another post.

Food Factor: 
This Chinese speciality restaurant has a good mix of traditional Chinese dishes such as Peking duck along with the popular ones that we have grown up with like Kung Pao chicken. 
I can confidently say they serve the best dimsums in town which are lil packages of delicately flavoured meat/seafood/veggies wrapped in silky translucent sheets. A bit of a warning about the desserts though - we ordered three and all of them were disastrous!

Comfort Factor:
We opted for a private dining room the first time and it was excellent! The room held a big round seating table, a couch on the side and a personal waiter to attend to us. Subsequent dinners were at the main seating area, near the live kitchen window to keep the li'l one entertained.

Baby Factor:
- Well maintained Graco baby high chair available. Staff help you get the baby in and out of the chair multiple times patiently.
- In the private dining room, the additional couch and decorative table top were helpful to keep baby stuff without a struggle. You can also sit ok it and feed the baby with a nursing cover.
- Although they don't have anything to please the kids on the menu, they were obliging enough to bring fluffy focaccia bread and butter from Spectra (Their all day dining restaurant).
- If your baby does want to run around, there isn't much space within the restaurant which is done up with glass, murals, fountain, etc. However, just step out of the restaurant on to the basement lobby and they can be free.



Address: The Leela Palace, MRC Nagar 1st Ln, MRC Nagar, Raja Annamalai Puram, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600028
Phone: 044  3366 1234

Baby friendly restaurant? Say What?!

I always felt bad for "that" mom running behind a screaming baby in a crowded restaurant, enduring the judgemental looks and ‘chee-chee' head shakes from onlookers. 

Well, I am sure other people think the same of me now.

You will be surprised to learn that most restaurants in Chennai are not at all baby friendly. Not a single restaurant has a baby changing section or a feeding section, few restaurants have baby chairs and and even fewer restaurants have a play area.

I realised there must be hundreds of mums out there who face the same problem as me figuring out which restaurant to go to on a weekend with their li'l one. This blog will give you a list of great restaurants/cafes/hotels to take your lil ones to (and also, not so great, but slightly manageable ones) and make life easier for as many mommies as possible. 

I have taken into account a few metrics to determine the “baby-friendliness” of the place:
- Baby chair
- If above is missing, then comfortable seating
- Friendly/accommodative staff
- Kid friendly munchies
- Space to play around

Hope it helps!