The Best Restaurants for Kids and Parents

On this episode of All of It, host Alison Stewart explores the challenges and joys of dining out with young children, spotlighting a new GrubStreet.com guide titled 'The 40 Best Restaurants for Kids and Parents: How to Eat with Children While Dining Like a Grown-Up.' Writer Rachel Sugar joins the conversation to discuss the criteria behind the list—excluding big chains and pizza places to highlight uniquely New York, intimate, and welcoming dining spots. The episode features heartfelt calls from parents sharing their experiences, from magical moments at Michelin-starred restaurants like Francie and Gage & Tollner to playful, interactive venues like Cura with a K-U-R-A, where robots deliver drinks and kids earn toys. Key themes include the importance of accommodating service, the value of introducing children to diverse foods early, and the emotional resonance of shared dining experiences. The conversation underscores that while kids are unpredictable, their openness to new flavors—like escargot, oysters, and even olives—can be nurtured with patience and the right environment. Practical tips are shared, such as reserving with a note about children, ordering dinners in sequence to manage feeding, and choosing restaurants with built-in entertainment or escape routes. The episode ends on a warm, celebratory note, affirming that dining out with kids doesn't have to mean sacrificing adult enjoyment.