We will be in Belgium next week with our 23 month old son. I understand that locals do not commonly take young children out to restaurants and as such many restaurants do not have high chairs.

Can anyone recommend a restaurant in Antwerp, Ghent, and/or Bruges where we would not get dirty stares? Should we stick to eating in pubs/street vendors? Any words of wisdom highly appreciated.

cheers, Julie

Here's a website for Antwerpen that has rather detailed descriptions of restaurants, some which offer children's plates (like Al Dente), so they must be child friendly:

http://tinyurl.com/6ma85r

That said, don't you think you can rely on your hotel and the tourist office for some recommendations when you get there? It's very common for people to take their children to Gent to see it, so I can't believe you won't be able to find some places. Likewise Brugge.

And while your touring during the day, if you see a restaurant that interests you for dinner, you can stick your head in and find out if they have a high chair.

Sorry, it looks like my link didn't work. Let me try again:

http://tinyurl.com/6axv5q

I saw three families with children at Meridian 3 brasserie at the Market Square. Two of them had babied in strollers. Another had two toddlers eating waffles and making a mess at a separate table. I think they were speaking Flemish. There were only a few other people inside the restaurant while its outdoor tables were busy. What seemed to work for them seem to be:

Choosing a less crowded place and eat inside (instead of busy outside tables.)

Eat early.

Thank you, Greg and Zeppole - that link was very helpful. i'm sure our hotels will have reccs - just wanted to ask my fellow Fodorites for help!

We've often seen families with young children at restaurants on Smedenstraat, just on the "other side" of tZand, which is much, much less touristy than the heart of Bruges (once you cross 'tZand, the number of tourists plummets even though it's an easy walk to the center of town). Bonheur is one of our favorite casual restaurants in Bruges, as is the restaurant next door. (hope the link below works).

However, even the young children were well-behaved. If your 2-year old happens to be in a "barabarian" mood while you're there, your welcome may be strained.
http://www.resto.be/ware/details.jsp...7787&lg=EN

yes, he's USUALLY good in restaurants and i'm coming prepared with lots of new destraction toys but we might just have to have lots of meals for one and take turns.