Actually, Macéo has an excellent vegetarian menu - Macéo Menu Vert:

http://williswineblog.wordpress.com/...getarian-side/

Hotel dining rooms are often more "kid friendly".

Ipad failure. Trying again-
Hotel dining rooms are often more "kid friendly". Consider l'Espadon at the Ritz or le First at the Westin. Both have kid menus and are accustomed to young diners. They are in the 1st arr. and should have vegetarian options.

As a mom of teens, let me give you some unsolicited parenting advice. Start today teaching your 3 and 5 yos to be well behaved at meal time. Expectations are the key. If you expect them to behave, they will try to meet your expectations. If you think that they are 3 and 5 so they will make noise, then they will make noise. By age 3, a child should know that he is to be quiet in the restaurant, he may NEVER leave his seat, etc. As the parent, it's your job to bring crayons, paper, books and other quiet activities to keep them occupied. We have never allowed electronics at the table but you could resort to a phone or ipad loaded with movies, and with ear buds. Also, you may have to accept paying for the bread basket to be refilled. By the time my kids were 4 and 6, they sat through 2-3 hour dinners in Europe without any issues. My kids are just normal kids, not extraordinary, and we are not perfect parents. Raising well behaved kids is not rocket science. Have a great trip!

Thank you everyone for your help. I will look into all of the restaurant recommendations. My kids are fairly well behaved as we go out to meals on a regular basis, but a 2-3 hour meal in a completely different time zone, may be hard for any kid, so I am realistic.

I appreciate all of the recommendations and will likely use more than just one for that evening, so if there are other good food/family friendly places that you have tried, please let me know!

A fantastic place to go with Grandpas and kids is a creperie. There are tons of good ones and they all love the delicious, trés French, very family friendly cuisine. A gourmet one that is Paris central would be la Compagnie de Bretagne near l'Odeon.
My kids also love Le Relais de l'Entrecote, but it is steak / fries only, so it would have to be a night without the vegetarian.

Little Breizh is another excellent creperie. The service is quick and I've seen families there.

A creperie is a good idea, and maybe even one of the restaurants on rue Hachette, in spite of everyone turning up their nose at them. BUT with that number you still might need a reservation. Maybe scout one out in the afternoon and pop in for a reservation. It won't be haute cuisine,but it will be friendly and it is the occasion.

I think the crèperie is an excellent idea, as is Maceo.

I love kids, and have some very young ones in the family. I wouldn't even consider Bofinger, le Saut du Loup or Café Marly. These are NOT toddler places.

A friend, with a large group, had a birthday dinner at Tastevin. I wasntthere, and there were no kids, but it sounds sort of easy-going and might be a good idea.

A celebration at lunchtime is also a good option, I think.

We recently celebrated my birthday with our 8 year old grandson at Chez Clement near the Bastille. We reserved online on La Fourchette and got a wonderful table and the servers were so kind with Sebastian, giving him a Chef's hat, some playing cards and colouring pencils and word puzzles.

We usually eat at very different places when in Paris (Spring, Frenchies, Au Passage, etc) but this was Seb's trip and the meals were tailored for his age and attention span. That being said, we had a nice meal and everyone was very comfortable during our 2 hour celebration.

Pictures and details on my blog:

http://thisoldbroadsblog.blogspot.ca...b-and-den.html

Have a great trip!

Jo

You sound like a wise grandmother, ParisJo. I just glanced at your blog -- will go back later -- and was touched by Seb dancing with you at Trocadero.

Thanks toupary6. This was our 8th trip to Paris and Seb's first one and we will all have memories to last a lifetime ~ plus I've created another Paris addict, lol

Jo

And that's a good thing. ;-)