Need your restaurant recommendations in London!
 

We are a family of five with three boys aged 6, 12, & 13. The boys are well behaved in restaurants and we enjoy eating. Recommendations of good restaurants in London that welcome well behaved children? We will be there for almost a week so we welcome recommendations at all price points and all types of cuisines. Thank you.

Some casual places we stopped at for lunch or light dinner are:
Dim-T thai/ Asian noodle restaurant; this is a chain with several locations around London.
Ponti's Italian kitchen --again I think there are several around London. Individual pizzas, pasta, sandwiches
If you Ike Indian food, Bangalore near the Old Vic was very good. You can order a large meal or just a few small plates. Very trendy, hip atmosphere.

Another place we've enjoyed for a more expensive, fancier meal is the restaurant at Oxo tower. The restaurant is several floors above ground level and offers excellent views. I believe they have a fancy restaurant and a more casual option too. Check the menu to see if their offerings will work for your family. After our dinner at Oxo tower, we walked to the London Eye for a night ride ( we had purchased timed entry tickets earlier in the day).

I have not been, but a friend recommended Chinatown as a fun place.

For more inexpenside try
Carluccio's ..noisy but he food is very good..across from South Kensington tube station

Orsini's across from the V&A

Caffee Concerto several location's we g to the one across from Kensington High Street tube

Brasserie Gerard futther down alog Kensington High Street

The Anglesea Arms on Onslow Sq. It's a great pub but they do have a dining roo

The Cadogan Arm on King's Row

Our fallback restaurant here is a chain called Prezzo. It's pleasant, with a fairly broad menu that would appeal to kids, and reasonably priced. There are two at Trafalgar Square and another on Euston Street in Bloomsbury, another on Kensington High Street, and lots of others. Here's the website:
www.prezzorestaurants.co.uk

And, of course, you'll find PizzaExpress everywhere.

For the boys you'll find McDs, BK, and KFC everywhere. Other than that it is pub grub. Despite the high nose gourmet reviews, London is still a place where you are better off bringing a brown bag, or a bag of cash.

Have lunch at Helen Darroze at the Connaught.

The Cheshire Cheese pub (I think it's Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese) is good and very atmospheric.

ASK Pizza is a chain and much more than just a pizza shop.

Our overall UK favorite is the reliable Pizza Express which we think has the best salade niçois found anywhere, including France. Pizza Express has been our "fallback" restaurant (like ASK Pizza, PE is not just a chain) in Edinburgh, York, London, Budapest, Madrid and Barcelona.

You may want to try Richoux for lunch or afternoon tea. there are several branches, including one near Harrods and one on Picadilly. they serve sandwiches and light meals as well as afternoon tea. And I've seen americans order a pitcher of iced soda or iced tea (much better than several of the minute glasses in which they provide soft drinks).

Not gourmet fare but perfectly tasty and a nice selection of light meals and pastries.

mohun,
I love salad nicoise and will give it a try in PE. Prezzo also does an excellent salad nicoise.

<i>Despite the high nose gourmet reviews, London is still a place where you are better off bringing a brown bag, or a bag of cash.</i>

Wrong.

To the OP, I don't have kids, so my thoughts may be a bit out of whack. I am taking you at your word that they are well-behaved, in which case, I don't see why any restaurant would mind them. I am also assuming that they are not overly picky and that by "welcome children" you don't mean that they necessarily offer a children's menu.

So, with that in mind, here are some thoughts on places I really like:

Leong's Legend - Very good dim sum. The restaurant is a bit cramped, but with an interesting, albeit dark, decor. Casual and not too expensive.

Yming - Another great Chinese place in Soho. Very nice service and a bit of a step up from your typical Chinese place in terms of ambiance. Not terribly expensive and well worth it, IMO.

Arbutus - A nice place, but not formal. Has a Michelin star. Very good modern British food. The food might be a bit esoteric for kids, though.

Fino - Good tapas, which might be fun with the kids. Not really a place that would seem suited to kids at first glance, with a prominent bar and good cocktails, but assuming this doesn't bother you, the atmosphere is very social, with a fair number of groups, and enough noise that the kids don't have to pretend they are in church.

North Sea Fish Restaurant - Very good Fish and Chips. Unpretentious.

Will post more as I think of them.

Tom's Kitchen is one of my favorites when in London. Always go there at least once.

http://www.tomskitchen.co.uk/chelsea/

My husband's London cousins took us here when we visited London last month and we liked it a lot:

http://portobellolondon.co.uk/

It seemed quite busy so you might want to make a reservation.

travelgourmet,
We love North Sea Fish! It's quite near the British Library so we've now been there several times. 'Unpretentious' is the right word for it. The fish is great, though!

We haven't been but I think Wagamaga would be good for kids. Lots of noodles, etc. They seem to have locations all over the place.
http://www.wagamama.com/home/

Thanks for all of your suggestions. This is a lot to absorb.

I don't like fast food so those restaurants (McDs, etc.) are out!! I think some good fish and chips would be great, especially for lunch. And the Chinese food sounds wonderful, especially dim sum (a favorite of the entire family) as does Italian. Any other Indian suggestions? How about Middle Eastern cuisine? African???

I should have mentioned that in terms of dress, I don't want any restaurants that require a jacket and tie. Don't need to bring an extra suitcase just to go out to dinner;).

My boys will try any type of food once and they eat all types of seafood, escargot, pate, rabbit, etc.. So far, coleslaw seems to be the only thing all three of them consistently don't like, even after having tried it a couple of times-- odd! They are less picky than my DH;) and view eating out as an adventure!

Travelgourmet, yes, we don't necessarily want a restaurant that has a child's menu-- the oldest two are too old for that type of menu. With respect to the youngest one, we often will order him just an appetizer and then share with him our food if he is still hungry. (Tapas is great for him as he likes trying a little bit of everything).

Keep the suggestions coming. Thanks.

"<i>I should have mentioned that in terms of dress, I don't want any restaurants that require a jacket and tie. Don't need to bring an extra suitcase just to go out to dinner</i>"

You have nothing to worry about. Few places have a strict dress code (exceptions are mostly very high end/posh hotels and destination restaurants like the Ritz) and none where a family of 5 is likely to end up.

Sitaaray is an Indian place you may want to try. Lunch is "shared" platters and dinner is a set fee affair, and the place is kind of fun, with photos of "Bollywood" stars on the walls. Good Morrocan food at Souk Bazaar, not far from the Leicester Square tube. Sofra, a Turkish place near Covent Garden, also has great shared plates and wonderful lamb dishes.

BC

<i>I should have mentioned that in terms of dress, I don't want any restaurants that require a jacket and tie.</i>

I have never worn anything other than jeans to London restaurants. Sometimes I'll throw on a blazer, but never a tie.

<i>especially dim sum (a favorite of the entire family)</i>

Yauatcha is also highly recommended. Very interesting (and beautiful) takes on dim sum. A bit steeper price. Awesome tea selection.

<i>So far, coleslaw seems to be the only thing all three of them consistently don't like, even after having tried it a couple of times-- odd!</i>

Don't care for it myself. And I like cabbage. And think mayonnaise is an integral part of a healthy diet. Just something about it I don't care for.