Carmel/Monterey Dining Suggestion
 

What restaurants would you recommend bringing a toddler to? She's pretty well behaved, but I'd like suggestions for family friendly places. No chain restaurants. Moderate budget - about $20-$25 per person. Ocean view would be nice, but not required. We'll be there 3 days.

Thank you!

If you like Mediterranean food, I recommend Petra's in Pacific Grove. No view, but great food and friendly for a family.

There's a restaurant at Lovers Point in PG also that is decent and has a view and a great walking path along the water right across the street.

Montereys Fish House for seafood is good and family friendly. So is Bahama Billy's in Carmel (at the Barnyard), and also in your budget. In Pacific Grove for breakfast try Toasties and the Red House for lunch. No ocean views with my picks though.

<i> tick... tick... tick...</i>

Kal - you are too funny. She's too busy sitting in Clovis dreaming of another Googled trip.

I can't begin to answer this question, it's too generic. When our kids were toddlers, we took them most anywhere. Choose some restaurants and ask if they're OK, please! Needle in a haystack, you know?

There's a neat restaurant on the way south to Big Sur that would be perfect! It's on the ocean side of Highway 1, I think the name is Rocky Point..Haven't been in a few years but it;s always been good in the past, nice views... not fancy, but nice.

Katy's in Carmel for breakfast and maybe Montrio in Monterey for a lunch.. have fun, I think you'll find A LOT of restaurants where you'll feel comfortable. You're getting good advice from previous the posters.

HI redhead04, we like Schooner's Bistro at the Monterey Plaza Hotel &amp; Spa. Very good food and you will have ocean views here, also. :)

In the Carmel Highland's area, the California Market is one of our favorites, at the Highland's Inn where we like to stay in the area.

Have a great time with your family and enjoy the coast! ***kim*** ((f))

Thank you for all your suggestions, now i have a lot of options :)

Sorry, I didn't understand some posts... I'm not from Clovis, hmm...

I thought giving a preference (Family Friendly) and Budget (Moderate) was adequate enough, but if that isn't specific enough for some, I'll explain:

Family Friendly - Kids menu, highchairs/booster seats available, servers ready to accommodate children, maybe something to colour while they wait, etc.

At home, we usually take our daughter where ever we feel like going to eat, but we also know our restaurants well around here. I just wanted to feel comfortable in the places we choose to dine. There are so many restaurants in this area, I didn't know what to suggest, and thought it would be nice to get some locals advice, or advice of those who've had similar experiences while visiting this area.

Anyways, thanks again, I'm looking forward to our time here.

Also, First Awakenings is a good family friendly place for breakfast or lunch:
http://www.firstawakenings.net/locations.html
They are in Pacific Grove but near Cannery Row and the aquarium.

FYI, I know what you mean by family friendly. I've taken children to all the places I've mentioned. Oh, and &quot;Clovis&quot; is in reference to another poster not you.

The Clovis reference was in response to Kal, redhead. Trippin gave you GREAT suggestions, by the way. Another fun place is Archie's Hamburgers at the Tin Cannery near the Aquarium.

Thanks TTess! We have also been to Archie's with kids and it's a good spot too. Oh, my son just reminded me about Kalisa's for ice cream (they have good sandwiches too). On Cannery row &quot;kitty corner&quot; from the aquarium.

Sorry to break it to you Trippin, but Kalisa's closed recently. Pretty good ice cream but ol' Kalisa had a screw loose. There's a Cold Stone at the Del Monte Shopping Center.

Oh thanks for the heads up TTess. My husband liked talking with Kalisa (was she really John Steinbeck's girlfriend?). But the &quot;screw loose&quot; doesn't surprise me! I like the Del Monte Center for getting picnic suplies at Whole Foods. They make a mean PB&amp;J which kids usually like.

Anybody know anything about The Sardine Factory?

Trippin - she never even met Steinbeck but claims all kinds of things about him. One sandwich short of a picnic.

Alright, thank you everyone. I made a list, so when we're wandering around for those 3 days, we'll check out some of the following - whatever we end feeling like:

Archie's Hamburgers - Monterey
First Awakenings - PG
Katy's - Carmel
Montrio - Monterey
Monterey Fish House
Bahama Billy's - Carmel
Toasties - PG
Red House - PG
Petra's - PG
California Market - Carmel
Schooner's Bistro - Monterey

Looks good to me, a little bit of everything, just what I hoped! If there's any more opinions on what I should add, or leave out, let me know, but other than that, i think I'm off to a great start!

Chinese: Full Moon Cantonese in downtown Monterey.

Japanese/sushi: Wasabi Bistro, Crossroads Shopping Center, Carmel.

Ca/Mex: Baja Cantina, Carmel Valley, hear Quail Lodge.

Best yet: A picnic at Carmel beach. Bundle up, bring a blanket and live it up. The Safeway at the mouth of the valley, has a great deli for picnics. There's a Longs next door that has sand toys for your daughter. Best sunsets, too!

What a great list, including TTess' add on! I'm envious as I sit here eating my non-fat yogurt. :-(

Thanks for the Sushi suggestion, my husband adores it! But unfortunately his girls won't touch it...
Since we'll only be there 3 days, I can't imagine us eating at more than 6 to 9 places, but it's really nice to have so many options, so thanks again.

I'll let you all know what we end up trying when we get back in a couple weeks!

You're welcome. The reason I listed Japanese/sushi is because it's not just sushi. They have chicken, beef, cooked fish, soups and salads. If you do go, try the Rock Roll and the Maui roll. For the girls - some teriyaki beef is mmmm good!

Rocky roll, not rock roll. Wish we could edit, Fodors. X-(

Anybody mention Casanova's in Carmel. We took our 3 yr old niece there once, sat in the patio and had a great time.

Of course she's 13 now so it may have changed a bit? :-!

Yeah, Kal...it's changed. Love the owners, love the restaurant but the food has changed. You can do better, much better.

Thank you all again for your suggestions. Safeway worked out great for picnic items, we did that twice. We also tried Montrio, Allegro Pizzeria, and Bahama Billy's, all very good choices.

Redhead - you're a class act to post back, thank you!

If you were in Safeway on Sunday - me too. I'm glad it worked out well for you. Our weather was pretty nice, don't you think? Where did you stay? By the way, we were at Billy Quon's (Bahama Billy) house on Sunday. He sold the restaurant but is proud that it's doing well. Allegro is our family's local pizza joint.

We too are travelling to the area in May with a toddler. WOuld any of you know where we should stay in either Carmel or Monterey? Which is the two is more beautiful. Our budget is up to $200 per night.

VISIT

www.nepenthebigsur.com

The restaurant is one that I visited in 2005 while at a yoga retreat in Watsonville. The ladies at the retreat told me I HAD to go there.

It is called Nepenthe. It is 28 miles south of Carmel. 63 miles north of Hearst Castle.

Highway One
Big Sur California
93920
(have the card out so I can go at any moment.....you know how that is...)