Nice Boston Restaurants with Toddler
 

Hi!
My husband and I are taking a trip to Boston the last week of May with our one and a half year old. It is his first trip so we are quite excited. My husband and I love to eat, and we love good restaurants, but don't necessarily care if the place is fancy or not. We are mainly focused on the food and the service. My son is usually really good in restaurants and will eat anything. That being said, he is still one and a half, so I only want to take him to places where he (and we) will be comfortable. We plan on eating all our dinners at 5 or 530, so it should open up more options. Can anybody recommend some must-try restaurants in Boston where he will either be welcome or at least not result in us getting dirty looks? Thanks so much in advance for your help with this!

Honestly, you and your family will be welcome at almost any restaurants in Boston, esp if you plan on dining so early. There are tons of great restaurants in Boston; I think it'd be helpful if you tell us where you're staying and we can make recommendations for places that are close-by. I assume you'd want to walk to nearby restaurants? Or do you plan on taking cabs to places that are farther afield?

For example, if you're staying near Faneuil Hall/Waterfront, it's not as feasible to recommend restaurants in BAck Bay or Kenmore Sq, or vice versa; unless you don't mind hopping into a cab to/from dinner.

Thanks yk!
We are staying in Back Bay, and would prefer to walk or maybe take the train (if that's possible) rather than cab it. I am not completely opposed to a cab, but really would rather not unless it's a truly great restaurant.

"Back Bay" is still a large area... can you tell us which hotel or street intersection? Also, price range and cuisine?

Taking the T (our subway system) will be somewhat challenging. There are still a number of stops on the Green line (the one that serves Back Bay area) that do not have escalators, so you'll have to carry the stroller up and down stairs. Even if there are escalators, you'll still have to go up 2-3 steps onto the Green Line trolleys. Finally, the Green Line trolleys tend to be crowded and they are much narrower than a regular subway car, so there's not much space to stow a stroller once onboard.

Oh, okay. Thanks for clearing that up for me. We are staying at the Back Bay Hotel (not sure what street, but I can look it up if it helps). As for price range, we are not really too concerned with price, as we are on vacation, but probably don't want to spend more than a hundred or a hundred and fifty on most dinners, and would go over for maybe one or two special dinners. We like all cuisine, and want to go to less touristy spots, if possible.

That's really good to know about the T. Now that I know that about the limitations on the T, are there a variety of good siteseeing options near that?

Thanks!

You'll like the Back Bay Hotel. My friends stayed there 2 summers ago with their toddler in tow and they liked it a lot. It's walking distance to the Public Gardens (with swan boat rides) which I think your son will enjoy a lot.

When they were here, we had dinner at Avila and they were very accommodating to us with the toddler. http://www.avilarestaurant.com/

Nearby is Via Matta which has solid nouveau Italian food. http://www.viamattarestaurant.com/index_flash.htm

You'd not have trouble with your son in the 2 places I mentioned above. For the following places, I'm pretty sure it'd be okay too, but you may want to call ahead to double-check.

A new restaurant, Tico, has received good reviews. I haven't eaten there yet. http://www.ticorestaurant.com/

If you like steak, Grill 23 is a good bet. It's right across the street from your hotel.

I also like Erbaluce in Bay Village. http://www.erbaluce-boston.com/

And if you want seafood, the Legal Seafood at Park Plaza would be the closest to your hotel.

Places I'd avoid near your hotel are:
Fire & Ice
Post 390
Melting Pot
Maggiano's

Thanks yk! I appreciate it! I will check those places out. Any other places in Boston we shouldn't miss out on?

For a casual meal, the Parish Cafe on Boylston Street has great sandwiches.

If the weather is warm when you're in Boston you can stroll down Newbury Street and find many restaurants with outdoor seating. Are you interested in any particular kind of food? The South End has lots of good choices and isn't too far away from you.

I have friends who love Post 390, and they have a children's menu so are definitely child-friendly.

Thanks for the tips. I will definitely try some of the recommended places. As for kind of food, I think we definitely want to try seafood. We live in Miami, and have a Legal Seafood down here, so we don't feel a need to go there. But, maybe somewhere else? Also, my husband loves Italian, so we'll want to do that at least one night. We're not too picky with other types of food. We just want good quality food at a restaurant we will be comfortable with my son.

So you are venturing into a "nice Boston restaurant" with a toddler? Just smiling as we have done same (grandparents).
Seriously yk and cw know Boston better than do I. Good to point out the stroller on MBTA problem. But you are young and able. Back Bay Hotel sounds good...let us know what you think. Enjoy!

Bill in Boston

For seafood, I really like Island Creek Oyster Bar in Kenmore square. Its nice, but its also big and noisy, and I'm sure a toddler would be fine there. its a 20 minute or so walk from Copley square, but a bit further from your hotel. However its just a quick hop on the Green line

Somewhat closer, B&G Oysters is about 1/2 mile from your hotel. I have not been there, but its consistently well reviewed, and would give you a more local experience than Legal.

Thanks Bill! I'll let you know how our adventures go. He does well in nice restaurants at home (he actually loves them, and loves good food), but I realize it all may fall apart on vacation. We'll see. Yeah, knowing about the T is good. But, my son loves to walk up and down stairs, and we have a super light stroller, so I'm hoping it will work out. I'll definitely let you know about Back Bay.

Thanks China Cat for the rec on B&G. I think we may try that, as we want a more local experience, and I think a 20 minute walk will be a bit much with our little guy - but maybe if the weather's nice, we can still check out the Creek Oyster Bar.

Thanks so much guys!

Island Creek Oyster Bar has received consistently rave reviews. I've only had brunch there once, but would love to go back for dinner. Other seafood option (not Legal) would be Neptune Oyster Bar in North End. You can try to coordinate a meal there (eg lunch) while you're exploring NOrth End (that's our Italian neighborhood).

As for Italian, I think you'd like Erbaluce as I mentioned above. Via Matta is also Italian. For a fancier place, Sorellina at Copley Sq (about 3 blocks from your hotel) is supposed to be very good but I haven't eaten there.

P.S. website for Sorellina: http://www.sorellinaboston.com/home.html

Thanks yk. I really appreciate you sharing your wealth of knowledge with me!

I like Via Matta too. I particularly like to sit in the bar area and just order small plates. I think I saw where buywithme had a coupon deal too, which might make the price more palatable. http://www.buywithme.com/boston/deals/6240-via-matta

Sorellina is excellent. We ate there this winter. Most people were pretty dressed up (for Boston) although a nice pair of dark jeans and sport coat for your husband will be fine. Many women were in cocktail dresses and many men were in suits.

A couple of more casual places with good food are Eastern Standard, which is just a couple of doors down from Island Creek Oyster in Kenmore Square, and Stephanies on Newbury. Both have outdoor seating and both are busy and high energy. I'm throwing out these two places as solid choices for good (not fancy) food that won't break the bank and will undoubtedly be child-friendly. I wouldn't, however, try to go to Island Creek or Eastern Standard if the Red Sox are at home. Fenway Park is just a couple of blocks away and the area and restaurants will be a zoo.

I'm also a fan of Via Matta.

http://www.easternstandardboston.com/

http://www.stephaniesonnewbury.com/