Dining Out With Babies

Time your meal: Plan restaurant visits around naps for younger babies, or at a time when your older baby will be ready to eat when the food comes. 

Choose baby-friendly restaurants: Look for places with high chairs, stroller accessibility, and accommodating staff.

Check menus ahead of time: See what foods can easily be shared or adapted for baby.

Pack essentials: Bring wipes, bibs, baby’s cup, quiet toys, and a disposable placemat for quick cleanup.

Have an exit plan: Be prepared for a quick exit if baby becomes fussy.

Choose a comfortable restaurant: What would make you feel comfortable? There are no rules, though some restaurants may feel less comfortable than others when you have a baby in tow, such as fine-dining destinations, intimate bistros, outdoor cafes without shade, and raucous bars. Consider the vibe, noise, space, and seating.

Think about time of day. Choose a mealtime that works for both of you. Some families like to go early to beat the rush, while others actually prefer a noisy, busy spot, which can help cover up any crying or loud noises from baby. If you've got a young baby, they'll probably snooze right through the meal, but be ready to feed them when they wake up.

Time baby’s day to your advantage. Don’t expect baby to eat a lot at a restaurant. Try to time your meal out after a nap so they are not cranky, and offer a breast or bottle feed before you leave. This gives baby a small amount of time to build up a bit of hunger to engage in eating at the restaurant, but hopefully ensures they aren’t starving right when you sit down. You can also plan to offer a breast or bottle feed once you arrive, but sometimes this leads to a restless bored baby right when your food arrives. Whether you feed before you head out or not, if you are bottle feeding, bringing a bottle is always a helpful idea, and if nursing and you’d prefer privacy while in public, a nursing cover is helpful.

Look at the menu in advance. If baby has started solids, baby can share YOUR meal–there is no need to order off the kid menu! If you are nervous about sharing bold flavors, spices, or mixed foods, check out the list of sides on the menu. Most restaurants can offer bread, simple grains, and cooked vegetables which are great options for baby. 

Have an exit strategy. Plan what you’ll do if the meal gets to a point where it becomes more stressful than enjoyable. If baby starts to cry, one person might step outside to calm baby, or even go to the car and breast or bottle feed baby, while another helps to pack things up, ask for the check, and so on. Having this decided ahead of time can help to diffuse this otherwise stressful situation a bit.  Sometimes just walking around with your baby so they can look around for a few minutes can buy you another 10-15 minutes at the table afterwards.

Contact the restaurant with any questions. If you’re feeling anxious, it is okay to contact the restaurant ahead of your visit. They are accustomed to answering common questions, including high chair availability, menu accommodations, and common food allergens on the menu. Bonus for advance planners: restaurants are often able to accommodate requests for a special table or area with more space for you and baby. 

Ask your server to wait to serve your food until it’s cooled. That way, if you have a hangry child on your hands, you won’t be adding fuel to the fire by putting food in front of them that’s too hot to eat.

A bottle of breastmilk/formula. Babies often do not eat much (if any) at mealtime and that’s okay–it’s still valuable to share your meal. Offer a bottle or nurse baby they they appear hungry. 

Small blankets or towels. Restaurant high chairs are often very roomy, and a rolled-up towel can help baby sit more comfortably. Baby can also sit on your lap, and a blanket or towel over your clothes can help keep you clean.

Bib with a catch basin. It goes a long way toward minimizing the mess. Less food on the floor or in the highchair also means less work for you and the restaurant staff.

Baby’s straw cup. Any cup offered by the restaurant is likely to be tipped, fiddled with, squeezed, or thrown. Baby’s own straw cup is also something familiar and hopefully less likely to spill. 

Teethers or toys that don't make much noise. These can entertain baby while you are waiting for food or eating. Bonus points for toys that don’t make too much noise when they hit the ground. Your neighbors at the next table will be grateful. 

Disposable placemat that sticks to the table. There are tons of different disposable placemats online. Baby will very likely pull off any placemat given to you by the restaurant, along with everything on top of it.

Disposable splat mat. It’s the fastest way to deal with clean-up. Most family-friendly restaurants will be grateful for your courtesy, but be aware that some restaurants may object as splat mats impact the vibe for adult patrons. Don’t have a disposable splat mat? A large trash bag, cut open and spread out works. Not a plan-ahead type? Ask your waiter for a extra napkins and spread them out under the high chair. 

Baby wipes and disinfectant wipes. They serve many purposes: cleaning baby’s high chair or table before mealtime, cleaning teethers and toys that fall on the floor, and, of course, cleaning up when the meal is over.

Bag for trash. When you’re done with the meal, you can build a lot of good will with the restaurant staff by disposing of fallen food, dirty wipes, disposable splat mat, and disposable placemat. 

Position baby with their back to your belly. 

Be sure to move breakable items and wrappers/trash out of reach. 

If baby likes to kick and put feet on the table, turn the child so their feet are parallel to it. This way, there are fewer chances of bumping or overturning the table.

Order what you want and ditch the kid menu. Find something you want on the menu and share a bit of your meal with some simple modifications for safety. Use the solid starts app to modify food appropriately for baby’s age. 

Order a small dish to share. If you don’t want to share your main dish, consider ordering an appetizer or side dish for baby. Pick something that you want to eat, too. Baby may not eat much of it as they explore and play.

Try a food teether. food teetherslike corn on the cob can buy you a few minutes of quiet while baby munches!

Don’t worry about salt. A taste of salty food isn’t dangerous for baby. Ask to hold the salt if you like, but try not to worry about it. If your goal is to reduce sodium, order a dish for baby that is naturally lower in sodium, such as cooked vegetables or grains. 

Be mindful of honey. Consuming honey before 12 months of age puts a baby at risk of developing infant botulism. Common foods with honey include many breads, barbecue, fried chicken, honey mustard, orange chicken, and teriyaki. 

Ask about modifications. For the most part, baby can share what you eat. One consideration is unpasteurized food and raw or undercooked proteins, which poses a risk of foodborne illness. Ask if raw or undercooked protein (egg, meat, seafood) can be fully cooked, and if that is not possible, order something else for baby or share the sides.

Use crowd-sourced mobile apps to help with identifying food allergy-friendly restaurants, such as AllergyEats and Find Me Gluten-Free.

Call ahead to understand protocols for common food allergens and cross contamination. Their response can help you determine your comfort level with choosing to dine there. 

Come equipped with an epinephrine autoinjector, antihistamines, inhaler, or any other emergency plan medications prescribed to the child.

When you arrive at the restaurant, inform the staff that the child has a food allergy. Some local governments have rules that require restaurants to always have an individual on-site who is the point person to answer questions about food allergy safety. Don’t hesitate to ask to talk to the chef if you need more clarification on the contents of a meal.

Bring disinfectant wipes to clean seating and tabletops that may still have food residue on them. 

Review your food allergy action plan, and have a safety plan in mind should signs of an allergic reaction occur.

Pack a few safe snacks, just in case none of the allergy-friendly options at the restaurant are suitable.