Bronte Bistro

Once upon a time there was a mom that didn't feel like cooking and really wanted to just eat dinner out, but could not handle taking her toddler to a restaurant and chasing him around the entire restaurant (sometimes including the kitchen and bathrooms) while waiting for the food to come out. Along came Joseph Beth and Bronte Bistro.

My review of Joseph Beth (see here) has all the fun things they have there that keep kids occupied. They have a train table, small play kitchen, tons of model cars and animals, and obviously a lot of books. So, what we do, is one of us stays downstairs with my son and plays while the other person goes up and orders. And, since I am usually just about done mothering for the day, it is usually me. Which is awesome. When the food is ready, I just text my husband and they head over for dinner. No waiting at the table. No fussing and trying to entertain him.

The restaurant is located upstairs and there are a number of booths up against the large windows that look down on the fountain. It is a really pretty view and my son has always loved looking at the ducks, the birds that fly onto the roof and the cars driving by. There are also some tables on the other side of the restaurant by the fireplace. They have both high chairs and booster seats available. The only issue with high chairs is that for fire regulations, you can only have high chairs at the first few booths and the last few booths. So, if it is busy, you may not be able to sit by the window.

Their menu (found here) is fairly small, but we always find something that is good. The catfish sandwich is good as well as the burgers, hot brown and many of the other sandwiches. Their kids meals come with a drink, applesauce, fries or a fruit cup (which is usually grapes and melon) and they are around $5-6. But, on Wednesday, kids eat free with an adult. They used to give out crayons with the kids menus, but they haven't done that in quite a while. But, keep your kids meal, because on the back, there is a coupon for $1 off any regular priced kids book. P.S. Sorry for the crappy picture of the kids meal, I had to use one that my son had already played with and I folded up.

So, that is Bronte Bistro at Joseph Beth. It has saved me many nights where I just could not make dinner but also did not want to fight my toddler at a restaurant. Really, it is a win-win for everyone.