ReallyKidFreindly.com – The guide to how good places really are for your family

May 9th 2010

A Happy Birthday at the Rainforest Cafe

We took the kids, 17-month old twins and a 3 year old, to celebrate my son's 3rd birthday. We pre-booked our table, including high chairs, online the night before. This was easily done on their website with no need for a credit card. When we arrived, the host asked if we were celebrating anything special and we told him it was E's 3rd birthday. He was given a huge birthday sticker to wear on his shirt which was a big hit. The actual dining area is downstairs. We had to take the twins out of their pushchair and they put it in a holding room and gave us a claim ticket to get it back. Carrying two toddlers plus a heavy change bag and holding the hand of another toddler on a deep flight of stairs was a bit of a challenge, but do-able with two adults. Since most tables had young children, it was understandable why they don't want all the pushchairs in the restaurant as they would take up a lot of space would likely be in the way. So while I rated it as "not buggy friendly", it is with good cause and they do make it easy and safe to store the buggies. I did see one family with a small stroller at their table so I guess it's not a firm policy if you were really keen to take your push chair into the restaurant. Our table was ready when we arrived so we didn't have to wait which was nice. When the server came over to our table, he already knew it was E's birthday. He made a big fuss about it and called him by name. We ordered two adult meals and two kids meals for the three kids to share. I thought the kids' meals were a bit pricey, but not outrageous. It was just under £12 for each kid's meal which included a main and a dessert. For an extra few pounds, we added a drink and an activity pack to E's meal. The food came out very quickly. I was really impressed. Waiting ages for food to come out when you're dining with three toddlers can be painful! We ordered dessert, which we don't often do when we take them all out for a meal because it just makes the event too long. However, they were all behaving beautifully, so we chanced it. When they brought out E's jelly and ice cream, it had a candle in it. The server asked him to stand on his chair. Then he announced to the restaurant that it was E's 3rd birthday and would everyone join in to sing. So, everyone sang Happy Birthday to my little boy. He was really, really pleased. We declared it a successful outing. The food was good. The atmosphere is perfect for family dining, especially with young children. The constant rain and jungle animal noises as well as the occasional bit of thunder take the stress away from parents who are worried their kids are too loud to dine out. The only incident was when one of the babies threw his plastic sippy cup over a "fence" thing down to the lower level where there was another dining area. Thank goodness it was early in the day and there was no one down there. When we go again, I'll asked to be seated away from that side of the restaurant.

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Best for: New baby, 6-12 months, Toddlers, Pre-school, School children, Twins & multiples