We all have our pet peeves, and I’m sure a majority of them are related to annoying or selfish behaviors of people in confined spaces. Have you ever been seated next to the person on an airplane who doesn’t appear to have showered in more than a week, or ridden in an elevator with someone who refuses to keep their personal cell phone conversations to themselves? A similar experience is beginning to appear in the fine dining restaurant segment with some upscale restaurants catering to young children – followed by the disapproval of many diners.
Of course, there are two sides to every debate. On one hand, parents want to be able to take their children out to eat with them, teach them appropriate restaurant etiquette from a young age and help them develop more sophisticated tastes earlier in life. These people also argue that in many cases, adults can behave just as disruptively as children in a restaurant environment.
On the other hand, some diners believe that the ambiance of an upscale restaurant becomes less pleasant if a disruptive child is present, and feel that families with young children should choose a dining spot that caters to the younger crowd.
There are many questions posed to fine dining restaurant operators and consumers concerning this debate.
*Is there pressure for fine dining restaurant operators to now create menus specifically for children?
*If a restaurant operator decides not to accommodate children, will their reputation be affected?
*Is it worth sacrificing losing current customers in order to gain new customers with children?
*As a consumer, will you change your dining habits if your favorite upscale restaurants start welcoming young children?
*If you have children, will you start taking them to fine dining restaurants if you know they have kid-friendly menus?
Radiant loves to hear your opinion. What do you think?
Below are two great articles that argue both sides of this fine dining dilemma.
CNN – Tots at upper-echelon restaurants?
New York Times – Fine Dining Where Strollers Don’t Invite Sneers
Tags: children in restaurants, dining etiquette, fine dining restaurants, table service restaurants
That is a really good idea, and a solution that I haven’t really thought of before. Great suggestion to restaurants who want to accommodate everyone.
I have always thought that a more upscale establishment should not allow children as it is disruptive to other customers. I do think that there is a viable alternative though. Since so many cities have adopted no smoking laws, they could use the areas of the restaurant that used to be the smoking section and make them child friendly zones. This way people could bring their children with them without bothering adult only groups who want to have a nice, child free evening to themselves.