Friday lunch in Boston MA with baby?

My young cousin and her husband and baby are visiting friends somewhere around here and want to meet for lunch the day they go touristing in Boston. They care a lot about food so I’d like to take them somewhere really good but also that will be comfortable with a baby (so not too fancy or too crowded). I think Eastern Standard would fit the bill but it is not really where I think they will be touristing. Thoughts?

esk is surely stroller-friendly, but where will you be at lunch-time?

if you’re near faneuil hall, consider scampo.

The downstairs cafe at Bistro du Midi across from the Boston Public Garden…

Echoing the others…specify the area in which you will find yourselves at lunchtime. Al fresco dining is always great for kiddos.

I’ll throw out some spring onion-tested places with decent food: Branchline, Myers and Chang, Babbo, Deep Ellum deck, Audubon Circle deck, Cambridge 1. Pubs with good food also welcome kiddos, like our former local PJ Ryan’s, if they are checking out Somerville. Don’t know how crowded these places are for weekday lunch, but I’ve found as long as the space isn’t too tight, crowded is better in case baby likes to shout in joy!

I’ll chime in again.

Brewers Fork in Charlestown (a Boston neighborhood) near the Navy Yard, the Constitution ship. the Bunker Hill monument, on the Freedom trail is extremely baby friendly.

Pizza, salads, etc.

I don’t like the food so much, but I’m in the minority. I do like the salads.

There is a cheap boat ride (MBTA) from Long Wharf in Boston to the Navy Yard and then it’s a short walk to Brewers Fork. Pier 6 is also right there in near the boat drop off. Not great food, not as bad as it used to be, great views. Family friendly.

I used to live very close to PJ Ryans in Somerville, and often went there (food used to be much better). Family friendly for sure unless they are screening a pay to view soccer game, in which case the lights are out and you have to pay to enter and a baby’s joyous noises would not be welcome. There is not much any tourist would want to visit in that area, however, unless maybe they are coming back to Boston from the Concord historical sites.

They have been non-specific about where they will be, just said they’d grab an Uber and meet me wherever. I am thinking they are likely to do the Freedom Trail. Thanks for all the thoughts so far!

I think that Eastern Standard is a solid choice. The last time we were at Coppa, Ken Oringer was having dinner with his wife and two kids. It was very relaxed and I’m pretty sure they’d welcome a baby. Depending on where they’re from, Babbo could work as well unless they’ve been to Batali restaurants in the past. Of course, there’s always Picco for excellent pizza and homemade ice cream, with lots of kids around but enough to interest the adults. In Chinatown, maybe New Shanghai or one of the less-cramped places.

Gran Gusto in Cambridge always seems to have kids that are welcomed by the staff.

i’ve seen plenty of babies at coppa.

op: perhaps explain to your guests that “grabbing an uber” from the state house or paul revere’s house (for example) on the freedom trail to many of the baby-friendly places mentioned here could mean a 20-30 minutes drive.

find out where they will be or at least where they are staying. if they are downtown or in the north end, i don’t see the point of ubering to branch line.

Agree, had no intention of schlepping to Branch Line.

Thanks to all, you have given me a lot of great ideas. Closer to the time I will attempt to pin them down a bit more so I can choose a place convenient to where they will be.

Marliave is steps away from the Freedom trail and has a courtyard area that would be nice.

edited to add: And I should add that I really can’t imagine a baby wouldn’t be welcome just about anywhere at lunch. Now, if they cannot change diapers on a park bench or something and require a changing facility, that might be a different story. But most parents who would tour a city with a baby have already mastered that kind of thing…

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you would then be surprised at places who do NOT have high chairs on purpose. it’s a thing and i have worked in them.

Granted. For some reason I was picturing a packable infant in a baby bucket, not a high-chair occupying Cheerio-gobbling age baby. My bad.

Technically, your assumption is correct. Babies don’t sit in high chairs. Toddlers do. Of course, it is hard to know from the OP’s post what age the “baby” actually is. I assumed baby meant under 1 year old.

lolz, don’t those “buckets” sit within a highchair? not all places have room for the baby carrier to go on a banquette or bench.

(does it show i am not a parent?)

Just a bit!

HA! even so, am pretty sure babies can be in a high chair before they are walking. they just need to be able to sit up and it coincides with when they are ready for transitioning to solid food.

( i have seen actual babies in the wild.)

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Did you catch one ? How do they taste ? Is medium-rare best ?

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very fatty and too easy to catch. not much sport in it.

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Like veal. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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