Kid-friendly Restaurants in Simi Valley, California

Anyone who has tried dining with young children knows that "kid-friendly" in the restaurant world means much more than having a kid's menu. As the mother of a toddler with a very short attention span and a lot of energy, I have learned which restaurants here in Simi Valley merely seem kid-friendly at first glance, and which restaurants truly cater to families with small children. The following restaurants in Simi Valley are toddler tested, mother approved, and absolutely kid-friendly.

Souplantation

There are several wonderful things about Souplantation. For starters, you do not have to choose from a selective kids menu; the unique buffet set-up allows children to choose a little bit of this and a little bit of that from a healthy selection of salad items, pastas, soups, pizza, baked potatoes, and more. It makes for a strange looking plate, but good, healthy eating for even the pickiest eaters.

Although the menu is a major benefit, the buffet style of dining at Souplantation makes it perfect for our family, since our toddler does not exactly have the longest attention span. Because we can get food right away, he is much more likely to stay in a good mood long enough for all of us to finish our meal. If he does get bored and throw a fit (or a plate or cup, for that matter), we can leave any time we need to without waiting for the check, since you pay before you sit down.

In fact, Souplantation's reputation for being kid-friendly earned the chain the title of 2^nd best family restaurant nationwide in a recent article by Parents magazine. As Karen Cicero from Parents Magazine commented, Souplantation "is particularly wonderful because it's cheap (less than $10 for adults and $5 for kids 3 and over), fast, and focused on healthy food." As the parent of a 2-year-old, I personally appreciate that kids under 3 are free. In addition, there are often discount coupons in the mail that make dining at Souplantation even cheaper.

The Simi Valley Souplantation is a favorite among many of my friends with small children. Being located at the Simi Valley Town Center is also a major plus, considering that we can easily come early to look at the koi pond (incidentally, they feed the fish nightly at around 5pm), ride on the train, or play at the kids area to work out some energy before we sit down to eat.

Corner Bakery Cafe

Also located at the Town Center, Corner Bakery may surprise you as a favorite kid-friendly restaurant, given the trendy ambiance, but there are several things about Corner Bakery that make it ideal for families with small children. Taking into consideration antsy children who do not like to wait, the walk-up and order style eliminates time spent waiting for a server to take your order. The kids' meals are around $4 each, which is not bad for a healthy sandwich with chips, a drink (milk or soft drink), and dessert (fruit or a cookie). For adults, the average price per person is about $7-8. Although it is a café, it is actually a decent option for dinner as well. The sandwiches are very hearty, and they also offer several pasta dishes.

The Corner Bakery at the Simi Valley Town Center has ample outdoor seating, which can be very helpful if you have a loud or somewhat messy child. Plus, if your children seem to be having a particularly disruptive day, you can always order the food to go and eat at a table in the grassy courtyard nearby in the central part of the mall.

Chuy's

With its reputation for being somewhat of a biker bar, Chuy's may not be the first place you think of when heading out to eat with a small child. The quick, friendly service and bright and noisy atmosphere has actually made it a favorite for our family.

The walls at Chuy's are airbrushes with fun beach-themed murals and covered in random knick knacks of all sorts, which makes for a fun and interesting atmosphere to entertain my toddler. For older kids, there are video games to play.

Although the Chuy's patio is tempting on hot nights, it is a bar and people do smoke outside, so I personally recommend eating inside. Fortunately, it is loud enough inside that no one seems to mind if children are being unruly. The booths are high up and close to the table, so we have actually never needed a booster seat. For younger children, they do have high chairs available. The west Simi location, near the Edwards Theater on Los Angeles Avenue, is slightly more airy and family-friendly, while the east Simi location, off of Yosemite, is smaller and more or a bar atmosphere, but still a perfectly acceptable place to dine with children.

The kids menu is not exactly healthy- pretty traditional fare for a grill- but things like mini corn dogs and fries have always been a hit with kids anyway and a greasy dinner once in a while isn't too big of a deal in the big picture. Each kids' meal comes with a small package of Oreo cookies, which is a great incentive to get my son to eat his meal. Just as he is about at the end of his patience with sitting still, I can open up the cookies, giving us a couple of minutes more to finish our meals. Chuy's also has a walk-up style of ordering which again means shorter wait times and no bill to settle at the end, should it suddenly become time to leave.

Chili's

If you prefer a more traditional sit down style of dining, Chili's, located at the North end of Madera road near Costco, is a great choice. Although the waiting area is small and not the best for entertaining small children, they do offer call-ahead seating, where you can put your name on the list before even leaving the house. If you come early, around 5 or 6, even on weekends, you generally will not have to wait very long to be seated.

The kids' menus are colorful and come with crayons. For kids who do not yet read, the menu has pictures of each of the items. My son loves being able to look at the pictures and then point to what he would like to eat for dinner. As Cicero pointed out in the Parents magazine article, "The chain recently added three more sides -- corn, mandarin oranges, and pineapple -- to the seven options it already had. Entrees range from grilled chicken to pasta to pizza." The fruity slush drinks are a favorite of my son, and they come in a plastic, spill-resistant (emphasis on resistant, not spill-proof) cup.

The Chili's restaurants came in 5^th in Parents magazine's "Ten Best Family Restaurant" article, and I would say that this is generally a pretty accurate placement. While the servers are usually very efficient and forgiving of the mess, sometimes the dining experience just does not end quickly enough for the smallest children. If you go with two adults, one can always retreat to the grassy knoll out front (where you will usually find several children happily playing) while the other settles the bill.

Red Robin

Finally, for another traditional sit-down option, Red Robin at the Simi Valley Town Center is another good option. On the weekends, the wait time can get very long (over an hour at peak dining times), but it is certainly a fun atmosphere to wait in. The lobby has a television built into the ground (always a big hit with the kids) and is usually full of helium balloons. You can also wait outside, where kids can run around and play.

For dining, there is usually no problem getting a high chair or booster seat. In addition, this was actually one of our favorite places to dine when our son was an infant. If you bring the car seat, Red Robin actually has special holders to safely set the car seat at table level right next to you. Despite the somewhat noisy atmosphere, sometimes our baby would happily sleep through the entire meal!

As Cicero shared, the new kids' menu includes "Grilled chicken with Parmesan noodles, veggie burgers, and five side choices, including cantaloupe wedges, carrots with dip, and apple slices." The chain came in 6^th in the Parents Magazine list.