Suggestions for Family Party in Downtown Chicago with Children

We just had a similar party weekend. We had dinner at Ben Pao downtown. We had a lot of babies there and it worked out great. They are a Lettuce Entertain You place and have parties worked out to a science. You could order family style or ala carte and they have a great private room they did not charge us extra for.

Other suggestions are Maggiano's or Mia Francesca.

Lincoln Park Zoo has free admission and we all enjoy it when we go.

The kids won't have a problem at the ages of 7 & 10. The younger ones will be antsy. I had my mothers party at The Parethenon on Halsted in Chicago, of course. Very family friendly. They have special menus for large partys. The kids will love to see the lamb on the rotisserie right in the front window. They do large parties and small and like I sy, kid friendly. The Greeks are big on taking the children to family events as are the Italians. The service is great and food is to die for. The price is comfortable also. You really can't go wrong. I've been going there for forty years. Parethenon is the best Greektown has to offer. This is experience speaking.

We had my Grandma's 90th downtown in a private room at Scuzzi. It worked out great. Kids could run around and food was yummy! I believe Club Lucky in Bucktown has a small party room. I also went to a private party at Green Zebra which had a more sophisticated ambiance but delicious. During the day we took an architectural boat ride tour played in Millenium park. Good luck.
J.

Hi P.,

We have had two family parties with kids at Maggiano's downtown and it has always worked out great. The first one was 5 years ago for my inlaws 30th wedding anniversary. There were 8 adults, 2 children and 1 infant at the time. They seated us at a large table on the perimeter of the room. Maggiano's is always so loud anyways the kids didn't have to be shushed.

This last time (a few months ago) it was the same occasion 5 years later and now we were up to 4 kids 12 yo through 2 yo and this time we were seated in the middle of the dining room. Again no problems. We even sat next to a couple with an infant and my nephew was playing with him and talking to him the whole time. It's such a great family style restaurant you can't go wrong there.

Another suggestion is Quartino's also downtown They have a small private room that seats a small group just about your size. It is cozy and initmate. I was there for a work function and it was delightful. THe food is Italian tapas which is just the right portion size for kids and makes for a fun party sharing dishes amongst adults. Plus the wine isn't bad either.

Let us know where you go and how it turns out as I may need a good place in the future.

Deb
mama to 4 month old

How upscale do you want? Four children under four will be difficult for a nice sit down dinner

Eating in a place where there is room to walk the children around like Navy Pier - Riva, or Watertower - Mighty Nice might make the meal more pleasant for everyone.

We did something similar for my mothers b-day. In the afternoon, we had "dessert/birthday cake" with the children first, went for a carriage ride and then left them at my house (downtown) with the older cousins and a babysitter and then the adults had a lovely dinner and could really enjoy each other without having to worry about keeping little children happy through a long dinner.

Park Grill does that size easy with a range of menu items. And if the weather is good you can wander around Millennium Park.

We just went to Rainforest downtown a couple of weeks ago with our girls (4 & 1). They seemed to have some tables set up for a party (and it was a Friday night) so perhaps they can accomodate you there, and the kids will have enough of a distraction with the animals.

I would think that Navy Peir would have something, for the kids, or the musuems. I am not familiar with resturants as far as which ones have seperate rooms. Just a thought.

This article might help you pick a place. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/47792/kid_friend...

Good luck.

Obviously, we're all stumped here....it's always an issue with adults trying to have fun with children. One idea is to hire an "entertainer" for the kids. Someone who does face painting and a something else (a baloon guy) Have plenty of Arts and Craft activities (the dollar store on Ashland is excellent for this) and also bring in a "nanny/babysitter" someone who can be the "authority" and helping the kids with directions/changing, etc....I think this may be the easiest way to go. You can always go to Pump It Up, first to wear them out. It's an inflatable play center and the kids love this place. You can also BOOK the party there in the "party room" and then you can cover all the cost. Good Luck.

I'm not sure if you are into Greek food, but what about Greek Islands in Greek Town? I was there a few months ago with my sister's family and we found it to be really family friendly. There were only 8 of us -- 4 adults and 4 children (ages 1-9), but it is a really fun atmosphere and all of the activity in the restaurant really kept the kids occupied -- even my one year who really enjoyed watching the waiters light the saganaki on fire. Now, everytime he sees candles, a fire in a book or something hot he says "opa". I'm not sure you will be able to reserve an entire room for a party of 15, but I'm sure they can accomodate you -- maybe give you a portion of one of their rooms.