On a Friday around 8 pm in the West Village, Julia Foster and her boyfriend, Brandon, were about to enjoy a bottle of cabernet sauvignon in the candlelit dining room on Via Carota. The couple had been apart for weeks as Brandon traveled for his job as a golfer and they looked forward to a romantic dinner.
They had made the reservation at the rustic trattoria more than a month in advance. Foster, 29, had been dreaming of the $25 lemon risotto, while Brandon, 26, had been looking forward to the $65 branzino. But his perfectly plated entrees came with a bitter pairing: a screaming child.
Boy complains and his parents do nothing
“Someone’s son was complaining that there were no chicken nuggets on the menu. They were throwing a total tantrum,” Foster, a consultant, told The Post. The boy’s parents continued to drink their cocktails. “I was like, ‘This is ridiculous.’ I was like, ‘There’s no way you’re going to have chicken nuggets on the menu, honey… That’s what the suburbs are for.’”
Adding to the annoyance, the boy, who appeared to be about 5 years old, he was glued to an iPad whose brilliant shine dissipated the romantic mood.
“The city has fewer children,” said Foster, and “that adds to the sophistication of dating.”
Will children under 10 years of age not be served?
Earlier this month, Nettie’s House of Spaghetti in Tinton Falls, NJ, made a controversial announcement: They will no longer serve children under the age of 10. The statement made headlines far beyond the Garden State, dividing parents and their childless peers.
Many New York City restaurant-goers couldn’t help but celebrate. Dining in the Big Apple is an adult experience, they say; if they wanted to eat meatballs and hot dogs surrounded by screaming rugrats, they’d be living in the suburbs.
“When I go out to eat, especially in a nicer restaurant, I expect an elevated and sophisticated experience,” Foster said. “When the kids are there, it takes it away. Having a no-kids policy would probably lead me to a restaurant.”
atmosphere is everything
Ambience is everything at restaurateur John McDonald’s portfolio of restaurants, including Soho seafood spot Lure Fishbar and intimate French restaurant Bistrot Leo. He doesn’t discriminate against the small crowd, but tries to get them in and out quickly.
“In my restaurants, we do everything we can to seat the room so that those tables [con niños] are less likely to impact the environment, and we are working to speed up their meals to avoid longer table times,” McDonald said. The charge. The restaurateur has two children, ages 5 and 7, and says he “personally wouldn’t leave them at a prime dinner at 8pm, where it would negatively affect nearby tables if they misbehaved.”
It doesn’t help that the kids of New York City They can be especially demanding.
