Let’s just, hypothetically, say you have kids and you want to eat out with them. Or you have kids who thankfully are old enough to do some eating out on their own with their peers, displaying the polished table manners you have inculcated in them from day one. On this page I make some recommendations for places you can take them without being excommunicated from Downtown Palo Alto and also some places they might survive in alone.

With Small Kids

SliderBar Cafe – Little burgers, perfect for kids but called sliders for adults, of many varieties, priced by the one, two, three, and twelve. Very casual and not a place anyone stays for very long, so with antsy kids you’ll fit right in.

Peninsula Fountain and Grill – The “Creamery” always welcomes families. The portions are larger and more costly than other burger joints and there is often a line, but the food and atmosphere are amenable. They serve breakfast all day long, so if you have a son who likes pancakes day and night you can always count on this.

For old-fashioned Italian food served family style, try taking them to Buca di Beppo (colloquially known as Beppo’s) even if they don’t appreciate any of the photographs on the walls. If Buca di Beppo did not welcome kids they would lose a lot of business. It’s even a good place for birthday parties for anyone over 10. I recently went to a birthday party there for a kid turning 80, so it works for all ages (including office parties).

Jing-Jing – Here you are obligated to contribute to the noise so by all means bring your kids. You are also expected to leave an abundance of rice and noodles on the floor when you’re done. We have done this many times. As for the other Chinese restaurants, Taste offers more spice and some menu oddities that might not attract non-Chinese children, and Tai Pan is only for obedient children in nice clothes.

For Kids Alone

Your elementary and middle-school kids used to find heaven at S-O-S Fine Foods on Emerson, a dumpy (not in a negative sense) little family-run grocery that has now ceased operation. (In fact, it’s now a shoe-repair place.)

Kids in high school like Spot Pizza on Hamilton (formerly at Town and Country) a lot, and also Pizza My Heart but watch out for the bad middle-schoolers who hang out on the adjacent plaza and smoke dope. Oh no! They also like Gyros Gyros and the über-out-there Pluto’s. Mid-day they drift toward the Peninsula Creamery Dairy Store and the deli at Whole Foods Market, which offers a huge array of honestly-made salads and prepared foods.

The college kids tend toward Cafe 220, Jing-Jing, Oren’s Hummus Shop (hugely popular), Nola (if they’re of drinking age), Pizza My Heart, Local Union 271, and nearly all the deli and coffee joints, especially Coupa Cafe and Philz Coffee. If you want to look young and hip you can go there too.

For recommendations for students from a real student, see the Students page.

Comments? Write me at PaloAltoRestaurants.