Pass the Patio, Please

Despite some recent bad press, under the right set of circumstances, kids and restaurants can mix well. Patio dining is a great way to ease them into fancy (read: anywhere but your kitchen), sit-down meals and given how short and sweet patio season in Calgary is, there’s no better time than the present to enjoy a nice meal al fresco.

To make things go a little more smoothly, avoid peak times (especially when your kids are really little), order as soon as you sit down, and go mid-afternoon (working around the sacred nap time, of course).

Many patios allow kids, but they might not cater to children. That’s the case with Earls, which asks you to bring your own booster seats, bibs and toys. We’re not put off by the fact Earls doesn’t have a children’s menu. As long as your kids will eat chicken fingers and fries, edamame or even calamari off the appy menu, they’ll be A-OK. Earls Calgary Downtown Tin Palace on 4th Street is our location of choice and comes highly recommended from savvy scouts and locals with kids.

If you like to refresh more than your palette between courses, we like the Raw Bar in the Hotel Arts. Located poolside, there is no charge for paying restaurant customers to indulge in a dip. Choose something from the full menu if you drop by in the evening or, if you’re stopping in earlier in the day, enjoy some appetizers or mains from the afternoon menu, available from 2 to 5 pm. Or skip the food all together and pamper yourself with a cocktail and swim on a hot weekday afternoon. The pool is open from sunrise to sundown, and with no age restrictions in place, this ultra-chic patio takes family water play to a whole new level.

At the other end of the spectrum, Pop’s Dairy Bar & Grill, perched on the edge of a hill above Stampede Park, serves hotdogs, gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches, shakes and ice cream all summer long. They have created a surprisingly nice patio out of pea gravel walkways, trellises and vines, wrought iron tables and tall shade trees.

The Barley Mill, located right outside of Eau Claire, allows children access to the restaurant’s second floor patio until 9 pm. While visiting Friday night during happy hour gives us reason for pause, the Barley Mill does serve a lunch menu all afternoon and makes for a great detour if you’re en route to Eau Claire and Prince’s Island Park where they’ll be able to burn off any extra energy.

Not up for a restaurant experiment just yet? Set your outdoor picnic table with linen and china and see how your little foodies do before introducing them to the real thing. To up the fun quotient, encourage them to play waiter and kitchen staff. If you’re lucky, they might even help with the dishes. Tested by Heather J., Calgary