As a Stay at Home mom and daycare provider, I am usually the ‘lets go out for dinner’ instigator. When the craving to eat out hits, it is less the food I crave and more the desire to get out of my house and have someone else to serve me and cook for me. The days that we go out are days in which I am tired of cooking for 5 people, cleaning up a sticky floor and eating standing up.
Monday was one of those days. I wanted to have a break, get out of the house and relax.
Earlier that day a friend had told me that she went to ‘Zak’s Diner’ with her husband the previous weekend and they enjoyed themselves. She told me the restaurant was very family friendly and next time she would bring her girls with them. I decided to give it a try.
We have had some bad luck with family friendly restaurtants. We usually find that if it accommodates little kids well then the food is usually pretty ‘meh’, not terrible but nothing to rave about. We usually leave feeling guilty we spent so much money on mediocre food.
Zak’s surprised us.
It was a cute and fun place. Think old school diner with a modern twist. Big spacious booths with red vinyl. The colors were bright and the lively. There was a modern jukebox in the corner and the decor of the diner was filled with quirky signs and vintage toys. It was a kids dream (and a vintage loving adults dream).
As soon as we walked in I fell in love. I loved the feel of the restaurant. I loved how friendly it was and how accommodating they were to our needs. The waiter seated us in a large booth directly across from two large screens playing ‘Teletoon Retro’. My TV loving kids were in heaven! TV at dinner time? What a treat! They were pretty mesmerized by ‘Scooby Doo’ and ‘the bugs bunny show’ that my husband and I got to enjoy a brief moment of adult conversation. Along with sitting us in the perfect booth, the waiter brought us a coloring sheets, crayons, packages of saltines and water for the kids immediately. I have quickly come to learn that when dinning out with three small kids under four, being prepared is a must. Our lovely waiter knew to bring these supplies immediately and that impressed me.
Our food came quickly and was awesome. It was diner style food. Sandwiches, wraps and burgers. They boast that they serve breakfast all day and next time we will try that. The food was quite good. I did not feel ‘ripped off’ paying the $9-14 per dish. It was tasty.
What really surprised us was how delicious their homemade soup was. My husband order the homemade tomato vegetable soup. It was some of the best soup we have had in a restaurant.
The whole time we were eating, the waiter was checking in on us, providing more napkins and topping up our water. I was pleasantly surprised in his attentiveness.
It was a great night out for our family. I highly recommend Zak’s!
I’m the same way when it comes to dinner time. I just want a break! Eating out though doesn’t necessarily give me that since having to control two young ones requires more work then it’s worth most of the time, but I still would rather get out of the house. That is so good to hear that Zak’s was a good family restaurant. I will keep that in my mind for next time. Thanks!
Ooo he’s such a cutie! I really enjoy the “diner experience”, and it’s great that you found a family-friendly one! I wish I lived near there so I could check it out!