Landon and I learned a lot while on our first two-week long trip as a family, and I’d love your feedback on a couple of themes, as I know many Magpies are a) better-traveled than we are and b) deeply strategic and researched in your thinking. The theme I’m curious about today: how do you approach dining while away from home? (Especially dialed in on thoughts on meals while traveling with children.)
Historically, when Landon and I have traveled on our own, food is an anchoring part of our itinerary, on equal footing with attractions and museums and relaxation. We will go out of our way for a renowned restaurant or a memory-making food excursion. As we get older, we’re less interested in the fancy many-course meals and Michelin stars (I mean, we do deeply enjoy a high-end meal every now and then but sparingly) and more intrigued by eating whatever is the authentic best in a particular city or region, which sometimes means venturing into a different part of town or a suburb in pursuit of a farm or purveyor or experience, and other times means staying up late or eating really early for a coveted reservation. Our ideal meal strategy when we’re traveling just the two of us:
+Breakfast: Seek out a really high quality coffee shop (sometimes this means traveling to get there or tacking it onto a mid-morning activity/destination) for coffee and a light bite of something like yogurt, fruit, pastry, green juice. We aren’t big breakfast people, but we love good coffee. The Amex perk of having breakfast included with the hotel cost really confuses us — ha! We find ourselves battling the “voucher” mentality where, because it’s gratis/included, we eat a bigger breakfast than we normally would, which in turn upends the rest of our meal plan for the day. Honestly, sometimes we find ourselves forfeiting the perk because we’d rather have excellent coffee and/or a local pastry or delicacy than a standard continental breakfast at a hotel while traveling. (Interestingly, my parents approach this differently. They will wait until mid-morning to have the hotel breakfast and then skip lunch, have a light snack in the afternoon, and go to dinner. There are so many tacks here!)
+Lunch: Pursue a specific, local specialty. The more of an authentic hole-in-the-wall, the better for us — think a food stall or a tiny tapas bar or a window where a nonna sells her calzones. This usually makes lunch inexpensive but fun and adventurous, and almost always becomes a big part of the fabric of our experience and helps us better understand the culture.
+Dinner: Typically the biggest meal and biggest food splurge of the day. We like to take our time at dinner, order multiple courses, try the local wines. If we’re really on our game, we’ll find a cocktail bar/wine bar to visit first and then make our way to dinner after.
Dining While Traveling with Children.
But when with children, there’s a different calculus. We are trying our hardest to have our kids eat what we eat and try new things (our goal this trip was to avoid any/all children’s menus, as they can have chicken fingers and burgers anywhere in the world), but there is a limit. We looked at certain menus in London and just knew our kids would leave hungry or have to be cajoled into eating anything at all. And we didn’t want them resorting to bread baskets for supper. So things shifted a bit. The other complicating factor: being loose enough to respond to the day’s energy but making reservations when needed (and they often are in London). Generally, my insight here was that it was really helpful to have a reservation for dinner — it anchored the evening and ensured we weren’t just resorting to a mediocre neighborhood spot, which we did once and regretted — and then to accommodate the reservation by getting the kids back to the hotel for some downtime in the afternoon. This flow worked well for us. We’d get up around 8 in the morning and be out of the hotel until four in the afternoon, and then relax until dinner. Often times, we’d make the dinner res just a day or two in advance. (We weren’t trying to go anywhere super sceney, and we were willing to take earlier reservations anyway.)
Anyway, full rundown of our typical meal approach here:
+Breakfast: Changing my tune here, because the Amex perk of a hotel breakfast was actually incredible with our kids this trip. It required no planning or transit, and the kids were always happy with the comfort of known quantities like pastries, eggs, oatmeal, pancakes, fruit. It also meant full bellies on our way out to a busy day of sight-seeing and ensured we weren’t wasting any good energy/mood on making a pitstop for coffee/a pastry before getting to our first activity of the day. We stayed at The Goring in London for the first leg of the trip and honestly the breakfast experience there was a big highlight of the stay! You eat in their spectacular De Gournay-wallpapered dining room, which is light and bright and elegant, and it felt like such a refined way to enjoy coffee while talking through the plans for the day. The kids loved the food and the attention from waitstaff. (We also always had the kids bring a book or crossword puzzle to keep themselves busy while we’d work through our itinerary!)
I will say that by the final day of our second leg of the trip in London (we stayed at Beaverbrook Town House the second leg), Landon and I were both really fatigued with the hotel breakfast. We’d learned to limit what the two of us ordered (usually just coffee and oatmeal by the end of the trip) or we’d be too full for lunch, but even still, it just felt like a lot on day 13 of the trip. So on the last day, we changed tack and Landon went to a lovely grocer on Pavilion St in Chelsea a few minutes from our hotel and picked up yogurt and fruit (and coffee at a neighboring spot for us) and we enjoyed this in our hotel room. I wish in retrospect we’d done a bit more of this on the second leg of the trip — cheap, easy, light, more akin to what we eat at home. But, live and learn. I think on future trips, we’ll do some grocery recon in advance and stock up on light breakfast fixings and fruit on day one of the trip.
+Lunch: Landon’s research paid off manifold here; he’d tagged his Google Map of London with loads of restaurant recs he’d picked up and so we’d look in the morning at our morning plans and find something on the map close by that seemed reasonably quick-eat and kid-accommodating. (N.B.: Our typical day involved one sight-seeing destination in the morning, usually with tickets pre-booked for the 10 am hour, and something else nearby to tack on if energy was sufficiently high — so, the Cutty Sark and the nearby Maritime Museum; the Globe Theater and the neighboring Tate Modern; the Tower of London and the adjacent Tower Bridge; etc). Our lunches were usually on the more casual side: fish and chips at a chippery, sausage rolls at Borough Market, a Caribbean lunch with outdoor seating, etc. The goal was quick food that the kids would eat and then move onto something else, with one exception: we enjoyed afternoon tea one day but had it in lieu of lunch as it was a very hearty portion!
+Dinner: The biggest meal of the day, and we’d often walk or take a cab to get where we needed to go. We were willing to go that extra mile for something Landon and I were interested in that could also accommodate the kids. Per my note above, we’d typically spend an hour or two of downtime in the hotel room in the afternoons after our morning-to-afternoon adventures, so the kids were rested and eager to get out for dinner anyway. We found that chophouses were a good solution for our family, as we’d tell the waiters to skip the kids menus and we’d order for the table — steak/pork plus potatoes and sides.
Of course it goes without saying that snacks were in constant, high-demand. I have zero regrets about the big zippered pouch of peanut butter crackers, granola bars, beef jerky (my daughter loves Chomps), pretzels I brought from home. It was so handy to decant a few of these into my purse when heading out the door for the day or to offer when we’d return to our hotel room in the afternoon. I again think the strategy of stopping at a grocery on day one would be helpful for finding even healthier snack options — fruit, mainly, or yogurt/cheese if there’s a fridge — but we made do. (One really nice perk in The Goring: they gave us a huge fruit plate on the first day we arrived, with grapes, bananas, apples, figs, etc. The kids finished the entire tray in their room!)
Where We Enjoyed Dining in London.
Final notes, specific to London. I’ll be sharing a full itinerary of everything we did, what we would do differently, etc, later this week, but wanted to highlight our favorite meals we had as a family there:
+Quality Chophouse (Clerkenwell) — absolutely phenomenal meal, one of the best of not jut the trip but the year. This is a 157-year-old institution that serves the best quality steak and pork you’ve ever had, which says a lot because we’ve also enjoyed top-quality steakhouses while living in Chicago and New York. The setting is quirky — it almost feels like you’re sitting in Church pews at a narrow table? — and it’s in a neighborhood (Clerkenwell) that felt a little out of the way for us, but well worth the fifteen minute cab. It was a zero-tourist spot. Extreme attention to detail and perfectly executed everything. I also (per note above) think a steakhouse is a great solution for family dining. Landon ordered everything for the table and the kids were happy and well-fed.
+The Grenadier (Belgravia) — a classic but elevated pub experience that made us feel like we shouldn’t be there — in a good way, in the sense that — it felt like a local’s spot. It’s tucked away in some private Mews and when we arrived, there were clusters of chic Londoners spilling out into the street and we weren’t sure which entrance to use. The vibe was very IYKYK. The food was fantastic, too. We shared a lamb pie, pub burger, chips, fish, etc. I learned that the pub was originally built in 1720 as an officer’s mess for the British army, and was located in a barracks courtyard. It opened to the public in 1818 and has been frequented by Madonna, Prince William, etc. The interior feels super old-fashioned and dark (as a pub should be!), but the front opens up into a street where (it seemed) Londoners would meet for a pint (and a smoke…there was a lot of smoking in London!) after work.
+Daphnes (Chelsea) — maybe a bit of a sin to eat Italian while in London but we did need to eventually break up the cuisine. A deeply chic restaurant known for its Murano glass chandeliers and retractible conservatory roof, Daphnes suited our kids perfectly thanks to big bowls of pasta pomodoro and zucchini fritti. I’ll be candid: I was put off a bit by the Casamigos branded section of their cocktail menu (nothing against Casamigos, but any time I see a section of a menu in some way sponsored by a brand, my radar goes off), but the food was delicious even if not anything particularly ground-breaking or unique to London. This was a leisurely and gorgeous 15-minute stroll from our second hotel, The Beaverbrook Town House, and we loved taking in that area of the city by foot on our final night.
+The Ginger Pig (Borough Market) — Honestly, Borough Market was a nightmare when we first arrived. It was crowded to the point of scary (think Ponte Vecchio in Florence), and very overstimulating when our kids were already flagging and hungry from the morning excursion. But we threaded our way through to get to The Ginger Pig, a famous sausage roll cart, and waited in a 10-minute line for our orders. This all felt like a big production and possibly not worth it until — somehow, we wandered into this magical alcove on the outskirts of the market where Miraval (the wine company) had set up a wine cart and a little faux grass area with seating in front of an enormous screen showing a French bicycle race. I’m not sure whether the truck is always there, or if it was hangover from the recent soccer games, or if it is only there in the summer, but let me tell you: it was 100% perfect as a quiet perch where the kids could watch the bike race and eat their sausage rolls and Landon and I could enjoy a midday glass of rose with ours. The rolls were delicious, too — Emory said it was one of her favorite things she ate!
+Tea at The Goring — iconic and deeply special, especially for my daughter. They offer hot chocolate/juice if your children aren’t into tea (although Emory is and loved the mango-strawberry tea they had) and an assortment of sandwiches, scones, pastries in a gorgeous setting. This would be a bit tricky, I think, if kids are under five. Even my seven year old son was a little bit of a bull in a china shop — there were some clanks and spills! They serve everything in formal china and it’s a hushed, elegant room mainly peopled with adults. For the price (it’s $$), you don’t want to exactly rush in and out, so it can be a bit of a long and formal sitting for younger kids. There are other kid-oriented teas in London that might be better suited to young kids, or maybe just skip until they’re a certain age.
Final note on all of this — on travel days, we are very much “catch as catch can” meaning that we are less strategic and studied about when to eat and what to eat. When we find something appealing, we go for it; we encourage our kids to eat in the airport lounges even if it feels like they’re eating two lunches and no dinner, or whatever the case may be. We always keep hotel room service in our back pocket as a promise/reward if we’re underfed by the end of day. Curious if you’re the same way, or if you go out of your way to eat a really big breakfast or full meal before embarking on the travel portion of the day, or have a dinner reservation waiting for you?
OK, your turn — what are your strategies for meals and dining while traveling? How does it change when with kids vs without? And any specific London spots you’d recommend when visiting with kids?
Post-Scripts.
+Some of my pre-trip thoughts on London.
+The conversations gripping our mom chats right now.
Shopping Break.
+Reminder that the best mockneck, retro-vibe sweatshirt has been restocked and will sell through! A bunch of you ordered this. Take your true size — runs intentionally roomy — and throw on over bike shorts.
+New in at Negative: a whipped night dress! This looks like want I want to wear while getting ready to go out. Also, I somehow missed their swim drop this summer, but this looks perfect.
+Smart striped popover dress — love both colorways.
+These Casa Bombon x Hill House bags have been having quite a moment. So fun and whimsical, especially paired with a contrasting print! Love!
+Love Suzie Kondi and eyeing these denim pants of hers! Currently wearing one of her iconic tosk pant terry sets. I can’t stop putting it on in the evenings. I noticed the sweatshirt from my set is on sale in great colors. It’s exactly what you want to wear — slightly fitted, ultra-soft, interesting. Reminder not to sleep on her sale section, where standouts like this striped poplin skirt are on sale for $150 (orig $425).
+Fun The Great cardigan sweater, on sale, and have we already discussed this fantastic Gap bandana-print wrap sweater?! Order if you’re heading out west any time soon, or just thinking ahead to fall. She’s perfect.
+Back to The Great — they’re running an end of season sale but pieces/sizes are extremely limited. How great is this colorblocked fleece or this bandana motif cardi?
+Related: hard to think about fall right now, but I will say that I have this pinned to my fall wishlist already. I’m also not sure I can pull this off (because I’m petite and length of skirt could look awkward / hit at my knee?) but I’m obsessed with this pleated capelet dress. Such a statement! Wow! Never seen anything like it.
+Julia Amory brought back her perfect shirtdress in two airy transition-to-fall patterns. These are a perfect dress for maternity-through-nursing — and beyond. I still have two of these from maybe three or four seasons ago that I wear every summer. Ultra soft cotton, so breezy and body skimming. Look elegant but feel like a nightgown. Use code JEN-15.
+A couple of Magpies messaged me about these $31 Ruti look-for-less pants. Has anyone tried?! Meanwhile, these $32 pajamas remind me of Lake!
+One of my favorite pairs of leggings, on sale in great colors. (My other favorite: Vuori All the Feels.)
+Truly epic sale happening at Goop — up to 80% off great designers. My Doen dress from my audiobook post is included, and selling fast!
+Fun retro style shorts.
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