Introduction

Hello, and welcome to Toronto Gourmommy! I have created this blog to help other mommies like me find some great restaurants that are also baby-friendly!

A little bit about me: I love food. I love finding new places to eat and trying new things. I consider myself a gourmand because I like eating all kinds of food (versus a foodie whose tastes are a little more refined). I do not like when I am having a romantic (not to mention expensive) meal with my husband, only to be interrupted by the crying baby at the next table. That is not to say that I never tolerate it - there are many restaurants that are casual, noisy, or laid back where it does not bother me at all. Once I became pregnant, I realized that I needed to find restaurants with the right ambiance to bring baby to if I wanted to continue dining out on a regular basis. While trying to research restaurants, I found that there were not many reviews that indicated whether a restaurant was particularly baby-friendly, and the only restaurants I felt confident about bringing my son to were the ones that specifically provided a kids' menu; however, throughout my pregnancy, I noticed that there were a few restaurants that I could probably bring a baby to, but would never have thought to try based on descriptions and reviews. I'm hoping that this blog will change that!

I would tell you more about my son but I am finding that he changes almost on a daily basis, so I will just let you know that he is adorable, and he makes motherhood both challenging and rewarding.

With this in mind, let me explain how my future blog posts will be organized:

Each review will indicate the name of the restaurant and the general area where it is located. I will also note what meal I am eating (I expect lunch to be easier for baby than dinner), what day of the week it is (weekdays are probably less busy than weekends), and how old my baby is.

I will then proceed to rate my experience according to the following parameters:

Accessibility:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Five stars means that the restaurant accommodates strollers and provides change tables, making it easy for me to bring baby in.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Four stars means it is relatively accessible but missing something that would have made the experience easier.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Three stars means that it is definitely possible to bring your baby, but not necessarily convenient.
⭐️⭐️ - Two stars indicate that bringing a baby to this restaurant is going to be a hassle.
⭐️ - One star shows that the restaurant is absolutely inaccessible and not worth trying to bring baby in the future.

Service:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Service was excellent and the staff really did their best to accommodate me and my baby.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Service was great but there was some room for improvement.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Decent service, but not particularly memorable.
⭐️⭐️ - Service was quite slow and not particularly accommodating.
⭐️ - Terrible service.

Food:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - I would highly recommend the food to anyone.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - I enjoyed the food very much but might not necessarily recommend everyone try it.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ - I would eat here again, but the food is not particularly noteworthy.
⭐️⭐️ - The food was not great but I could eat here again if I had to.
⭐️ - I would actively avoid any future visits.

Overall:
I will provide a star rating based on the average of the three parameters above (rounded - I don't feel like doing half stars).

Hopefully this blog will be useful for all the other mommy gourmands in the city!