The Beet

Okay, I'm aware that this second review makes me look like a health nut. I swear I'm not! This is totally a coincidence. I have been eating like a pig at home. Full disclosure though: I have been coming here a lot before baby was born, so I know for a fact that this place is baby friendly. Oh, but this time I took pictures!

Restaurant: The Beet
Location: The Junction
Meal: Lunch
Day: Friday
Son's Age: 7 weeks

It was such a nice day that I decided to take my son out and run some errands all by myself. That's right - for my second restaurant, I went out for lunch alone. I was playing it safe though - I had seen many people come to the Beet alone with a book or a laptop, and I knew they have a baby menu, so I wasn't particularly worried.

Accessibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The place is definitely stroller accessible if you are eating inside. I had called ahead and they assured me on the phone that I could fold up my stroller and leave it in the foyer while my baby sat in his car
seat (they offered to provide a high chair but he is not old enough for that yet). Upon arrival, it turns out that they did have a table where I could park my stroller without blocking anyone! Another mother arrived after me with her baby in a stroller and they were able to seat her easily as well.

The washroom was also big enough for me to bring the stroller in, and there is a dresser that could easily be used as a change table, which is extremely convenient.

I took off one star because I can't see how they could have gotten either the stroller or the car seat on the patio, but I could be wrong. Also, it appears I lucked out in getting the table that accommodates my stroller.

Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Full disclosure: the service isn't always consistent. But on this occasion, service was excellent. They brought me to a table where I could park my stroller (see photo above), and they were great in answering questions I had about the menu. Service was also quite prompt, but not hurried. In fact, I ended up having to breastfeed after I finished my lunch and even though I felt a bit awkward (still getting the hang of nursing in public), they cleared my plate, asked if I needed anything else, and brought me the bill - all as if I didn't have a baby's face attached to my boob.

Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is my favourite place for healthy eats. My husband hates anything that "tastes healthy" but he likes the Beet. Food has yet to disappoint me, although I will admit the prices are a tad high for what you get. I started with a small omega shake, which is made with mixed berries, banana, flax oil, chia seeds, and vanilla rice milk.

For lunch, I got the fully loaded avocado combo, which includes half an avocado stuffed with brown coconut Thai rice and veggies, topped with spicy peanut sauce, avocado, and sprouts, served with salad, toast with house pesto, and daily soup (in this case it was mushroom soup).

Not going to lie - despite the fact that I know how big avocados are usually, I was a bit surprised to see that the avocado looked so small on the plate. Frankly, it looks like the star of the plate is supposed to be the salad! But I promise that this was actually the perfect amount of food for lunch. The avocado itself was very filling, and the house pesto was delicious and happily not made with pine nuts (I'm allergic)! The mushroom soup was the perfect texture, so you don't need to chew your soup but it isn't puréed down to pure liquid. Plus, I always love the house salad with the cilantro chilli dressing!

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½
Based on this particular visit, this is pretty much an ideal restaurant to take your baby to. They even have a baby menu if your baby is old enough to eat solids. I know this place touts itself as catering to vegans and vegetarians, but they also have quite a few meat options on the menu. I will definitely be coming back here again!