Restaurant: The Drake Hotel
Location: West Queen West
Meal: Lunch
Day: Tuesday
Son's Age: 10 weeks
The Drake is doing an amazing series of events on Tuesdays called High Chair Hangouts. There is a prix fixe menu for mommies as well as any babies that can eat solids. They set up high chairs and have a speaker come in to talk about different topics. It is a really neat idea, and I didn't have to feel bad if my baby started crying because the whole restaurant was mommies and babies. You do have to make reservations ahead of time, but they are pretty flexible - two of the mommies had reserved tables for four assuming other stroller fit mommies would want to join, and we ended up with two tables of three (plus babies).
Accessibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
They really tried to make the restaurant accessible for mommies, and even created a nifty stroller parking area.
The issue is that the building was clearly not designed for this purpose, so there is actually a step up to get into the restaurant. There was someone at the door to help us move the stroller up the one step and hold the door open for us, but I suspect that would not be typical outside of High Chair Hangouts. They were able to accommodate all babies with high chairs or chairs that we could put a car seat on, which was very convenient.
For the most part, my son was pretty happy with this arrangement, up until his lovely poo explosion. This is another example where the building was not designed for babies - there is only one washroom where you can change a baby.
I love that they put out diaper for the occasion, but as you can see, it's not really a change table so much as a long counter top. It worked fine for my 2 month old, but if your baby is rolling over or particularly wiggly, I feel like there might be a safety hazard. I would still say overall the Drake is reasonably accessible (if you have a decent stroller, that one step up is really no big deal), but it's not perfectly ideal.
Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The servers were very patient and clearly prepared for the onslaught of babies, as they were quick to help arrange tables and set up high chairs. With the original reservation, they had prepared two booths side by side, but given the number of car seats required for babies that are too young for high chairs, they were able to move half of us to a proper table. By the way, they have these high chairs that hang on to the table side, in case you're wondering how they can seat mommies and babies in a booth. My only issue was that it was a bit difficult getting a server's attention, and I spent a little longer than I would like searching for the washroom because the main washrooms are actually down a set of stairs and do not have any change tables.
Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
For High Chair Hangouts, as I mentioned, there was a prix fixe menu.
I chose the smoked salmon bagel with the asparagus and sprouted grains side. Of course, my son isn't old enough to eat solids yet so I didn't order anything for him.
My lunch companions both opted for the avocado on toast, and we all agreed that the food was quite tasty; however, the portions were smaller than what we expected, even for lunch. That being said, we found out afterwards that we could have asked to order off the regular menu, so that's something we'll keep in mind if we go back. We also got these cute little doggy bags with our macaron-to-go, although I was so excited that I ripped into it immediately before getting a photo.
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I would recommend Drake and particularly the High Chair Hangouts if you are bringing your baby, since the food is good and the servers are ready for all the babies so you won't feel awkward if your baby starts fussing. If you are a light eater, the prix fixe is great; otherwise, you should probably order something else.
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