Isaan Der

A new Thai place opened up in the Junction that looked pretty interesting, so I was excited to finally give it a try.

Restaurant: Isaan Der
Location: The Junction
Meal: Dinner
Day: Sunday
Son's Age: 14 months

We originally showed up with the stroller, but upon assessing the space, I decided to put the stroller back in the car while my husband and son got a table. The hostess seated us in the back of the restaurant, which was nice because there was a little side table that I could put my diaper bag on.

Accessibility: ⭐⭐
In case you didn't get it from my opening, this restaurant is not stroller friendly, which is shocking considering its location in the Junction. There is a step at the entrance, and there is no room to park a stroller, let alone bring it to a table. They did manage to provide a high chair, though.

The washroom is located downstairs and does not have a change table or counter space, but there is a toilet seat lid.

It's not ideal, but better than changing a diaper on the floor. Then again, if you have an older baby, you could also change a diaper while your baby is standing.

Service: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The servers were nice to us and greeted my son as they walked by, commenting about how impressive it was that he eats Thai food. They also didn't seem to mind when my son decided he wanted to practice walking around after he finished eating. 

Food: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
They were out of papaya salad but substituted it with a mango salad, so we started with that and the golden bags.

The golden bags are deep fried pastries with water chestnuts, carrots, and mushrooms, served with chilli sauce. The mango salad was pretty much a traditional mango salad, so it was good but not extraordinary. The golden bags, on the other hand, were different and delicious. Next we ordered the pad Thai.

The pad Thai is made with rice noodles, chicken, bean sprouts, tofu, oyster sauce, chives, and lime. My son loves eating this, and I'd say it was quite good too, although similar to the mango salad, there wasn't anything about it that was especially memorable. We also got the guaytiaw gang. 

This was very good and I highly recommend it. It's rice noodles in curry sauce, bean sprouts, tofu, beef, and boiled egg. The curry sauce acted as a soup and was so hearty. My one caution is that I read a review that described this as the Isaan Der version of Khao soi, and I find that description inaccurate, as there isn't really anything that provides a crunch. If you don't go in with that mindset, though, the dish is really tasty. 

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐½

The food is good, and it's not just your typical Thai restaurant. The accessibility isn't ideal, though, especially if you have a younger baby and you are a first time parent. The service is decent, though, so if you have an older baby, this place is probably worth checking out. 

Dirty Food Eatery

My son was getting ready to start daycare and I was about to start work, so I was treasuring my last days of maternity leave. I decided to meet my sister for brunch and try a new restaurant in the generally baby-friendly Junction.

Restaurant: Dirty Food Eatery
Location: The Junction
Meal: Brunch
Day: Monday
Son's Age: 12 months

Dirty Food is a relatively new restaurant that apparently is affiliated with Junked Food - I didn't actually know this at the time but my husband informed me afterward when he found out that I came here without him. I was just excited to have a new brunch place nearby.

Accessibility: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The restaurant itself is quite small, and I didn't bring a stroller because I was able to find parking nearby. I saw that someone else had left a folded stroller at the front, though. They not only had a high chair for my son, but they also had a kids' menu and plastic cutlery for him!

I'll talk about the food itself later, but my so loves trying to use the knife and fork by himself. He wasn't particularly successful but it was cute watching him try to imitate my sister and me. The washrooms are in the basement, so not stroller friendly, but the larger stall has a change table.

It's more like a shelf (think of the change tables on airplanes if they were padded), but it gets the job done, and it's a good use of such a small space.

Service: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The servers are clearly prepared to deal with young children. Our server was extremely friendly and interacted with my son, and he was happy to answer all the questions I had about the menu also (specifically about the kids' menu). He checked in on us frequently to make sure we had everything we needed, which really helped to make the experience pleasant.

Food: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I really did not know what to expect, given that all I knew was that a new brunch place had opened up nearby. I couldn't decide what to order, so the server recommended I try the chicken 'n' waffle 'wich.

This is buttermilk fried chicken in a waffle sandwich with mayonnaise, candies jalapeños, and lettuce, served with jalapeño syrup, slaw, and fries. This is so delicious, and if you like chicken and waffles you will want to try this. The slaw was actually really good too. There's a fried drumstick separated from the sandwich so you can eat that with your hands without worrying about biting into bone. For my son, we got the kid size Jonny cakes.

These are cornmeal pancakes, served with some pineapple and maple syrup on the side. As you can see, my son was really eager to eat this that I couldn't even get a photo without his hand in the shot. I like that the syrup was on the side because I try not to give him too much processed sugar, but even without syrup he was a huge fan. The kids meals all come with a small drink, but I drank his juice because I haven't given him juice yet and he really likes drinking water.

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½
This is a really great baby-friendly restaurant with delicious brunch food. If you are particularly reliant on your stroller, you may run into some difficulties, but otherwise I highly recommend you bring your baby here. 

Indie Ale House

Before I became pregnant, I was pretty much a regular at Indie Ale House. I don't even like beer, but for some reason I really enjoy some of the beer here. It's local and original and there are so many options to choose from. Bonus - the food is fantastic. You'd think a place that focuses so much on beer would treat food as an afterthought, but not here. If you asked me where to go in the Junction, hands down I would have said Indie Ale House. Fast forward to pregnancy and birth, and I hadn't stepped foot in here. I assumed it was inappropriate to bring a baby to an ale house, and besides, people might judge a breastfeeding mother for indulging in a flight of beer. Then, one day, after taking my son to the OEYC, I decided to pop into the bottle shop to bring some beer home. I noticed a stroller parked in the front and commented that I'm clearly not the only parent bringing my kid here. The seller, totally serious, proceeded to inform me that there were always children here, and that was in fact their stroller parking area. So what do I do with this information? Immediately plan dinner with my husband and son!

Restaurant: Indie Ale House
Location: The Junction
Meal: Dinner
Day: Saturday
Son's Age: 12 months

We decided to go at 5:30 on a Saturday and discovered that they weren't kissing - the place was packed with babies and kids! Immediately I felt better knowing that I wouldn't need to worry about my baby being out of place. Please note that the place does fill up and they do not take reservations so if you want to come a bit later you may have to wait.

Accessibility: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The entrance was full of strollers that were parked at the door.

There were actually more strollers but someone was standing in front and I didn't want to photograph someone without permission. Even with all the babies, we were still able to get a high chair.

Yes, that's my kid with all the beer. We are teaching him good values at an early age, obviously. On top of all this, the washroom actually has a proper change table!

The actual layout of the washroom is not the most convenient, because the change table blocks the entrance to one of the two stalls, but given how many families there were, people were pretty understanding.

Service: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Our server was great and very accommodating to my baby. He brought extra coasters which my son loved playing with, and he brought a little teapot of hot water to warm my son's food. 

I think he is more accustomed to older children rather than babies, however, because he seemed surprised that we didn't want to order something off the menu for him (they do not have a separate kids' menu) and then brought an extra plate for him to share our food (given his penchant for banging and throwing plates, he can't really be trusted with anything breakable). I totally get why restaurants expect you to order off the menu but I think that, unless they specifically have a baby menu, allowances should be made for babies who are just learning how to eat. 

Food: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Since I hadn't been here for so long, my husband and I agreed to buy a flight of beer and split it.

They rotate their beer so what we had isn't always available, but from left to right you are looking at: Spadina Monkey, Ritual Madness, Broken Hipster, Breakfast Porter, and Rabbit of Caerbannog. Disclaimer: I am not a regular beer drinker so I don't know all the proper lingo, but Broken Hipster and Breakfast Porter are my usual go-tos. The Breakfast Porter is similar to a Guinness but with a hint of coffee flavour, while the Broken Hipster is a Belgian wheat beer. The Spadina Monkey is more of a sour cherry flavour, and Ritual Madness is also a fruity flavour (I don't recall what it tasted like exactly, just that I wasn't a fan). The Rabbit is a white IPA that my husband really enjoyed. For our food, I ordered the short rib royale burger with a side salad.

This burger is not kidding around. I'm taking the description from the menu, but it's stout braised, shredded short ribs, quarter pound patty, gruyere cheese, crispy onions, and roasted garlic and thyme aioli. I love this burger and it is ridiculously filling I highly recommend you order this. The side salad was underwhelming on its own but worked well to offset the heaviness of the burger. My husband got the BBQ duck pizza.

This came with pineapple, caramelized onions, fior de latte, tomato sauce, cilantro, and chillies. The pizza was pretty good and my husband liked it, although I must admit that I'm not a fan of pineapple on my pizza. Otherwise, it's very good, and definitely not your average pub fare.

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½
There's a reason I used to come here so often, and discovering that the restaurant is in fact very baby friendly is such a great bonus. If you are looking to try a great craft beer with delicious food, but you don't want to bring your baby to a pub, this is definitely the place to go. 

Nodo

In case you didn't know, the Junction is actually a really baby friendly (and vegan friendly) neighbourhood, with lots of great restaurants that I frequented before I became a mom. I was taking my baby to the early years centre and thought I would grab some lunch first.

Restaurant: Nodo
Location: The Junction
Meal: Lunch
Day: Friday
Son's Age: 9 months

I remember coming to Nodo for lunch when I was pregnant and noticing a couple mothers with babies, which was surprising because the place is a nice Italian restaurant that seems more hip than baby-friendly. Since then, I had been meaning to review the place, so I was glad that I finally got the chance to come again.

Accessibility: ⭐⭐
While the neighbourhood is now baby friendly, the restaurant was clearly not. Ugly with babies in mind. The good news is, they have high chairs.

The washrooms are downstairs, so definitely not stroller friendly, and there is no change table.

I would say this counter might be your best bet if your baby doesn't roll? But even then it might be a bit precarious. Also, as you can see, the washroom isn't very big.

Service: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The good news is that I found the service to be phenomenal. To be fair, I came at lunch time on a weekday when it was quiet, so my server was able to put two tables together so I could sit beside my baby and still park my stroller next to me. He also brought me some hot water to heat my baby food.

Everyone was extremely pleasant and the host held the door open for me when I was leaving with the stroller.

Food: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I'm a sucker for gnocchi, and Nodo does gnocchi two ways. I ordered the old school gnocchi, with lamb ragu, lemon-mint ricotta, and reggiano.

The gnocchi was delicious, and the perfect portion size for lunch. Unfortunately, Nodo doesn't have a separate lunch menu, so I'm not sure this would be as satisfying as a dinner portion, but for me it really hit the spot. The gnocchi was soft and pillowy, and the lamb ragu complemented it so well.

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐½
The food is delicious and the service is impeccable, but the place itself isn't easy to navigate with a baby. Still, I think it's worth checking out, especially for a weekday lunch when the place isn't too busy.

The Beet

I know it seems like it has taken me so long to come back to the Beet with my son, but for full disclosure, I actually come here a lot for takeout. This time, I happened to be in the area for a La Leche League meeting (breastfeeding moms - seriously, check these out, they are so worth it) so I decided to stop by for lunch.

Restaurant: The Beet

Location: The Junction

Meal: Lunch

Day: Tuesday

Son's Age: 9 months

The restaurant is quite small, located inside an old TD Bank building, so I suspect on a busier day I would be asked to park my stroller outside. Luckily, on a winter Tuesday, there was enough room for me, my baby, and the stroller.

Accessibility: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is still great for accessibility as it is stroller friendly, with automatic doors and a ramp to enter the building, and the washroom has a change table. They also have Ikea high chairs, which are my favourite.

That's right - the high chair even comes with its own tray and insert. I'm not sure how well they clean the tray, but that's why I always come prepared with wipes.

Service: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The servers were extremely friendly and understanding, and they were happy to interact with my son and let him play with the menu when he didn't want to let go of it. They were very helpful in getting me to my table and parking my stroller next to me, and they remained pleasant the entire time, even when my son was making a mess (more on that later).

Food: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I actually wanted to order something different from my last post just to provide variety, but I am obsessed with their loaded avocado combo.

The avocado is stuffed with brown coconut Thai rice and veggies, and the combo is served with the daily soup, house salad (that chilli-cilantro dressing!), and toast with house pesto (not made with nuts!). Unfortunately, I'm a little behind on my blog posts so I actually don't remember what kind of soup I had, but it was delicious, and everything is healthy so you can feel good about yourself when you eat here. What really puts this place over the top, though, is the baby menu.

That's right - I didn't even have to bring food for my son. The nibbler platter includes chicken (or tofu), avocado (or cheese), potatoes, and apples. This is the perfect portion for my son, who loves to feed himself. Everything is served at room temperature and unseasoned, and because the high chair had its own tray, my son was able to pick up his own food, which allowed me to use both my hands to eat my own meal! As a warning, the menu specifically advertises this to be served with sweet potato, and as you can see, these are regular white potatoes. Personally, I am okay with this and didn't even realize the discrepancy until after the fact, but if your baby is really looking forward to sweet potatoes, make sure you mention it when you order this. If your baby is eating solids but hasn't started finger foods yet, they also do purees.

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is pretty much the perfect place to take your baby. The food is so healthy and the restaurant is so baby friendly that you don't even have to pack baby food. 

Farmhouse Tavern

Finally made it into the new year! My mom and sister wanted to have brunch together for New Year's, and since I had a good experience at Farmhouse Tavern, we decided to return.

Restaurant: Farmhouse Tavern
Location: The Junction
Meal: Brunch
Day: Sunday
Son's Age: 9 months

Similar to my last experience, it seems that lots of families bring their babies here for brunch, so we felt very comfortable bringing my son.

Accessibility: ⭐⭐⭐
Obviously, the accessibility of the restaurant wasn't going to change, although this time I actually put my baby in the high chair.

Washrooms are still not great and even though people bring their strollers in here, it's not exactly stroller friendly.

Service: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The service was very consistent with our last visit - still prepared to deal with the baby and still very friendly, but I could still have used some more coffee refills.

Food: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This time I took a photo of my food, which is why I decided to write another blog post despite my last visit being so recent. I ordered the eggs in a nest, which are poached eggs nested in a butternut squash, served with a side of salad.

I also added bacon, which lined the holes in the squash and surrounded the eggs. Conceptually, I love the idea of the bacon nestled in there, as the bacon flavour melts into the squash, which would otherwise be very light for brunch. While overall it was delicious, my only qualm was the distribution of the bacon - the majority of the bacon was under one of the eggs, with only a few pieces under the other. I started eating the egg with less bacon and thought I had been ripped off before realizing halfway through that the rest of the bacon was under the next egg. That aside, the combination makes for a very satisfying brunch, and the salad is very light and fresh and makes the perfect complement.

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐½
While the restaurant itself isn't as baby friendly as other locations, the service and the food balance it out, and it's clearly good enough for me to come back within the month!

Farmhouse Tavern

Full disclosure: I'm super behind on my blog posts for a really stupid reason. I thought I had a food photo that I had taken on my husband's phone and was waiting for him to send it back to me. Turns out, I had only taken a blurry photo of the side of the table, which is why he didn't know what I was talking about when I asked him for it. Apologies for the delay, but now, let's get to it!

Restaurant: Farmhouse Tavern
Location: The Junction
Meal: Brunch
Day: Saturday
Son's Age: 8 months

I was meeting a friend for brunch, and with a baby in tow, that means finding a good brunch place that takes reservations. We decided to stay in the neighbourhood and go to Farmhouse Tavern. This restaurant is a great local spot with an ever changing menu. The place has a bit of a rustic feel to it, including mismatched coffee mugs.

Accessibility: ⭐⭐⭐
I came here a lot before I had a baby, and I swear I don't remember seeing so many high chairs here before. I actually brought my son in his car seat thinking that I would need to have it perched on a chair. Luckily, high chairs actually flip over to accommodate car seats.

There are steps to get in, so while people did bring in their stroller, it isn't an easy feat. Additionally, there are no change tables in the washroom.

The good news is that the toilet seat has a lid, so you can lower it and change your baby there. And yes, if you have been reading all my posts, I have been getting less picky about my definition of "accessible washrooms" when it comes to change tables, but it's one of the things I'm learning about as a first time mom.

Service: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The server was definitely prepared to have a baby at the restaurant, which is always helpful. They also brought a bowl of hot water for me to heat up my son's lunch.

I could have used some more frequent coffee refills, but otherwise, the server was happy to explain the menu to us and for the most part left us alone to enjoy good food and conversation.

Food: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I always rate the food based on the specific experience I have here, so based on this particular visit, I'd give the food four stars. As I explained earlier, I do not have a photo, but I ordered the mother and child reunion for brunch, which in this case, was a breaded duck egg over a duck rillette and a potato hash. Now, I have to emphasize that they are constantly changing their menu, and I hadn't been here in quite some time, so I knocked off a star partially because of expectation - the last time I had come for brunch, the mother and child reunion was two duck eggs and duck prosciutto served with salad. To be fair, this new creation was significantly more filling, and it was still tasty, but I was slightly disappointed because I had expected something different. The server did explain it properly, so I was aware that the description had changed when I ordered, but I suppose I was really hoping to be blown away. That being said, the duck egg is perfect - the yolk is nice and runny, and I think it has been poached first and then fried, which is just lovely and does pair quite nicely with the hash.

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐½
The accessibility of this restaurant makes it slightly inconvenient to bring your baby, but the food and service are good, and the ability to make a reservation for brunch in Toronto is a big bonus. I'd recommend coming here if you want some good local food for brunch but want to avoid the crazy wait times.

Ravi Soups

I was meeting my bestie for lunch and as chance would have it, she wanted to try Ravi Soups! I love their soups so I agreed to meet her there.

Restaurant: Ravi Soups
Location: The Junction
Meal: Lunch
Day: Friday
Son's Age: 6 months

This post is going to be relatively short since I recently wrote a review, but I did order something different so I thought it was worth reviewing.

Accessibility: ⭐️⭐️
Same situation as before. I actually ended up sitting at the same table, so had no issues parking the stroller, but there is still no change table in the washroom located in the basement.

Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
As I mentioned in my previous post, service is cafeteria style, so not particularly memorable, although the food did come out quite quickly.

Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
And the food is still as good as I remember! This time, I ordered the chicken hot pot broth.

The soup contained coconut milk, lemongrass, cilantro, kaffir lime, fresh noodles, bok choy, edamame, mango, pineapple, Thai basil, crispy shallots, and fresh herbs. This is a great soup to have as a meal as the chicken and noodles are more than substantial. The soup is also served with a cheese biscuit and red pepper jelly, which is such a nice complement. I still love how it is served on a lazy Susan.

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️½
This still isn't the most accessible restaurant for baby, but the food makes the visit worthwhile. If you're looking for a nice, warm bowl of soup, this is still my favourite place to go to in the city.

Ravi Soups

Holy crap, my son has been alive for over half a year! I'm more than halfway through my maternity leave! This is like the equivalent of two co-op terms in university - meaning I've had desk jobs for half as long! Insane. Whoo. Okay, now that I got that out of my system (psych! That's like two trimesters!), let's talk about dinner with a good friend of mine who finally got to meet my loin fruit. 

Restaurant: Ravi Soups

Location: The Junction

Meal: Dinner

Day: Friday

Son's Age: 6 months (whattttttttt)

Ravi Soups has multiple locations and offer soups and wraps. It's cafeteria style, so you order and pay first and then sit down and wait for your food to be brought to you. Water is also self serve. The decor is pretty mismatched but somehow works. 

Accessibility: ⭐️⭐️

For starters, there's a step just to get into the restaurant, so that's already a bit of an obstacle with the stroller. I do have a large stroller so I had to move a chair to park him next to the table. 

Luckily the place wasn't busy, because otherwise I'm pretty sure the stroller would have been in the way. The washrooms are in the basement, so again, not stroller friendly. More importantly, there is no change table. 

Also I don't think I could change him on that counter. I give it two stars, though, because I did see high chairs for babies that can sit unassisted easily (aka longer than a few seconds). 

Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

As I mentioned, this is cafeteria style, so service is pretty minimal and therefore unmemorable. 

Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is by far my favourite place to get soup. If I'm feeling sick or the weather is bad, nothing warms my heart and stomach like a bowl of soup from Ravi Soups. I ordered a soup and wrap combo. 

The soup was corn chowder with blue crab, Thai basil, and crispy shallots. The wrap was curried lamb with baby spinach, roasted yams, edamame, mango-pineapple salsa, cilantro, and green aioli. The soup was warm and creamy with a bit of a kick, and it really hit the spot, with the shallots providing a nice crunch. The wrap had a great meat-to-veggie ratio so I was satisfied but still felt like I was being somewhat healthy. The lamb was warm and tender and also a little spicy. I also like how the food is served on a lazy Susan so I can spin it around depending on whether I wanted the soup or the wrap without having to rearrange the dishes. It's a seemingly small detail that helps make life easier.

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️½

This is undoubtedly the best place to get soup in the city, but the baby-friendly aspect is a bit lacking. It's still worthwhile to check this place out, but my recommendation is to get takeout to save yourself some hassle. 

Cool Hand of a Girl

My husband and I decided to go out for lunch. On a Sunday. With a baby. With no reservations. Since we were not in a position to endure long wait times, we decided to head to the Junction where at least there are enough options that surely someone could seat us immediately. Full disclosure: we thought we were going to end up at Honest Weight, and this was the second time that I've gone where they were closed unexpectedly. Hey guys - get it together! I'm craving some okonomiyaki over here! ANYWAYS.

Restaurant: Cool Hand of a Girl
Location: The Junction
Meal: Brunch
Day: Sunday
Son's Age: 19 weeks

I'm not sure how to classify Cool Hand of a Girl. I suppose it's a brunch place but I read somewhere that it's considered Mexican? Anyway, they serve organic healthy food and the menu typically consists of sandwiches, but on weekends they have brunch specials.

Accessibility: ⭐️⭐️
Props where it's due: this place is legitimately wheelchair accessible. There is a ramp to get to the entrance and the washroom is on the main floor. Our timing was excellent because a table for four near the door opened up just as we arrived, so we were able to bring our son in without blocking anyone.

That being said, it's a small restaurant, so we still opted to fold the stroller and place the car seat on a chair. I should probably warn you that the location does not have air conditioning so my son didn't stay in the seat for long since he was getting quite sweaty. They do have fans though, so once he was sitting on daddy's lap he was quite happy. The washrooms are located in the back, but alas there was no change table.

As you can see, there wasn't even counter space, so luckily my son did not require changing but if he did, I would not have been able to change him here (although I suppose at least the toilet has a lid so
that would probably have been my best bet).

Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Our server was pleasant and explained the menu items to us. I have an allergy to tree nuts, and he was particularly helpful in accommodating my request for the French toast of the day, which typically has
walnuts in the bread but he recommended the gluten-free bread so that I could still enjoy the rest of the dish (more on that later).

Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
As I mentioned, I ordered the French toast special with peaches, cream, and vanilla ricotta stuffing, served with a side of slaw.

As I mentioned, this was made with gluten free bread. I found all the accompaniments made up for the bread so it was nice and sweet, and the bread itself was light albeit rather tasteless. The slaw was so refreshing and the portion was much bigger than I expected. I split this with my husband, however, and while he liked the peaches and cream, he did not like the bread and insisted he could taste that it was gluten free (I should mention that we have had a very bad experience with gluten free bread in the past so we tend to avoid it in general). To contrast, my husband ordered the chilaquiles.

This was fried egg and cheese over corn chips, served with roasted potatoes and coleslaw. I've never thought to do breakfast on corn chips, but this was actually really interesting and delicious. The roasted potatoes were simple but has a nice crisp to it - my husband didn't even add ketchup, which is uncommon for him. Between the two dishes, I'd say the meal was highly enjoyable.

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️½
The food is great but the accessibility leaves something to be desired. Still, if you time your visit right to get a good seat, the experience is pretty good.

Playa Cabana Cantina

It had been a while since I went out to eat with my cousin and she was in the mood for tacos and shockingly agreed to have dinner at a ridiculously early time. Since I wanted to have enough time to catch up and still get home for my baby's bedtime, we decided to pick a restaurant in my neck of the woods.

Restaurant: Playa Cabana Cantina

Location: The Junction

Meal: Dinner

Day: Saturday

Son's Age: 17 weeks

Playa Cabana Cantina is run by the same owners as Playa Cabana and Playa Cabana Hacienda, but each location is a little different in terms of ambiance and menu items. I used to come to Cantina a lot before my son was born, but this was my first time coming with baby in tow. Just in case, I made reservations and indicated in the notes that we had a baby who was too young for a high chair so we would be bringing in the car seat. A good thing to note is that the music is loud enough that a baby crying won't disturb other patrons, but not too loud so you can still have a conversation.

Accessibility: ⭐️⭐️
To be fair, I don't think this place was designed with babies in mind, but as I think I've mentioned before, most restaurants are baby-friendly at 5pm! We were seated at a booth for four so we could put baby on the bench seat beside us.

This looks better than it is. I actually thought the setup was good, but my husband was the one actually sitting next to him, and he said that due to space constraints he was pretty much sitting partially off the seat because there wasn't enough room for him to sit comfortably. There was another table nearby that brought a baby as well and they didn't appear to fare much better. As for diaper changes, the washrooms were located downstairs in the basement. 

As you can see, there was no change table and no counter space. Luckily we were parked on the street nearby so when my son inevitably needed a diaper change, my husband just took him to the car to change. Works fine in a group, but not really practical if you come alone.

Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Our server was very pleasant and patient in explaining the different menu items to us. When we sat down, my cousin and I noticed that the seat on our side of the table felt sticky, and the server immediately wiped it down and checked to make sure it was clean. Our food also arrived surprisingly quickly, and the server also offered to bring another basket of chips for our guacamole when we finished the first batch.

Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
If you are into margaritas, this place has three different kinds! (Don't look at me like that - I'm allowed to have one margarita.) We each ordered a different kind. I can't remember what they are called, although as I noted above, the server was nice enough to explain the differences. My cousin had the more traditional margarita, I had one that had a bit of a citrus flavour, and my husband had the third one which was strong and really hit you with tequila. With drinks ordered, we decided to start with some guacamole.

The guacamole is simple and fresh, which is just the way I like it, and it makes for a great starter to share. We all agreed to order tacos, as it is cheaper to get three of the same and there were three of us. We had the braised short rib, the pescado, and the carnita.

If you are looking for a good fish taco, let me tell you, this is so not the place to go. I found it to be extremely basic, boring, and kind of bland. The carnita was much better as the pork was juicy and flavourful. The braised short rib was undoubtedly the star. The meat was succulent and perfectly paired with the crispy taco. After the guac and the tacos, we agreed to split a dessert: specifically, the churros poutine.

This is a dessert made with churros, marshmallow curds, carjeta gravy, and peanuts. I've never had a combination like this before and it is amazing.

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️½
The food is great and we got excellent service, but it is quite a hassle to bring a baby to this location as physical space is very limited.

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!