We just moved to Taipei and as we have two little ones (2 and 3 years old) we are looking for kids friendly restaurants besides Mc Donald’s and Co. Any ideas?
Thanks! 
SAMC
Welcome to Taipei! I think Swensen’s on the corner of Ren’ai and Dunhua (they have other branches, too) would be a good choice, because they have many different flavours of ice-cream. 
Grandma Nitti’s off of Shi-Da Road would also be a good option. I’m sure there are many, many others…
[quote=“SAMC”]We just moved to Taipei and as we have two little ones (2 and 3 years old) we are looking for kids friendly restaurants besides Mc Donald’s and Co. Any ideas?
Thanks! SAMC[/quote]
Most restaurants are kid friendly (just check out the threads on screaming kids in resturants -LOL) what part of the city do you live in? Also check out
taiwanfun.com. I have kids too, lived here 13 years, and write about the city, feel free to pm me.
Chou
We took our kids, 1 and 4, to the pi jiu wu (Beer House). It seems a lot of people here do that. The food is great.
Also, My Home Steak is pretty good. They have salad bar with ice cream.
Aren’t all restaurants kid friendly? I mean half the time when there are kids there they are running around all over the place, screaming and acting like feral animals. The management seems to be friendly toward this and the kids think it’s just a big hoot.
I also like when parents bring their kids to beer joints at like 2 in the morning. A smoky beer house with drunk people around. It’s a friendly way to get a kid some education.
There is a restaurant up in Tienmu that has booths made of cut-away Minis (the car). Painted in pastel colors. Kids would like that. I can’t remember the name of the place. Something suitably silly like Bubu or Wawa.
Pizza Hut has some buffets that have kid prices. you can get the world famous corn, peas, carrots and shrimp seafood pizza!
I take my kids to MOS Burgers. That place is the best. well, I would if I had kids. Buy them the MOS-style cheeseburger. it’s better than any other fast food burger by far. or try the riceburgers with teriyaki beef. they even have decent onion rings.
Or take them to Mary’s in Tienmu. They get to interact with those awesome people from TAS. oh, what lovely students.
I know you’re not talking about me, but we went at 7 and left before anyone was drunk.
Thank you all for your replies! We just tried Swensen’s on Sunday and our kids loved it; especially the huge ice cream shakes they served for desert. Unfortunately we (the parents!) also couldn’t resist … 
So next time it should be a place that is also serving healthy food! I guess we will give Grandma Nittis a try! Thanks for the tip maoman!
Richardm, could you please let me know the adresses of the two places you mentioned: The Beer House and My Home Steak? Thanks!
Wolf, I do not want anybody to think about my kids as " feral animals". That’s exactly why I am looking for kids friendly restaurants, meaning restaurants where the other guests do perhaps also have children or at least do not feel disturbed by them. I do not want our boys to go on anybody’s nerves! 
But thanks for mentioning the pub with the minis! I remember, I did see it somewhere here in Tianmu and we will check it out some day! SAMC
someone once recommended to me a restaurant in the Taimall in Nankan (Taoyuan). Called Dave and Buster’s I think. haven’t gone yet. supposed to be lots of games and stuff for kids.
Of course, Spock, not you, but you know what I mean.
To be serious (shock!), any restaurant is a good place to bring kids in Taiwan as long as the kids are behaved. I could go into the long version of why this is, but kids in Taiwan are more or less allowed to run riot, whereas kids in the UK or US for example, are disciplined by their parents that a restaurant is not a playground.
There is a huge compound along a river across from the National Palace Museum (and behind the big eye-sore building) that has all you can eat BBQ for 499 next to an outdoor pool (free with the meal). Live jazz at night and a driving range too. Dad can sit on a veranda under the centuries old trees (the sign says one is 1,000) next to the river and sip a Chingtao beer (the sweeter ones from the mainland – go figure). Kid seem to like the swimming and BBQ deal.
Agree with Wolf, that area near the National Palace is fabulous for people with kids.
What a coincidence! We just started a thread on this last night at the family forum!
So far all the places that have been recommended are in the city, but someone else might find it useful.
We’ve been to Dave and Busters… our older kids and the daddy love it, but it’s way too smoky in my opinion. The games seem more suited to the preteens and up but there is “skeeball” and a few other tame ones the toddlers would enjoy. The food at the restaurant isn’t bad but I think my husband was disappointed with the steaks. Also, if you take your children there, expect to see lots of pretend shooting games.
When we look for family/kid-friendly, we look for a children’s menu, high chairs, stroller access, a section where the kids have at least a little bit of room to move (we have a favorite corner at Dan Ryan’s, not the cramped part in the middle), high chairs, friendly staff and service, coloring placemats and crayons, clean bathrooms, etc… anything to make the whole experience of dining with children more enjoyable for everyone.
‘My Home Steak’ is a chain with several branches in Taipei.
‘My Home Steak’ is a chain with several branches in Taipei.[/quote]
The Beer house we went to is 105 Zhong Cheng road section one. This is in Shilin. If you take the 285 bus North over the Fuhe bridge it will turn right on Zhong Cheng road. Get off at the second stop. There’s two of them right together. It will be an adventure trying to order if you don’t know some Chinese. Most beer houses are similar and I’ve never had a bad meal at one. I avoid the ones where they wash the dishes in the street. As an appetizer, try the pineapple shrimp. It’s covered in a sweet, white sauce that looks like mayonaise but it isn’t.
You can find My Home Steak just about anywhere. The logo is a red cow head in a circle that says My Home Steak. It’s a too literal translation of the Chinese name, wo jia niu pai. The one I go to is in the same area as the beer house. Go east on Dehsing E. road until you get to the 190s or so and turn right on Zhongyi street, before you get to McDonalds. It’ll be on the right side of the street. The red 15 bus stops right in front.
maybe not exactly what you had in mind, but the Tom Wu Long Playground at the RT mart in Neihu is excellent )for the parents too). the food court on the ground floor has a wide selection of eats. You can get the food to go and eat at one of the tables near the Playground.
Chou