New research from restaurant booking platform, Bookatable.co.uk, reveals that the majority of British parents (78 per cent) believe there are a lack of food options offered to their children at restaurants, with the same unhealthy options like chicken nuggets and pizza continuing to appear on most children’s menus.
According to the findings, 59 per cent of British parents said they think the food offered to kids in restaurants is unhealthy, dull and needs to be re-imagined.
While over half of parents that took part in the research (57 per cent) believe restaurant food for children has improved over the years, many still believe the industry has some way to go to making the restaurant experience ‘inclusive’ to children. Instead, 69 per cent felt restaurants put all of their focus into creating enticing adult menus with less effort put into their children’s food offering, which 70 per cent believe restaurants should encourage kids to try new ingredients they have never tried before and healthier foods.
Top reasons parents choose a restaurant to dine at with children
- Activities in the restaurant 61%)
- Healthy food options (59%)
- Cheap as I am on a budget (53%)
- Near lots of activities (51%)
- Fast service to avoid kids getting bored (36%)
How to improve…
Asked how they thought restaurants could help make their kids be more adventurous and healthy when dining out, a fifth of respondents (21 per cent) said they would like to have more control over portion sizes. 31 per cent claimed that they want chefs to create dedicated children’s tasting menus to encourage them to eat a greater variety of food types, and 21 per cent said they’d like restaurants to provide pictures of meals so that kids could choose their own healthy option.
Tredwell’s creates a special Kids Tasting Menu
In a bid to re-imagine children’s dining this summer, Bookatable.co.uk has partnered with Marcus Wareing’s latest London restaurant, Tredwell’s to create a special Kids Tasting Menu aiming to expand their palates with grown up flavours. The menu has been put to the test by a team of junior reviewers aged 2 – 11 years who tried the dishes and gave their thumbs up. The results proved that although children are wary of new flavours, they are open to eating more adventurous and ‘grown-up’ dishes when presented in the right way.
Chantelle Nicholson, Group Operations Director for Marcus Wareing Restaurants said, “We have always tried to be creative with our children’s offering and steered away from the normal chicken and chips style of food. We welcome kids of all ages at Tredwell’s and aim for our menu to be fresh and different.”
Limited home diets
Despite British parents blaming lacklustre children’s menus for the lack of dining diversity for their kids, the stats showed that parents may indeed be partly responsible themselves due to feeding their children a limited diet at home. Almost half of respondents (49 per cent) admitted there are a considerable number of food items offered in restaurants that they don’t serve to their children at home, while 71 per cent of respondents claimed they gave their kids sugar confectionary between 2-4 times a week, and an additional 64 per cent admitted to giving their children chips at least twice a week.
The Bookatable ‘Culinary Kids campaign’ has also got the backing of some of the country’s top chain restaurants including Busaba Eathai and Las Iguanas who are developing their children’s offering. For more information on family dining, Bookatable has created a section on its website dedicated to family-friendly restaurants and family dining inspiration here.
About Tredwell’s
Tredwell’s is the third venue from Marcus Wareing Restaurants and is an exciting new addition to London’s Covent Garden. Tredwell’s takes inspiration from its surrounding area, encapsulating its vibrancy and delivering modern London cooking and cocktails in cool, timeless interiors.
Tredwell’s, 4A Upper St Martin’s Lane, London, WC2H 9NY
For more information click here
Follow us on Twitter @Tredwells