Is it okay for adults to order from a restaurant's kiddie menu?
It's a persistent question for diners: Is the children's menu in a restaurant really just for kids? Or can grown-ups also pick items off a menu supposedly only for customers 12 years old and below?
Although not all restaurants offer separate menu items for young diners, others have a kiddie menu with dishes in smaller portions and prepared to suit the palates of picky eaters.
It's a decision borne of practicality, not gentle parenting. Restaurants with kiddie menus are after "proportional value for money," Mike Manalo, owner of Goto Believe, told PhilSTAR L!fe. Restaurants do this "to minimize wastage," Manalo added.
"Kids eat less, so smaller portions are offered, naturally at a discount versus regular portions," Earl Palma, owner of Sauceria, told L!fe.
Considerations are also made in taste, said Palma. "Other restaurants reformulate their recipe and make it generally sweeter and less spicy to cater to the child's tastes."
The debate arises when adult diners order dishes for themselves off a kiddie menu. While some restaurants have no problems with it, some may cite house rules and refuse to let a customer past puberty order a child-sized meal.
'Only for kids'
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For David Sison, CEO of Italian-inspired restaurant Mama Lou's, the distinction is clear from the label of the menu: "Kiddie meals are for kids," he wrote on Threads on Thursday, Nov. 12.
"A kiddie meal is not a small adult meal. It is priced as a courtesy to families, so parents can afford to bring their children out to eat. It is portioned for a child," Sison continued.
"When a restaurant says, 'For kids only,' it is not being difficult," he added, saying establishments prepare a kiddie menu as a "promise to parents: there will be something on this menu for your child, at a price that makes sense."
Nicole Go Thorp, director for Communications, Branding & Events for NIC's, saw it as a sensible solution.
"From an operational standpoint, I can appreciate why certain establishments would have policies around these offerings," Thorp told L!fe.
Her perspective was echoed by Paul Tatlonghari, whose family runs the Bib Gourmand restaurant Bawai's Vietnamese Kitchen.
"Of course, I also respect that every restaurant has its own policies and business considerations. As restaurant operators ourselves, we understand that side of things, too," Tatlonghari told L!fe.
Some diners agree, preferring to be considerate toward restaurants.
"As a customer, you can only order from the kids' menu if you have a child, out of courtesy to the restaurant," PR consultant Treena Tecson told L!fe.
A Facebook user cited restaurants' need to earn. "It's business. If adults are allowed to order kiddie meals, which [are] cheaper than adult meals, more adults may opt to get the kiddie meals; hence, less gross sales=less profit," the user wrote in a comment.
A menu for all
Preferring a more inclusive approach, others don't see an issue with adults picking items off a children's menu.
"If it's in the menu, it shouldn't be exclusive to just one segment of the customer base. It's still part of the choices that any customer can choose from," said Manalo.
"Personally, I don't see anything wrong with an adult wanting to order a smaller portion or something typically offered to children," Tatlonghari said. "People have different appetites and preferences, and I think that's perfectly understandable."
These preferences may be due to health restrictions, too, pointed out Thorp, who said she doesn't see an issue, "especially when their preference for smaller portions may be influenced by dietary restrictions, health considerations, or simply their appetite," she explained.
Flexibility
Even as they recognized restaurants' need to enforce their respective rules, some establishment owners also called for flexibility.
"At the end of the day, hospitality is about making guests feel welcome and accommodated. While restaurants are entitled to establish reasonable policies, I believe there should always be room for flexibility and understanding," said Thorp.
For Tatlonghari, "It really comes down to how we view hospitality," he said, pointing out how their family restaurant started from his mother cooking Vietnamese food for family and friends. "That feeling of welcoming people into our home is something we've always tried to preserve, even as the restaurant has grown," Tatlonghari said.
Palma addresses his diners' various preferences by keeping Sauceria's menu open to occasional modifications.
"We address...concerns by offering 'snack' sizes for smaller appetites and can adjust the spice levels to suit the customer's palate," he said.
With this flexibility, "you don't have to be a kid to enjoy a budget meal, and we can accommodate recipe modifications to suit the dietary needs of the customer as our dishes are freshly made," Palma added.
If issues do crop up regarding kiddie menu rules, Thorp and Tatlonghari said conveying these policies with respect wins the battle.
"It's...important that staff communicate these policies with courtesy and discretion, rather than making guests feel uncomfortable about their choices," Thorp said.
"Even when a request can't be accommodated, I think how you communicate that to a guest matters just as much," Tatlonghari added, saying they strive to have their customers end their meals "feeling that they were genuinely welcomed and taken care of."
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