What Are The Best Melrose Restaurants for Kids?

Each Wednesday in Moms Talk, our of Melrosians take your questions, give advice and share solutions—and we want you to join in the conversation.

The Moms Council will discuss the question of the week beforehand, which we'll publish below, and then invite you to join in the conversation in the comments section, where we'll keep the conversation going.

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If you want to submit a question, e-mail editor Daniel DeMaina at danield@patch.com.

This week, we also welcome some new members to the Moms Council: Molly Phillips, Erin Drogan and Diane Sutton. They join Kimberley DeLeire, Karen Blackburn and Kate House. Welcome!

So grab a cup of coffee and settle in as we start the conversation with today's question. After a few weeks of some serious questions here on , we're going a little lighter, although no less important ...

What are the best Melrose restaurants for kids? (And check out our previous article on .)

From Molly Phillips:

When we want to treat our kids to a night out, we like on Main Street. The colorful artwork, lively Mariachi music and bright furnishings create a fun and exciting environment for the kids. It's not a very quiet place so kids can feel free to speak without a constant "SHHHH!!!" from mom and dad. They have plenty of kid friendly choices like kid-sized tacos, burritos and quesadillas and they are pretty accommodating to special requests. Beans on the side please! On Friday's and Saturday's it can get pretty crowded for dinner so we like to go fairly early between 5:30 and 6:30 because we can usually get seated and served quickly before the rush of the evening crowd begins.

From Erin Drogan:

: It's a little hole the wall, but aren't those always perfect for kids?  Either for a quick sit-in or take-out, Sushi Island has been added to our repertoire.  My three-year old will easily eat a plate full of the veggie tempura (more veggies than he might otherwise eat in a week!) and he is interested enough in the shapes and colors of the cooked maki, especially the sweet potato tempura, that he is willing to experiment. Even my one-year old is happy picking at some rice and tofu ... or just teething on a chopstick!

From Kate House:

I find Melrose restaurants very welcoming of child diners in general. My four-year-old daughter would live at Mexico Lindo, given the chance. The colors, the carved chairs, and their willingness to give her shredded beef or fish tacos instead of the usual ground beef count for big points in her book. We also have good luck at , where the kid's menu offers some non-chicken-finger options and where I can always order her a kid-sized piece of salmon and feel good about what she's eating. (Those waxy Bendaroo-type sticks they give out also help smooth the dinner or lunch experience.) Rang (Indian) and Taste of Siam (Thai) in Stoneham are also very accommodating, always bringing over small plates and sometimes coloring pages. Both restaurants have a very relaxed attitude toward wee eaters, too.

From Karen Blackburn:

We are still very new to Melrose, but have found the staff, atmosphere and menu at Turner's to be great for children.