It’s Family Date Night! 15 spots to dine and drink with kids in Charlotte

Priorities.

With the help of some pivot tables and VLookUps, I have refined the list to include half-priced wine at kid-friendly establishments for Family Date Nights.

Concerned your small child can’t sit at a table without scaling it, clearing the table in its entirety or eating from a food-encrusted floor? Yeah. Me, too. Here are a few pointers:

(1) Order the kids’ food and your wine first. ‘Cause. Priorities.

(2) Purchase a $14 Etch-a-Sketch at Walmart and tell Tommy Tom Thompson that it is an old school iPad. Bring it out only for the sole purpose of Family Date Nights. Tommy will go to town etching and sketching while you sip on a buttery California Chardonnay for half the price.

(3) Load up on $1 Invisible Ink coloring books from Target. Again, save them for Family Date Night purposes only. Let Jamie James Jameson fill the pages with color while you enjoy a 2-minute adult conversation with your hubs over a robust red.

(4) Forego the vegetables on Family Date Night (unless your child is a unicorn and likes vegetables). You do not want to have to negotiate three bites over a quarter of a Brussel sprout on Family Date Night. Nor do you want to watch Victoria Vickie Vickerson pick out the green Veggie Sticks because they are green while you try to slam a Pinot. Do Veggie Sticks count as a vegetable?

(5) Speaking of green, make sure the restaurant does not plate the cheese pizza with parsley. Otherwise, Franny Frances will think it is indeed a vegetable and her head might start spinning. See: The Exorcist.

(6) Splurge and get dessert. It’s Family Date Night after all!

(7) Not interested in drinking a whole bottle of wine? Ask the restaurant if you can take the bottle home so you will still benefit from a good deal and enjoy the rest of the wine another night.

(8) Get there early. Some health expert out somewhere yonder claims that eating an earlier dinner is better for your digestion. You will also not have to wait for a table. You will also not feel bad if Samuel Sam Sampson’s head starts spinning in the middle of the restaurant because no one dines at 5 pm. Unless they have kids. Unless they are eating a late lunch. Unless they are on London time.

Sunday

Brixx Pizza – Half-priced wines by the bottle
Brixx boasts fantastic patios at their Fairview and East Boulevard locations and kids love this place. The Fairview location has a cool fountain for throwing money into.

Mezzanote – Half-off select bottles of wine
The kids’ menu offers lasagna, mac n’ cheese, spaghetti and more.


Dilworth Neighborhood Grill – Half-priced wines by the bottle
Evidently, kids can enter a coloring contest and feature their artwork at the grill.

Monday

300 East – Half-priced glasses of wine
I am pleasantly surprised by this one since 300 East is rather small, but their kids’ menu offers your four food groups – pasta, chicken fingers, pizza and grilled cheese.

Fran’s Filling Station – Half-priced wines by the bottle
While they do not promote a kids’ menu on their website, I saw French fries.

Lebowski’s Neighborhood Grill – Half-priced wines by the bottle
It is a grill. In a neighborhood. Go crazy!

Tuesday

Nolen Kitchen – Half-priced wines by the bottle
Nolen Kitchen also has $4 bar bites from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. which is opportune for Family Date Night if you can escape work in time.

Leroy Fox – Half-priced glasses of wine
They have salmon on the kids’ menu if Joey Joe Joseph is watching his figure.

Wednesday

Mellow Mushroom (Selwyn location) – $5 glasses of wine
There is an actual school bus inside the restaurant. Need I say more.

Cantina 1511 – Half-priced wines by the bottle
Unlimited chips and salsa! Half-off wine! Viva la vida loca!

Village Tavern – Half-priced glasses of wine
They also have salmon on the kids’ menu, plus the patio is perfect for running laps. Where can I find a child who will eat salmon? See above: Spinning head, The Exorcist.

Thursday

Brio Tuscan Grill – $5 wine pours
Brio offers a plethora of options on the kids’ menu as well as gluten-free possibilities.

Hickory Tavern – Half-priced wines by the bottle
Hickory Tavern is a great location because if Howie Howard gets fussy, you can run him around on the greenway between slurps of Cab.

Friday

Duckworth’s (Park Rd Location) – Half-priced wines by the bottle
Not a wine-o? Kids Eat Free on Mondays and Wednesdays at Duckworth’s. Otherwise, cheers! It’s Fri-yay!

Saturday

Wolfman Pizza – Half-priced bottles of wine
Pizza! Wine! It’s a party! Family Date Night style.

*DINK=Dual Income No Kids

Feature photo courtesy of Babalu