Birthday dinner for 8 year old
February 25, 2010 2:10 PM   Subscribe

DFWrestaurantfilter: My daughter is turning 8 years old on Saturday and we want to take her to a fun place to eat that actually has good food. Can anyone suggest some places like that in the Dallas area? Also, we will not take her to magic time machine or chuck e cheeses...The food at magic time machine is just about the worst ive ever had.
posted by flipmiester99 to Society & Culture (15 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
How about the Reunion Tower? It's not fun exactly, but it would definitely be memorable.
posted by mattybonez at 2:41 PM on February 25, 2010


Dave & Busters? Medieval Times?
posted by mattybonez at 2:44 PM on February 25, 2010


Response by poster: Medieval Times..Didnt even think about that one.
posted by flipmiester99 at 2:47 PM on February 25, 2010


It is apparently a rite of passage at this age to start going to Rainforest Cafe for major milestones, according to coworkers who are parents of daughters. It's fancy, from a kid's perspective, and there's the whole rainforest animatronic hoo-rah.
posted by Lyn Never at 2:58 PM on February 25, 2010


Best answer: When I turned 9 my mom took me to a place that did hibachi. Seeing the chefs cook in front of me was absolutely enthralling and I would recommend it to anyone.
posted by Night_owl at 3:05 PM on February 25, 2010


Magic Time Machine is terrible. Definitely don't go there. You could do Rainforest Cafe, there's one in Grapevine Mills if i recall.

Reunion tower is now a 5-star restaurant called 560.

If you want to celebrate her being 8, maybe you can go with a "now you're older so you'll have to act like a proper lady" now theme, you could try:

Sambuca (maybe a lil' loud?)
Gloria's
....

Yeah, rainforest cafe might be your best bet!
posted by unexpected at 3:16 PM on February 25, 2010


Trader Vic's?
posted by mattbucher at 3:20 PM on February 25, 2010


i remember reading a blog mentioning a place that their kid loved, and i think it was in the dallas area - i believe it was the purple cow. i wish i could remember the blog, but i don't.
posted by koroshiya at 3:33 PM on February 25, 2010


purple cow would be a fun place to eat at, but it's a great lunch/casual place. There's nothing inherently "magical" about it that a birthday would suggest.
posted by unexpected at 4:01 PM on February 25, 2010


Not Dallas-specific, but we took my niece to a REAL pizza joint for her birthday. The type that serves real food, too, and serves wine and beer. She really enjoyed being "grown-up" for the afternoon.
posted by notsnot at 5:58 PM on February 25, 2010


Not a location-specific suggestion, but seconding the hibachi idea.
posted by desuetude at 6:48 PM on February 25, 2010


Have you actually been to Medieval Times? I don't know if I was unlucky, but it was one of the most disgusting meals I've ever had (greasy chicken legs).

I third the hibachi/teppanyaki idea, I loved it when I was your niece's age and now my nieces love it too.
posted by clearlydemon at 7:40 PM on February 25, 2010


Response by poster: I think were gonna go with the Hibachi idea and go to Kobe Steaks in Addison. Thanks everyone for all the ideas!
posted by flipmiester99 at 6:35 AM on February 26, 2010


When I was turning 12 (I know, older than your girl) my parents took me to the spinning restaurant at the top of the Hyatt Regency in Phoenix. I got all dressed up and went for a real 'grown-up' meal with just me and my parents. I LOVED it. My parents treated me like a real adult and let me order whatever I wanted. Maybe you can do the same thing for your daughter. Eight is an age where she's moving from that 'little' kid stage and into the 'big' kid one. Let her get dressed up, and let her order like a grown up and she'll remember the night forever. (And the Teppanyaki sounds like a lot of fun for her.)
posted by TooFewShoes at 6:51 AM on February 26, 2010


Just chiming in to confirm that the food at both Medieval Times and the Rainforest Cafe is mediocre at best (and I'm being polite). You are paying for the experience, not the food.

My girls loved both of those places and were delighted to be taken there.
posted by CathyG at 12:27 PM on February 26, 2010


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