Kid-Fond Seattle: Vios

Kid-friendly restaurants have a children's menu with macaroni and cheese and other toddler staples. They welcome families and have more than one high chair and booster seat. Most have crayons and some have craftier stuff, like Tutta Bella's wiki stix. That is usually as far as the accommodation goes--unless you frequent suburban junk food hell-holes like Chuck E. Cheese.

Last night, we experienced something more...kid-welcoming...kid-happy...kid-fond. Thanks to a suggestion by Mike, we brought our daughter and her mercurial appetite to Vios Cafe and Marketplace on the corner of 19th Avenue East and Aloha Street for some delicious Greek food. Everybody left happy and satisfied.

Yes, they had macaroni and plentiful high chairs. Sure, two different staff members brought our little scribbler crayons and paper. But it is more than that. The walls, which are topped by high shelves of beautiful pottery, also display wonderful photos of laughing children. One corner of the restaurant holds a gated play area with books, blocks, and games. We played there while waiting for some of the best Greek food we've had in years. And our daughter played there without us after she made her usual "I'm-all-done-no-more-no-thank-you" pronouncement after Mama and Papa had only taken a couple of bites. We could watch her play while still enjoying our meal.

We were so pleased with the experience, we came home and, in looking for reviews by people without children, we found the owner's poignant story. We hope other Seattle restaurants can learn from Thomas Soukakos and create similar settings without going through the transformative grief that helped shape this unique cafe.