Tall, spotty and a sure bet for somewhere to eat with a toddler!

Originally, when I started this blog, I didn't want to endorse products or brands. But 'getting out with your toddler' often involves food... and let's face it, 'when toddlers go bad' tends to occur when you want them to sit and eat in a public environment.

My favourite place to eat at the moment is Giraffe.

Why? Well, it's really difficult to go past the balloon that they give to the children for starters. They also give crayons and paper to draw on as soon as you arrive. Quite often you'll also receive a cute plastic giraffe. All of these are winners in my books.

On the food front, they have a wide selection of different toddler friendly food. If it's one thing that drives me a bit crazy it's a child menu that simply offers chips three-ways - you know the one: beans and chips, fish and chips, nuggets and chips. Giraffe has a lot of healthy food, and healthy drinks - hey they do chips too - but it does offer more variety. It's well priced - with the mini-mains for under £4.50.

PLUS, the adult food is also great. Their club sandwich is to die for and their burgers are very delish too. It's not cheap, but I usually feel like I get my money's worth (especially if I don't order any alcohol).

The biggest plus for them must be - they actively encourage children to come to their restaurants. This ultimately means that the staff are great with kids. They expect spills and food on the floor, they know to bring the children's food out first and they are, generally, just nice to them. Not snarling or rolling their eyes at the sight of a pram. Or tutting when cutlery/plates/food is dropped.

In my experience they have been willing to bring fistfuls of straws, their cute little plastic giraffe toys and an abundance of serviettes. No questions asked.

Where are they?

They're in 26 locations in the UK, predominantly in London.

I've had great eating out experiences in Chiswick, Kensington, & Brunswick Centre Giraffes. My daughter has also eaten out at the Richmond Giraffe with her grandparents.

Facilities:

All have baby change.

Some restaurants will ask you to fold your pram (dependent on how busy it is), and are happy to help.