We want our children to be ‘good eaters’—adventurous diners who eagerly accept all forms of fruits and veggies and never protest at a host’s table. But, forcing new foods on picky diners is never the answer. You want to entice them. The first step to cultivating a love of varied foods is exposure. Fortunately, some of the best restaurants in town offer ideal conditions to introduce young ones to global cuisines and fine-dining-lite settings. If all else fails, these spots have backup children’s menus for those times when only fries will do.
Photography by Anna Nguyen
zen asian bbq
Bicyclette Cookshop
North Naples, Modern American
Who says you can’t play with your food? At North Naples hotspot Bicyclette, young’uns experiment with delightfully remixed global flavors (think: pork short rib with fava pesto) and, maybe even, their first taste of caviar. The team serves the salty delicacy with a bag of Bugles corn chips, which are just as fun to eat as to pop on fingers as claws. Bicyclette chef Kayla Pfeiffer’s youthful energy and penchant for reinventing classics continues on the appropriately dubbed Happy Meal menu, with sourdough grilled cheese sandwiches and housemade dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets fried to a glorious, golden crisp. bicyclettecookshop.com
Chez Boet
Downtown Naples, French
The charmingly appointed bistro in Crayton Cove transports diners to the French countryside with authentic rustic fare that easily translates for kids. The white-tablecloth restaurant’s Well-Behaved Children’s Menu has some fail-safe options (creamy, butter-laden pasta; grilled chicken with rice and veggies), but more curious littles can go for intermediate Francophile creations, like la cocotte de boeuf, a mini Bourguignon stew with Wagyu beef. chezboetnaples.com 21 SpicesEast Naples, IndianAsif Syed (who famously beat celebrity chef Bobby Flay at his own game) exalts flavors from his native India at his fine-dining gem. Indian food can be the perfect gateway for a cosmopolitan palate—dishes like butter chicken (a rich, creamy, tangy curry), samosas and sweet mango lassi are satisfyingly approachable. And, few do the culinary genre better than Asif. 21spicesdining.com
Zen Asian BBQ
North Naples, Asian
Coax picky eaters with a fun and engaging experience. At the 2015-opened Zen Asian BBQ, littles can help prepare their bites (with parental oversight) on one of the several Korean barbecue tables, where diners cook bountiful spreads of mouth-watering steak (including New York strip and Kobe beef), chicken, beef, shrimp and scallops. This meal is best-experienced family-style, so order plenty of variety and let your gastronomes-in-the-making go wild. Once you’ve conquered Korean fare, go back for Thai and Japanese explorations. If you’re looking to test the sushi waters, Zen’s veggie maki is a great place to start.
Photography by Anna Nguyen
zen asian bbq
Naples’ Zen Asian BBQ lets kiddos get hands-on at the Korean hot pot tables (previous spread and top two). Bicyclette Cookshop applies the same creative flair to its regular grown-up and kids’ Happy Meal menus.
Coldwater Oyster Market
South Fort Myers, Seafood
Father-of-four and chef Adam Nardis opened Coldwater at the end of 2021 to celebrate all things oysters. When you want to introduce minis to briny bivalves, there’s no better place. The setting—with an indoor-outdoor design, big garage doors, a vintage VW bus parked outside and the allure of trying a new dessert like crème brûlée—hooks little ones. And, Adam’s meticulous seafood sourcing puts parents’ minds at ease, knowing their kids are getting the best clean, fresh aquatic eats. The chef focuses on harvests from he and his wife, Erin’s, native Northeast Atlantic and Pacific Northwest coasts, where the cold seas slow the animals’ metabolism, translating to crisper, sweeter oysters and fattier fish, rich in Omega-3. If your minis aren’t feeling the pescatarian vibes, there’s a hefty selection of crowd-pleasing burgers, fries and steaks.
El Gaucho Inca
Estero and Fort Myers, Argentinian/Peruvian
Youngsters learn about two culinary capitals at this two-location restaurant (with a new trattoria in Naples) that celebrates the owners’ South American native countries. Brave, tiny diners tackle Argentine grilled sweetbreads and lightly spicy Peruvian tacu-tacu a lo macho (rice patties and beans in a pool of saucy seafood). Those wanting to lightly push their palates can try refreshing ceviche. Even on the kids’ menu, minis taste Latin flavors via bites like salchipapas, a street food with fries and sliced hot dogs.