Ahhh … The Park Chalet

The Park Chalet

www.beachchalet.com
1000 Great Highway, San Francisco, 94122, Map it here
415-386-8439

Prices:  Small plates $5-15, Kid’s Menu selections are $5.25; Happy hour discounts apply on Mondays and Tuesdays; Free live music on Saturdays and Sundays 2-5 PM

Dad John with Daughters Sarah and Charlotte

Where Ocean Beach meets the Golden Gate Park, you will find this little dining oasis.  The Park Chalet, opened a few years after its sister restaurant the Beach Chalet, carries a totally unique vibe.  This ultra kid (and doggie) friendly, casual but hip restaurant is another one of those beautiful mirages of our urban City.

Your eyes do not fool you. Yes, you are seeing a hip restaurant spill out onto the grass and greenery of one of the most famous parks in one of the most splendid cities in the world.  Happy hours, live music and Sunday brunches make you feel as though you’ve been invited to a raging party, and your kids are invited too!  You will enjoy mixing with locals (I met one of my favorite mommy friends there) and love the kid and adult friendly fare (one of our favorites is the beer sampler- The Park Chalet is also a working brewery).  Your children will be relaxed and entertained by a.) the natural surroundings, b.) dogs, c.) hot dogs, d.) kids around them, e.) live music, f.) caramel apples or chocolate castle desserts, g.) some of the above, h.) all of the above… so you can really relax and enjoy your time out!  Everyone just seems to hang out, customers and staff alike.

The staff can often be harried, carrying around big trays of food in tight, crowded spaces, but they still are very attentive to families and your little ones.

Oftentimes it is foggy, so make sure to bring a coat for you and your little one.  But when the sun is out, nothing beats the Park Chalet.  On a warm weekend day it is difficult to get a spot to sit, so if you really want to eat, bring a picnic blanket to sit outside.  Parking can be tricky too, I recommend leaving your car across the street in the Ocean Beach parking lot or the street across from the beautiful Queen Wilhelmina Tulip Garden and North Dutch Windmill, also a must see before or after your visit at the Park Chalet and a good place to spread out your picnic blanket.  Come early (not hard with children) for the best seats or call for reservations.  Make sure you check out their website too to find out about their many types of happy hours and events.

If you have never been the Park Chalet, do not miss out on this San Francisco treat any longer… bring a friend or come alone with your child – you might just become a regular!

The Japanese Tea Garden

The Japanese Tea Garden

Golden Gate Park
Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive @ John F. Kennedy Drive, Map it here

General Information: 415.752.4227.
Hours: 9-6 daily;  Winter Hours are 9-4:45 November-February

Cost: Free Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings from 9-10 AM.  All other times, Adults: $5; children 5-11 $1.50; seniors 65 and over $3, children 4 and under are free.

The San Francisco Parks and Trust has more info on the garden (click here) as the Tea Garden’s actual website is either under construction or non existent: (costs on this site are not up to date so please see ours listed above.)

Parking: Free street parking for 4 hours; there is a covered structure located next to the Academy of Sciences if the streets are full.

Albany family: Mom Judy, Dad Faramars and Baby Yadri-shirin

The Japanese Tea Garden encapsulates what we at Kid Friendly love about San Francisco: you feel as though you can visit the other parts of the world just by visiting another part of town.  And when we want to be whisked away with our daughter to Japan, here is where we go!  (Also this location is so authentic and well known that many scenes of Memoirs of a Geisha were filmed here, closing the garden to the public for two weeks.)

As the Tea Garden is located near the De Young Museum, Botanical Gardens and Academy of Sciences, this local treasure is a fun outing with your children in Golden Gate Park and is a great alternative when you show up to the Academy of Sciences and the line is way too long for you and your tot to bear. Your little explorers of any age will delight in the mini-bridges and gates, colorful pagodas, paths, statues, streams, filed filled ponds and other magical finds.  You will enjoy relaxing with them in the garden centerpiece: a beautiful open air, but semi-covered tea room where you are served crackers, cookies and the tea of your choice by kimono clad women.  Ahh… serene times with little tykes.

A gift shop is also located beyond the tea service area where your child can find a little treasure for home. Restrooms (nicer and cleaner than most in the rest of the park) are located inside the garden fully equipped with a rock formed drinking fountain even a small toddler’s thirsty mouth can reach.

If hunger strikes for more that tea, cookies and crackers, for eats a few steps away may we suggest lunching at the delicious De Young Museum Café.  No need to pay a museum entrance to use the Café, restrooms, gift shop with fun kid’s choices and the wonderful lookout tower located by the museum entrance near Martin Luther King Dr.

All and all, the Japanese Tea Garden’s entrance fee is significantly cheaper than airfare to Japan.  And if you want to continue your journey through San Francisco’s version of Japan, why not jump in your car to experience Japantown – not far off from the park- due east on Geary Street for about 2 miles till you hit Webster.

After all this fun under the rising sun, don’t be surprised if you hear your kids say Arigato!

Nature . . . Indoors

Conservatory of Flowers Golden Gate Park

JFK Drive, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, Map it here
415-666-7001
www.conservatoryofflowers.org
(Hours and admission info below)

Samson and Coco Mesmerized by the Exhibit

Has another foggy, cold or rainy day in San Francisco got you and your kids stuck indoors?!  Do you long to get out and be in some form of nature with your kids?  Look no more, friends, you have found your stop.  The Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park offers rest, calm, and the warmth of the rainforest . . . and all indoors and for only $5 an adult!

This gorgeous historic building was reopened only in 2003 after being closed since 1995.  The white structure has a Hansel and Gretel, magical appeal from the outside enticing little children to come see what’s happening inside.  The temperature inside resembles a warm rainforest, so it makes a great outing on a foggy city day or for newborns that you are afraid will catch a chill.

It’s an adventure inside!  You and your kids can journey through almost two thousand plant species and get a real taste of botanical and conservation education.  You are surrounded by plants and greenery, from the lowland tropics to insect eating aquatic plants to rows of fruit bearing flora.  Your kids will love pressing their faces against the glass sided ponds full of lily pads and pretending they are fish underwater.  The conservatory also has a special exhibit room for young visitors of any age, displaying everything from real, live, fluttering butterflies to mechanical trains moving through a miniaturized San Francisco landscape.  Check out their website or call to find out about their current exhibits or to schedule a school field trip.

And, to get down to brass tacks, we also rate The Conservatory of Flowers a kid friendly location because of the fact that they have friendly staff, let you park your strollers in the entrance foyer, and have nearby restrooms.

In front of the building, is an explorable garden of rows and patterns of colorful flowers.  And to continue the fun, several local park musicians often set up an informal drum circle jam session starting anytime between 12 and 2 on the benches in front of the landscaped clock on the front lawn.  They pass out instruments to surrounding children – click here and scroll about 2/3 down the page for more info and video.  One afternoon we sat mesmerized, dancing and listening to music for over an hour!.

Outdoors- The Conservatory Garden on a Sunny Day

Golden Gate Park is full of many wonders and attracts lots of crowds, but this location is usually never crowded on weekdays and welcomes little children to come and learn about and enjoy plants.

Experience nature in any weather and have some Kid Friendly SF fun!

Conservatory Hours:
Tuesday – Sunday, 9am – 4:30pm, Closed Mondays

Admission:
$5.00 for Adults
$3.00 for Youth 12-17, Seniors 65 & over, and Students with ID
$1.50 for Children 5 – 11
FREE for Children 4 and under
The Conservatory is free to all visitors on the first Tuesday of every month.

Parking is free and usually plentiful on the streets surrounding the Conservatory on  weekdays.  Weekends might require more time to find a space- and remember that some roads in the park are closed off to cars on Sundays.