Baltazar's, Bend Oregon - Not Kid Friendly
***UPDATE***
Apparently this issue is still a hot button. As the comments are getting more irritating for me to read through, I've decided that unless you're bringing something new to the conversation or talking about the food, please post your comments in one of the other forums. Many of the recent comments are being deleted by me.
You can read the entire post at Mom2Mom Bend, Oregon.
There are a few places in Bend that I would NOT recommend taking your kids to and obviously Baltazar's is one of them. I side with restaurants that do not welcome kids. I think it's a good thing to set your business model to go after the clientele that you wish to attract. It's your right and if that's what makes you happy, you will enjoy your work.
Places like Baltazar's, BlackSmith, Merenda, Mars, Zydeco, Staccato, Scanlon's, Han's, Cork, Giuseppe's, Blue Fish Bistro, Robby J's, and many more are not (in my opinion) kid friendly. I'm not saying that all of these places don't provide high chairs or will be rude to you if you bring your kid(s), I'm just saying that I wouldn't take my kid(s) there if I had a choice in the matter.
These places are not fun for children. They don't have menu items for kids. It's obvious that they are not catering to kids. It's their business, it's their choice and they have every right to refuse service to anyone or to do whatever they want with their business.
Having said that, being rude to someone with a child after you have seated them in your establishment, cursing at a customer with a complaint on the service they received, child or not, is absolutely not acceptable. I enjoyed my experience at Baltazar's and have been back with the same results. I have never been there with children though so I can not comment on an experience there with kids.
I intend to notify Baltazar's of the comments made in order to allow them the opportunity to respond. I'm curious to hear their side of the story or to see how they react in general. If I had a restaurant that was not really kid friendly, I'd stand by that point but I wouldn't go to these lengths to get my point across. I'd do something like have a kids menu that was three times the price of the adult menu. An extra plate so you could share your rice with your kid would be $10. I'd gladly provide any of these services with a smile, that way you can complain about my policy but you couldn't complain about my service.
Apparently this issue is still a hot button. As the comments are getting more irritating for me to read through, I've decided that unless you're bringing something new to the conversation or talking about the food, please post your comments in one of the other forums. Many of the recent comments are being deleted by me.
Baltazar's Bend, Oregon
I received a few comments on an earlier post about Baltazar's in Bend Oregon which didn't sit well with me. I decided not to publish the posts on my blog mainly due to the length of the posts (aside from yours eMusings which I accidentally deleted while deleting the multiple copies of the comments posted by Yvette and Tom...apologies) as well as the topic. I don't mind publishing posts with people's opinions and short stories of their experience, but this one was a bit more than the normal "I didn't like it" type comments.You can read the entire post at Mom2Mom Bend, Oregon.
There are a few places in Bend that I would NOT recommend taking your kids to and obviously Baltazar's is one of them. I side with restaurants that do not welcome kids. I think it's a good thing to set your business model to go after the clientele that you wish to attract. It's your right and if that's what makes you happy, you will enjoy your work.
Places like Baltazar's, BlackSmith, Merenda, Mars, Zydeco, Staccato, Scanlon's, Han's, Cork, Giuseppe's, Blue Fish Bistro, Robby J's, and many more are not (in my opinion) kid friendly. I'm not saying that all of these places don't provide high chairs or will be rude to you if you bring your kid(s), I'm just saying that I wouldn't take my kid(s) there if I had a choice in the matter.
These places are not fun for children. They don't have menu items for kids. It's obvious that they are not catering to kids. It's their business, it's their choice and they have every right to refuse service to anyone or to do whatever they want with their business.
Having said that, being rude to someone with a child after you have seated them in your establishment, cursing at a customer with a complaint on the service they received, child or not, is absolutely not acceptable. I enjoyed my experience at Baltazar's and have been back with the same results. I have never been there with children though so I can not comment on an experience there with kids.
I intend to notify Baltazar's of the comments made in order to allow them the opportunity to respond. I'm curious to hear their side of the story or to see how they react in general. If I had a restaurant that was not really kid friendly, I'd stand by that point but I wouldn't go to these lengths to get my point across. I'd do something like have a kids menu that was three times the price of the adult menu. An extra plate so you could share your rice with your kid would be $10. I'd gladly provide any of these services with a smile, that way you can complain about my policy but you couldn't complain about my service.
Labels: Baltazar's, Mexican Restaurants
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24What? Got something to say?
I agree with you 100%.
I know of at least three situations in which Baltazar himself was EXTREMEMLY rude to adult patrons. Without children!The guy is a complete a*****e, if you get my drift.
OK... I agree with most of your post but I want to stick up for Zydeco.
We recently took the "big kids" (11 & 12) to dinner there and they were welcomed and accommodated. They LOVED Zydeco and now our only regret about taking them there is that they regularly beg to go back.
Our waitress took great care of us and was really tuned into the kids' needs. I have heard from others (Chuggnutt) that feel this way too.
It seems to be a "naturally noisy" restaurant so the kids blended in. They also loved coloring on the tables and the different types of foods.
While I do have opinions regarding this explosion of the original email to friends and family hitting the Internet the way that it did (without animonity to the kids and original email owners probably permission to post FULL NAMES of them and their kids), I will try to keep it somewhat cordial.
I disagree with some of the places you have listed that are NOT kid friendly. My kids HAVE been to Baltazars, Staccato, Scanlons (a long time ago, we hardly ever go there anymore), Hans (during the day, but I do remember once at night celebrating my birthday with my child in a hc) Guiseppe's, Robby J's and the one I strongly disagree with and have an opinion of is ZYDECO.
Zydeco is very kid friendly and always accomodates my children. They love Zydeco and always get the flatbread and there *is* a kids menu there. We do dinner around 6pm, so we're usually out of any restaurant before it would be thought of as a "romantic dinner without children-kind of place".
If you or anyone chooses to charge $10 plate for a sharing charge regardless if it's adults or have a RIDICULOUSLY high kids menu, you would be out of business quickly as that is not a friendly business nor marketing strategy. Another thought is if you are trying to deter from children, you are also detering from parents who may potentially want to go when they do not have their children around or who do try it without children and ask for a kids menu to view so they can come back for a family meal and find that out and are turned off...does that make sense? Not a smart business strategy.
One comment about Baltazars. I have an opinion about this situation, but wish to refrain. They DO NOT HAVE A TO-GO MENU! I would have picked up dinner for MYSELF, an adult, one night, but was told they do not do that. Bad business choice, in my opinion as I would sometimes like to get orders to go. I also witnessed an odd experience when dining there last month. Some women at another table obviously ordered something to go and it came out hot and fresh on a plate. They must have asked for a box, because one eventually came out. It sat there for awhile until an employee looked grudgingly at it and eventually scooped it in and made a mess on the floor with the rice, which they promptly cleaned up. I do not know the whole circumstances, as we were at a different table, but it was what I observed.
One note to Baltazar: You have fantastic Margaritas and food, but please pay attention to the way you run your business and market yourself within the community. Word of mouth is your biggest marketing tool.
Let them make their rules...if people don't like that kids are not allowed because they have kids...they shouldn't go there. Kids aren't allowed in bars, but just because you can't find a babysitter doesn't mean an exception needs to be made.
But I also don't think it's good business to be rude to people on purpose. If you aren't going to set rules for your restaurant, you have no right to bitch and moan about it!
very rude people work their and so is the owner/manager.
You shouldn't be taking your kids to an upscale restaurant. I think businesses have the right to cater to whomever they wish. Baltazars is a dining experience. It’s called adult time. I who have children, do not want to listen to the kid at the next table cry while I try to enjoy my dinner. There are times and places to bring your kids. You don’t take your kid to a night club or bar just because it’s sleeping in its car seat. People deserve to have a kid-less night out. That's why we hire babysitters. I for one do not frown on Blatazars. Their food is amazing.
I think bringing a sleeping baby in a carseat is totally different than a loud 3 year old who wants to run around. And no, you wouldn't bring a baby to a bar, but that's not what this is all about! You wouldn't bring your baby to a strip club or a movie theater either. What does this have to do with someone being totally rude.
I will NEVER eat there. I don't care how good the food is.
I have a kid, but I agree that it's up to the restaurant to set their own tone and policy. I'm also SO with the guy that doesn't want to listen to a noisy 3 year old while trying to enjoy a (likely expensive) meal. I'll stick up for Baltazar (jerk that he is) before I stick up for parents who allow their children to be loud, rude or unruly in a restaurant (*shudder*).
My opinion of Baltazars though has nothing to do with kids, service or the attitude of management and staff. Expecting great things, the best my meal deserved was an unenthusiastic "whatever".
I have not yet been to Baltazar's (they had closed early the night we tried to go), but I agree with some of the other comments-there is no reason to be rude to patrons. These people pay the wages and if he (Baltazar) is so well-to-do that my money doensn't count, then he doesn't have to count it.+
I have had very few dining experiences where my dinner was ruined by unruly children (I have had more problems on planes, including my own child) I have mostly found that unruly children are accompanied by adults who are equally unruly. I am in agreement with posting "no children", that sets the boundries. We have run into times, such as last night, we have family in town, they would like a nice meal and the kids had to come along. We asked to be seated in a corner and when the 3 year old was restless, we promptly ended the meal and vacated. We don't want to disturb people any more than they want to be disturbed. It's all common courtesy, although it seems that the "children are holier than thou" generation has taken over- I can see not allowing children, but don't embarrass the parents or be rude about it.
The problem seems to be that this mom wanted to have the elegance of dining at a high-end restaurant with the accommodations of a Red Robin. Reminds me of the people who take their children to rated-R films because they are selfish. These restaurants (which I don't go to because they are foofy) are held out as adult restaurants. This mother claims ignorance when she knew full well where she was going and should have chosen to go somewhere else, so as to not disrupt other diners.
Putting the kid friendly aside Baltazar followed a friend of mine to the parking lot to call her a C*** because she and her friend chose not to order a full meal...they only wanted drinks. Nice way to increase your business strongarm people into spending more.
I have talk to six folks about the article in today's Bulletin concerning Baltazar's being hostile towards children. What's interesting is each of the 6 folks had a story about Baltazar or one of his employees being extremely rude. In three of the incidents Baltazar utter obscenities at women. Seems to be a strong pattern here. I will definitely be avoiding both of his restaurants.
Kudo's to Baltazar! I don't have kids and I am so tired of having my dinner and evening ruined by misbehaving children or screaming babies. I dont blame the children, I blame their self-righteous parents. Parents who don't bother to discipline their children and who have learned to tune out the noise, because they hear to it all the time. As far as rudeness goes, those same parents can get quite upset when other people dont want to accept their kids unruly behavior. I'd imagine Baltazar was pushed into being rude-every rope has its end.
Although it is not 'baby' friendly and i have a 8 month old, that is not the reason i will not go there. I enjoy a night without the babies as much as the next guy but to be so openly rude....They lost our business.
THANK YOU! I will make sure to patronize Baltazars as much as possible, because of their stand on this issue. It's time someone grew a spine regarding pushy parents who feel entitled to drag their kids everywhere.
I think it's incumbent on us parents to choose the appropriate restaurant so that this isn't an issue. There are several kid-friendly places in Bend where you don't have to sacrifice a quality dining experience. For instance, we recently ate at the Tumalo Feed Company, and the kids' meals were free -- it doesn't come more kid-friendly than that. They also enjoyed free root beer floats and free toys. We had a great meal, the kids had fun, which all made for a very pleasurable dining experience for everyone.
No one is arguing that the establishment should be forced to allow children. Why do people keep bringing that up?
The main issue is Baltazar's attitude toward all patrons.
eating out with children is hard enough. nobody, and especially parents, want children misbehaving in a restaurant environment. this is why we hardly, ever go out to eat with the kids. but when i read comments left by "angry" people who seem to hate parents who bring kids to restaurants, i just think, "these people are so self-absorbed, and selfish!"
parenting is already a self-sacrificing, thankless job. to add to the insult, now as a parent, you have to walk on eggshells when eating at a nice restaurant because god forbid should you "ruin" the experience of some bitter, selfish, uptight, intolerant adult sitting at the table next to you.
maybe all parents with young children should be banished into a land of macdonalds and overly processed frozen dinners, or disgusting foods at "kids-friendly" restaurant.
from what i'm reading at this website, there are a lot of intolerance out there for differences in lifestyle.
ultimately, to pacify all this unpleasantries, why not designate a section of the restaurant for the patrons with kiddos. Serve this table QUICKLY, and get them out the door before the 3 y.o. looses his/her patience, is over hungry, and starts wreaking havoc on the parents and the rest of the dinners?
children have short attention span, as we all know. don't make them wait 45 minutes for their meal by drawing out the succession of dishes.
i've never been to Baltazar's, and now will never go there or send any of our adult out-of-town guests there. if you can't accomodate or tolerate this population of parents with children in your establishment, then you don't deserve the business.
I didn't think it is safe to put a carrier in a upside down highcyhair anyway. And she is with the moms club Huh ?
I know I am late in the game -- but WOW. Are people that intolerant? They don't ever want to see kids at "nice" restaurants?
Perhaps the people who don't ever want to see kids out are those who never got taken out to restaurants as children. Hence they never learned how to behave, hence there complete intolerance as adults.
I agree completely on most counts... however, I work at ACB... I don't think Scanlon's could be much more kid-friendly... we have a children's menu, crayons, high-chairs... and if you want a quiet dinner, when available, we will put your child in the club day-care, free of charge... Depending on age, they will be in with Kids Club (try to see if Colin is there, he is AMAZING with babies), or back in KIA (Kids in Action), where they can even hit the rock-wall... You're kids will love you going out almost as much as you will love not having to cook for a night!
Went to Baltazar's lat night for dinner. I can't believe we finally found a Mexican restraunt that uses authentic ingredients and high quality seaffod all in one! The owner even came and sat with us for a few minutes to check on the food which was very good! Enchillada de Langosta - lobster enchillada - oh my God! This place seems to be poplular, but oddly it was still quiet enough to speak to each other. No screaming babies like at La Rosa. This is not ordinary mexican....this is mexican style seafood dishes that are out of this world! Adn the chorizo and melted cheese app with flour tortillas...are you kidding?!? So good!
Me, the wife and my three year old were looking for a place to lunch not too long ago and my wife suggested we stop by this mexican place that's supposed to be good. Upon dragging my cranky three year old boy out of his sleep and into the restuarant I realized instantly that we were not in a kid friendly environment. Quick sombody beam me to Red Robbin! It was too late. We had been spotted and while I wanted to turn and run out to the door we ended up staying and eating. I could tell by the look on the guys face when my wife asked if there was a kids menu it was going to be an uncomfortable situation. I hate it when you just want to leave and go somewhere else, but you don't want to be rude, but they would probably just prefer it if you left and ate somewhere else. That's how I was feeling. Bottom line the food was AMAZING. The kid kept his cool (mostly) and I really want to go back there for the food. But never ever ever with my three year old. Good food though. NO, I TAKE IT ALL BACK I WILL NEVER GO AND EAT AT THAT JERKS ESTABLISHMENT AGAIN! SCREW HIM AND HIS UPPITY PLACE! Actually I might take my wife there for dinner tonight. It sounds really good.
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