The Portage

We're always on the look out for a restaurant that has really good food, is a little bit upscale, and is totally kid friendly since we often have grandparents or childless friends in town and we want to go somewhere nice with them while not having to get a babysitter.  We went to The Portage (3938 N. Central) this weekend when we had some guests in town and we had a really great meal. 

When we first walked in, and during the entire meal, everyone was super nice to us.  It is a really small restaurant so I would recommend a reservation if you are coming with a group.  We had a reservation for six so they sat us in the backroom, which they call the library.  This room is separate from the rest of the dining room and gets in name from a couple of shelves full of books on one wall.  We were told they have a give a book, take a book policy.  It was like having our own private dining room, which was great.

When we sat down we were given a kids' menu and offered a booster seat - two good signs that kids are OK here.  The kids' menu included basic kids fare like mac & cheese, a hamburger, and chicken fingers, which, of course, is what my kids ordered.  The kids' meals come with a drink, choice of vegetable or french fries, and ice cream.  The vegetable that night was brussel sprouts so the girls went with french fries.  The meal that they got was definitely better than your average kids chicken fingers and the french fries were really good.  The ice cream choices were raspberry, chocolate, chocolate chip cookie dough, and buttered popcorn.  I tried to convince one of them to get the buttered popcorn but was unsuccessful.  They went with chocolate and chocolate chip cookie dough and were very happy.

The food off of the regular menu was super good, too.  We started with a gnocchi appetizer with a delicious mustard sauce.  I had the Kobe meatloaf with mashed potatoes and carrots that I really enjoyed and my husband had the burger and he said it was great.  The drink menu is pretty extensive with specialty cocktails and a decent selection of beer and wine.  Overall we had a really delicious meal and felt totally comfortable with our kids there.

The restaurant is closed on Mondays and opens at 5:00 PM Tues. through Sun.  Parking is available on the street.