If I ask my 3-year-old what she wants for lunch/dinner on any given day, there’s a very good chance that her answer will be “noodles!”
She loves noodles – penne noodles, spaghetti noodles, plain noodles, noodles with sauce, noodles sprinkled with parmesan cheese, macaroni and cheese…she loves it all.
Needless to say, I had a feeling she would like The Old Spaghetti Factory, an international chain with a rich history (est. 1969) and 39 restaurants across the country (in AZ, CA, CO, GA, HI, ID, IN, KY, MO, OR, TN, UT, and WA), plus five locations in Japan.
I was right.
The best part about OSF is that every meal is a “Complete Meal.” All meals include soup or salad, fresh baked bread, an entrée, milk, coffee, hot or iced tea, and a scoop of spumoni ice cream. Meals like Lasagna Vegetariano, Spaghetti w/ Sicilian Meatballs, and Chicken Marsala run between $9-$12. The food isn’t gourmet, but it is tasty, filling (the portions are huge!), and sure to please even the pickiest eater.
The Just-For-Kids menu features kid-friendly classics for $4.99 (that cost includes applesauce or salad, a drink, and ice cream or a juice bar for dessert). There’s also a Kids’ Birthday Club where kids can get a free meal on their birthday.
The restaurant also offers the Rewards of Reading Program. Every child who reads five books receives a free kids meal.
And there are other fun promotions throughout the year as well. For example, any child (10 and under) who wears a costume to The Old Spaghetti Factory on October 31st will get a free meal (with purchase of adult meal).
With all of the kid-friendly hoopla, it’s no surprise that Parents Magazine recently named the Old Spaghetti Factory as one of the top 10 Best Family Restaurant Chains. The list includes Claim Jumper (one of our family’s favorites), Denny’s (ICK!), and 7 others.
The location that we visited in Seattle didn’t have a changing table in the women’s restroom, but they did have one in the men’s restroom (hmmm…maybe that’s not such a bad thing). I was assured, however, that a table was on-order for the women’s bathroom.
All in all, we had a great experience at The Old Spaghetti Factory. I would go back again – and next time I’m going to order an Oreo milkshake (I wanted to this time, but I was STUFFED…and our girls were getting sleepy/grumpy so we had to say adieu for the night).
YOUR TURN: What is your favorite family-friendly restaurant? What do you wish restaurants would do for families?
WIN IT! One winner will receive dinner for four at The Old Spaghetti Factory (any US location). To enter, leave any topic-related comment on this post prior to Wednesday, October 14th at 11:59 p.m. (Don’t forget to follow the rules…all generic comments like “Enter me!,” “Love it,” and “Cool stuff!” will be disqualified.).
*UPDATE* The winner is #103 Kathleen S. Congratulations!
