Next Door Eatery: Family Friendly Restaurant?
Photo Credit @NextDoorEatery
Written By Esther Davy
NEXT DOOR EATERY: First Impressions
We walked through the front door and were greeted with a smile, but I always feel that little tinge of panic when when we take our small children out to eat in public. Will this be a pleasant family dinner or does a public toddler tantrum lie in our future? Will this restaurant be family-friendly?
At Next Door Eatery we walked in and we we’re pleased to see there were already three families dining in the restaurant. For the next hour and a half, we felt quite at ease. It’s not because our kids are perfectly polite little angels, they definitely aren’t. It’s because Next Door’s mission to bring wholesome, affordable food to everyone includes children and families.
We were greeted in a friendly and casual manner, sat at our table and the kids promptly started coloring on their activity menus while we perused the drink menu and discussed whether we were going to let Eleanor order mac and cheese AGAIN. But she loves it and they have it, soooooo. While we were ordering, the hostess showed her to the game shelf which was well stocked with card games, board games, and etch a sketch pads. This kept the children’s attention until our appetizers arrived. Our waitress brought waters with lids and compostable straws!
Family Friendly Rating: 
Summary: Wholesome and affordable food, an excellent kids menu all in a family friendly environment right in the heart of posh Boulder, Colorado.
Location: 1035 Pearl St, Boulder, CO 80302
Website:https://www.nextdooreatery.com/
Menu: https://www.nextdooreatery.com/location/boulder/
Price: $$
Reservations Available: No, however there is rarely a wait.
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Photo Credit @NextDoorEatery
Kid-Friendly Staff: 5
Kids Menu: Excellent. Great value and reflective of the overall menu.
Changing Table in Bathrooms: Yes! In gender neutral bathrooms. Yay for equality!
High Chairs and Boosters: High Chairs and Boosters
Room for Stroller: Yes
“Guests come to Next Door American Eatery for the clean food and a sit-down, casual, fun vibe. The price points are affordable. The food is scratch-made. Next Door is family-friendly with a colorful kid’s menu featuring carrots, celery, broccolini, and kale chip sides. The restaurant is run sustainably. For the parents, we have some killer, craft cocktails, local beer, and kegged wine.”
– Kevin Hartmann, General Manager at Next Door Boulder, Colorado
APPETIZERS
We had the Balsamic Beets and Garlic Smashers to start, which were delicious. The roasted beets in particular with balsamic drizzle, feta and toasted almonds were my favorite dish of the night. For some reason, beets are a veggie that our kids love to munch and these did not disappoint.
NEXT DOOR EATERY: Family Friendly Environment?
The environment at Next Door Eatery was a good balance between thoughtfully designed and beautiful for adults and casual enough to be comfortable for families. It was an active restaurant at 6-8pm on a Thursday night, not too loud but not so quiet that we felt we needed to tell the children to shhhhh every five seconds. Although they do not take reservations, the manager shared with us that there is very rarely a wait at the 6-8pm time frame most families dine with them.
They provided clean booster seats and high chairs with safety belts too. Lastly, I appreciated that their bathrooms were individual gender neutral bathrooms with changing tables, so Moms and Dads can equally fight over who’s turn it is to change the next diaper. In the summer, the Next Door patio is a popular spot on Pearl street, and one of very few that allows your fur-babies too.
Photo Credit @NextDoorEatery
KIDS MENU
As we finished our appetizer, our server brought the kids meals. Yes, we ordered Mac and Cheese and apples for Eleanor (I know, I know) and Grilled Cheese with Garlic Smashers for Josephine. I was very impressed with the kids menu at Next Door. It is clear that they gave a lot of thought to foods that children would love and parents would approve.
For $7 kids get a large main dish selected from 6 options and one of 7 side options. The options are yummy and healthy and the portions are large enough that any pre-teen would be satisfied.
THE MAIN DEAL AND HAPPY HOUR
While they munched, we sipped our beverages and sneaked bites of their meals. We like to order the kids food first, because they take forever to eat. Keep in mind they offer happy hour from 3-6pm and 8-10pm everyday, so if you can sneak out early or put them to bed a little later, you can score a great deal on drinks and bites too.
For dinner, I had the Honey Sriracha Shrimp bowl, a rice bowl with crispy shrimp, marinated carrots and broccolini. It was delicious! The shrimp and carrots in particular were very flavorful.
Mr Mountaineer had the Fish and Chips. It was a very large portion with fish to share, even the girls loved the fish. He felt the coleslaw was a little bland, but raved about the fries and how salty and crispy they were.
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DESSERT IS FOR KIDS, RIGHT?
“Excuse me, Miss. I think you brought us the wrong cookies. These aren’t gluten-free.” But the waitress confirmed they only make delicious ooey, gooey cookies gluten free. Wait what? These are gluten-free? It wasn’t that I even wanted gluten-free cookies, I was just shocked at how good they were. They take pride in taking allergies seriously and still making it delicious.
For the four of us, we shared a chocolate chip cookie and a chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich with chocolate ice cream. And no, I don’t think my kids are going to sleep tonight after all this sugar. But it was worth it. So good!
IS NEXT DOOR AMERICAN EATERY KID-FRIENDLY?
Definitely. The environment, staff, and menu working together serve up a fun family date night for an affordable price! In a city that doesn’t tend to cater to families, Next Door American Eatery is a gem.
Next Door is also a great community partner. As a business, they host 25 4U nights on select Mondays where they donate 25% of revenue generated from the event to local partner schools, who knows it might be your school! For more information call your local Next Door Eatery with several locations in the front range.
Please Note: Next Door Eatery kindly comped our meal, however my review and opinions are strictly my own. Just ask my husband.
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