Latuli’s coloring book. The Houston, Texas, restaurant hands kids the opportunity to color in images of its chef and its owners.
John-Henry Perera/Chron
In a hurricane, there’s a brief interval of calm when the eye of the storm passes over. There’s a similar feeling when dining out with young children: the precious minutes after a server brings kids menus and a small trio of plastic-wrapped crayons to the table. So, whilst the doodles are being filled and the scribblers scribble, we parents can have the briefest of moments to reassess and plot our next moves.
Crayons and paper for kids has been a tradition at American restaurants for around 100 years, and the practice has evolved, including here in Houston. These days, small crosswords and fill-in illustrations are worth a heck of a lot more than the ink and paper they’re printed on, but children’s menus and activity sheets provide an opportunity for owners to express their creativity, make kids happy and, more importantly, get parents to come back.
Article continues below this ad
Bocca Italian Kitchen’s kids menu and coloring sheet.
John-Henry Perera/Chron
Bocca Italian Kitchen’s kids menu and coloring sheet.
John-Henry Perera/Chron
Crayons and paper
The idea of a specific restaurant kids menu, at least in the United States, emerged sometime around Prohibition, in the 1920s. According to Eater, some of these early kids menus were designed to be taken home by kids as keepsakes or souvenirs. In one instance, a late 1930s menu from a restaurant invited youngsters to take the menu home and “color me.”
In the years since, the coloring sheets and menus have evolved. Most times, today’s kids can get large, single sheets of paper with a smattering of menu options plus various games and drawings to color in. What’s interesting is that you usually won’t find instances where one restaurant’s menu is identical to another—every restaurant seems to have its own imprint.
Article continues below this ad
The coloring sheet and kid’s menu at Bocca Italian Kitchen in Houston, Texas
John-Henry Perera/Chron
Justin Turner, who runs Bocca Italian Kitchen and Lupo Burger in northeast Houston, told Chron a lot went into the initial idea of the kids menus at his restaurants. Naturally, the food was the first thought, and Italian cuisine is pretty easy: pizzas, pasta and chicken parmesan.
“From this place from day one, I saw there are families around here. No. 1: I want the kids to have something fun to do. I had young kids at some point,” Turner said.
Turner tapped Matt Taber of Letterset Houston to draw up his kids menu. Taber also helped him out with his previous restaurant, Bernie’s Burger Bus. There’s a detailed wolf, a maze, an arrow, a trio of tic-tac-toe squares, a crossword and an incomplete pizza pie begging to be finished by hand.
Article continues below this ad
“Then we talk about the layout. Got to have a game or two. I love tic-tac-toe, love a maze,” Turner said. “Then we talk theme: Bocca and Luppo—the wolf. Wolves are cool as s–t. Kids love wolves. The bow and arrow is something our boss said in one of our first meetings, and I said, ‘Oh, let’s put it on our kids menu.'”
The long game
Greenspace/playground area at Latuli in Houston, Texas.
John-Henry Perera/Chron
Bryan Caswell of Latuli went the extra mile with a full-on coloring book. The roughly six to eight pages, designed by New York-based firm MERRY+, features Caswell, his business partners and their children at play (of whom the restaurant’s name takes after). Younger customers can color Caswell doing his regular fishing and kids out on the ranch.
Article continues below this ad
The effort is reflected in the food as well, which Caswell said is made from scratch. That includes the chicken fingers, fish fingers, buttered pasta, grilled cheese and especially the corn dogs, a Caswell favorite.
Exterior of Latuli in Houston, Texas.
John-Henry Perera/Chron
“I really hate when a childs menu or kids menu is a secondary thought. It shows you don’t respect a child’s needs to eat well,” Caswell said. “Maybe they’re a little culinarian? My daughter Kennedy was eating mid-rare steaks at six years old. So proud about that. We really wanted something we could stand by, just like the menu for adults.”
Best bites, new spots and the restaurant news people actually use.
By signing up, you agree to our Terms Of Use and acknowledge that your information will be used as described in our Privacy Policy.
Much of Caswell’s philosophy about children in restaurants, ultimately, is that they’re a future diner. Incorporating them into the restaurant experience, especially in a tightly-knit neighborhood like Hedwig Village, is essential. Since opening last year, Caswell said he’s gotten to know many of the families nearby.
Article continues below this ad
“You don’t want to be everyone to every person, but you can treat those little people like people,” Caswell said. “A lot of times, restaurateurs discredit that part of customer appreciation. Everybody is looking at the Google reviews and all that s–t. Those little folks don’t have a voice, but their parents do. If they are comfortable, they will come, eat and spend money.”
