San Francisco may be home to twenty-something tech millionaires and celebrities who are known for being off-beat (think the Robin Williams and Sean Penn), but it is also a surprisingly family-friendly destination — especially if your family likes to eat.

My family recently spent a few days in the Bay Area as part of a California spring break trip that was built around my husband’s Silicon Valley meeting and my Los Angeles food conference. Although our stay was brief, we managed to see quite a bit of San Francisco’s highlights and eat at some restaurants that are destinations in and of themselves.

San Francisco has many world-famous restaurants but not all of them are family-friendly. Most people’s kids are not up for a thirteen-course tasting menu even if their parents were willing to drop a thousand dollars on dinner for four. (And PS, as much as I love my kids, I’m not willing to spend $250 apiece to feed them.) So the exercise for food-loving parents when traveling to an amazing food city like San Francisco is to find restaurants that are worth boasting about to your friends on Facebook but still have food your kids will eat. I think the restaurants below hit that sweet spot.

Here is my first tip to dining in San Francisco with children: If you are coming from an earlier time zone, take advantage of your jet lag and book early dinner reservations. You’re going to be hungry anyway; it’s relatively easy to get a table at 5:30, even at hot eateries, and you will feel less self-conscious about bringing your kids at those times. Also, many famous San Francisco restaurants don’t even take reservations or take very limited reservations. (Ahem Flour + Water.) Waiting in line for an hour-plus for a dinner is also not very appealing for families, so focus on those restaurants that do honor reservations.

I was pleasantly surprised to find too that even trendy restaurants were bustling at 5:30 and 6 pm, not deserted as I feared, with an after-work crowd. (Despite San Francisco’s reputation for having a dress code of “programmer chic,” i.e., a hoodie and rumpled jeans, the after-work crowds where we ate were quite stylish and made us feel slightly underdressed.)

The first night we were in San Francisco, we ate at The Slanted Door, perhaps America’s premier Vietnamese restaurant. I was anxious to book at table there because I love the chef owner’s cookbook of the same name and have always adored the fresh, refined flavors and contrasting textures of Vietnamese cuisine. While you may wonder if your kids would eat Vietnamese food, let me assure that any cuisine with a noodle in it is kid-friendly.

The food at The Slanted Door did not disappoint. Well, perhaps I should say the appetizers did not disappoint. Hemmed in as we were by my shellfish allergy, Zuzu’s peanut allergy and my husband’s refusal to eat pork, we still managed to find several appetizers to share that were both revelatory and outstanding versions of familiar dishes, including ahi tuna tartare with rice paper cracker; mung bean tapioca dumplings in a Thai chile soy sauce that was so flavorful, we wanted to drink it straight; vegetarian spring rolls with tofu, crunchy cabbage and tons of mint; and a grapefruit and jicama salad that was elevated by candied pecans. The cocktails for the adults were also outstanding. I highly recommend the Ginger Limeade which comes topped with a piece of candied ginger.

After appetizers that had us scraping the bowl to catch one last drop, the main courses were disappointing. They were certainly not bad, but they did not match the dynamic flavor combinations and beautiful presentations of the starters. And if you are wondering what my notoriously picky JR ate while we were feasting on tuna tartare, spring rolls and dumplings the answer is: he ate plain cellophane noodles. And he loved them. So do not tell me that you could not take your kids to The Slanted Door.

Although I did not know this going in, The Slanted Door has the added benefit of being in the Ferry Building Market, an indoor artisanal food market by the water with stunning views of the Bay Bridge.  We arrived thirty minutes before our 6 pm reservation, browsed the market, and grabbed a pre-dinner bite with a family friend who happened to be in town at the same time. My only regret is that I didn’t have more time to shop at the market – most of the stalls were closed by the time we finished dinner. Luckily, the ice cream stall was still open. I’m still dreaming about the roasted milk chocolate rosemary ice cream at Humphry Slocombe.

Our second night in time, we ate at Cotogna, the more casual little sister of Quince, chef Michael Tusk’s revered Italian restaurant featuring local ingredients. This type of eatery – a casual offshoot of a well-known fine dining establishment – is a smart choice for families with parents who want to eat well but know better than to inflict their offspring on diners paying hundreds of dollars for their special occasion dinner.

Cotogna is in a pretty part of the city away from the tourists, which is refreshing in and of itself. It feels like a neighborhood place. We were by no means the only family in the restaurant, but there were also many adults-only tables. The house-made pastas and pizzas fit the bill of being kid-friendly yet are so well-executed that even the most discerning parents will be satisfied. Or more likely, weeping with joy.

Our picky eater, JR, happily devoured a plate of what amounted to the world’s most elevated version of spaghetti bolognese — with five different kinds of meat – while my husband, Zuzu and I feasted on charcuterie, house-made ricotta with honey and grilled bread, and roasted asparagus topped with a farm egg. (We skipped the fried frog legs out of deference to Kermit, but the couple next to us was happily slurping frog meat off the tiny bones.)

For our main courses, we shared a gnocchi dish that featured fresh peas and pea puree — the highlight of the night — a spinach fettucine with fava bean pesto and one of the wood-fired pizzas. It was all rustic, approachable food but made with the best ingredients and elevated techniques. Just what food-loving families need.

If you are in San Francisco, you have to make time to eat bread or pastries from one of the city’s renowned bakeries. I dragged my family halfway across town to eat at Tartine, one of the best bakeries in the country, not just the Bay area. But we did manage to combine my foodie pilgrimage with family fun: we rode a cable car from our hotel to downtown and then hopped a cab to Tartine.

I did my research beforehand — always a good idea — and was ready to order some of Tartine‘s greatest hits. We sampled both sweet and savory dishes, including quiche and a Croque Monsieur, a buttermilk scone, bread pudding — my husband is a bread pudding aficionado — and a morning bun. Why oh why did I not get a croissant?  And the pain au chocolat? Oh well. The quiche, I thought, was revelatory with a deeply browned, sturdy crust and a unbelievably velvety custard. How do they do that?

One benefit of traveling with kids: you are often up early. We definitely beat the rush at Tartine. I would recommend making the trip to eat there but plan to arrive before 9 am to beat the crowds and get a table.

All in all, we only had a few meals in San Francisco, but we made them count. I think these restaurants strike just the right balance between special, destination-worthy food and a family-friendly atmosphere. If you are looking for someting across the water in the East Bay, we also had a nice lunch down by the water in Oakland’s Jack London Square at Forge, which has creative wood-fired pizzas, sandwiches and other family-friendly fare.

How do you choose restaurants when traveling with your kids?