Here's to the babies who brunch

TABLE MATTERS A family gets down during a jazz baby brunch at La Belle Epoque (above). Spring light fills Bubby's in Dumbo (below), where brunch is a prelude to messing around by the river.

In pre-parenthood days, your ideal brunch outing might have involved a perfect Bloody Mary, a short wait and a table big enough to support two sections of the Times. Now you need a place loud enough to cover up sudden screams, a kid-attuned wait staff and, above all, speedy service.

Lately, a number of New York restaurants have deemed themselves baby-friendly, so we checked out five to see if they lived up to their hype. The Tester is an extremely active almost-two-year-old whose eating habits could charitably be described as picky. On some outings, bigger kids joined him. The goals: a more than palatable meal, a minimum of tears, and at least the possibility of some conversation among grownups.

Our first stop was the fanciest: Church Lounge at the Tribeca Grand Hotel (2 Sixth Ave between Walker and White Sts, 212-519-6677), which offers movies for kids in a plush screening room and an all-you-can-eat smorgasbord for the eye-opening price of $25 per adult and $11 per child. (There's no charge for toddlers, which means we got about a dozen grapes and a couple of bites of muffin for free, sort of). The eight- and ten-year-olds who accompanied us were impressed with the grandeur of the hotel atrium and the food, as were the adults. The girls enjoyed sushi and star fruit; traditionalists might go for the macaroni and cheese or Mickey Mouse–shaped waffles. We all ended up going to the movie (Casper with a young Christina Ricci). The Tester, shockingly, was quiet almost the whole time, but for little customers who can't sit still, there are appealingly climbable round couches outside the screening room.
Bottom Line Too pricey for regular visits, but a worthwhile special treat. The eight-year-old had one caveat: "There's so much food that you could accidentally get stuffed."

Stop No. 2 was the new Dumbo Bubby's(1 Main St between Plymouth and Water Sts, Brooklyn; 718-222-0666), an outpost of the Tribeca institution. Featuring a well-stocked play area, crayons at the table and balloons for every kid, Bubby's is heaven for the younger set. One drawback is the distance between the play space and the host stand: Out of sight seemed to be out of mind—we ended up waiting almost an hour for a table. The Tester didn't care, since there were toys to see and stairs to climb; our guest kid was promptly given a biscuit when we asked a waiter for something to tide her over; and once we were seated the staff brought the food quickly. There's plenty of fare for the junior set here—lots of fresh-baked goodies in addition to standard brunch selections—and delectable adult offerings too, like a spicy plate of huevos rancheros, or the indecisive consumer's delight: a plate of pancakes and eggs, with sausage or bacon. Housed in an old factory, the restaurant is light and airy, and just loud enough that parents won't be self-conscious about kid noises, but will be able to hear their grown-up companions talk. After eating, we stopped by the brand-new park across the street to burn off calories and steam, and watch boats go by.
Bottom Line A great all-around brunch spot. Note to nonbrunchers: Kids eat free on Sunday nights at Bubby's.

A second-floor restaurant without a real sign doesn't seem promising, but La Belle Epoque(827 Broadway between 12th and 13th Sts, 212-254-6436) has developed a following for its jazz brunches and, increasingly, its once-monthly baby brunches. (The owner has a granddaughter about a year-and-a-half old; the baby's parents lamented the lack of kid-comfortable restaurants; the baby brunches were born.) On BB days (brunch is $20, kids under five eat free), a waiter stands outside, directing prospective customers with strollers to an elevator next door to the restaurant. Once inside, we found a charming faux–New Orleans décor—and a big rug surrounded by Pack 'n Plays and Exersaucers. In the middle of the rug, a couple of doll strollers and a huge box of blocks were an open invitation to older kids. The Tester settled in with the toys almost immediately, and we took turns getting made-to-order omelettes, decadent French toast and samples from a fruit-and-cheese tray. In an almost unprecedented baby-brunch experience, we then spent several minutes talking to each other over mimosas. Finally, we extracted the Tester from the toys and presented him with bacon and fruit, his preferred (read: only) brunch fare. A clarinet-and-piano combo intermittently played standards—and mugged with the kids who walked up to see them.
Bottom Line Although some of the staff isn't completely in tune with toddler needs (we asked for a cup of milk and received a creamer), this is probably the most relaxed and civilized parental brunch you'll have before your little dear heads off to college.

Two Boots? For brunch? Turns out that Two Boots Park Slope(514 2nd St between Seventh and Eighth Aves, Park Slope, Brooklyn; 718-499-3253) has a real brunch menu and, like its sister restaurants, is quite kid-friendly. For one thing, small fry can watch the pizza being made; sometimes they're even given a piece of dough to play with. Back at the table, older kids get paper and crayons. There's a special kid's pizza with a nonspicy tomato-olive-and-broccoli face. (The Tester, it turns out, likes the regular Cajun Two Boots pizza better, but the idea was nice.) The omelette was fair, but one of the grown-ups gambled and ordered the breakfast pizza—bacon pizza with a poached egg on top. Not an experience that merits repeating.
Bottom Line Foodwise, the experience was just okay, but the festive decor and activities engaged the Tester for an unusually long amount of time, which resulted in extra grown-up interaction.

Named after the initials of its celebrity-chef owner, Scott Campbell, @SQC(270 Columbus Ave between 72nd and 73rd Sts, 212-579-0100) actively touts its kids' menu, and the people who work here are quick to tell you how great their brunch is. Unfortunately, the infant we enlisted to taste-test the organic, made-on-the-premises baby food couldn't make it, and most of the kids' menu items didn't seem remotely likely to appeal to the Tester (among them, scrambled eggs with cream cheese and chicken with greens). Many were based on peanut butter (like a peanut butter–and–jam omelette), which some pediatricians say kids should avoid until they're at least two, for fear of allergies. The waiter did offer a delectable-looking box of croissants, muffins and other breads, though he didn't mention that each one costs an extra $2.50. As far as the adult fare went, an omelette was good, and corned-beef hash was tastier and less greasy than in most places. The exotic-sounding (and looking) apple pancake soufflé was a disappointingly heavy pancake served with apple slices. Still, at some of the other tables, kids of varying ages seemed to be enjoying themselves, and some of the staff seemed more attuned to kids' needs than our servers were.
Bottom Line Cute concept, but not a keeper for us.