Are there any good places to eat with kids around the Smithsonian?|145612

We will be visiting soon and would like a place to have lunch. I know some of the museums have restaurants/cafes, but are they really expensive? Are there any good local restaurants nearby that are easy to walk to? Thanks!

Yes!

I would avoid Mitsitam, in the American Indian museum - as they have unusual food, which kids often don_t like.

Air and Space has fast food, pizza, McDonald_s and the like.
The Natural History Museum has a better cafeteria, but more expensive. Likewise the National Gallery of Art - the cafeteria between the two buildings.

But by walking anywhere from a half block to a block you can have a great food court, inexpensive food for every taste.

Across Constitution Avenue from the National Museum of American History, that is on the outside of the museum/Mall you can find the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center. You must go through security to get in, but in their basement is a large food court, with food that is not too terribly expensive. This is at about 15th and Constitution.

If you are at the other end of the mall, near the National Gallery, Air and Space, you can go in the Francis Perkins building of the Department of labor. Their rooftop cafeteria is really quite good - although again there is security to get in. The building overlooks the Capitol Building.

If you are at the Capitol, another option, an extra block or so away, is the Union Station train station. It has the best food court in Washington in the basement. Be careful though, because everyone knows it and it gets very crowded with government workers and tour groups at lunch time.

Someone already mentioned the Post Office Pavilion. There are also some restaurants around the Navy Memorial, across Pennsylvania avenue from the National Archives, including one that serves pizza and has a salad bar.

I also second the other suggestion for Chinatown. If walking is an issue there is a $1 per person Connector Bus you can grab from the mall to go those 8 or so blocks.

The Atrium Cafe at the National Museum of Natural History offers resonable cafeteria fare for adult and child_s tastes alike. The Air _ Space Museum has the Wright Place Food Court which has menu items from McDonald��s, Boston Market and Donatos Pizzeria.

The Old Post Office Pavillion, just north of the National Mall at 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, has a food court.

I_d venture that many of the restaurants about Penn Quarter are more about business lunches and fine evening dining.

If your kids are up for a short walk up Seventh Street NW and are adventurous eaters, check out the food options around Chinatown/Gallery Place Metro. Heck, there_s even a Five Guys Hamburgers up there!