My wife and I are kind of creatures of habit, so there are a few spots–affordable and not very cutting-edge–we like to go to often. The Victorian on Main and Ocean Park in Santa Monica is nice and laid-back. On Sunday of course the farmer’s market is there, but you can still eat in the restaurant and avoid having to hunt around for a table after getting your food from one of the stands.

Gilbert’s El Indio, though it’s getting even more crowded–something I didn’t think was possible.

California Chicken Cafe.

We had good success eating in the bar/patio area at Beechwood on Washington, but that was when our little one would sleep in her car seat–now that she’s walking around, I don’t know if that would work (it’s not really a high-chair area, and we haven’t tried the dining room there).

We haven’t been sequestered yet with child, but ours is still pretty quiet in his car seat.

Any other spots you like on the Westside?

I noticed that the El Cholo in Santa Monica also seems to use the upstairs as a kind of children’s area–went there once when it was kind of busy and we had the whole area to ourselves!