Toddlers Like Sushi Too

Craving some sushi but don’t feel like leaving the neighborhood with toddler(s) in tow? Fret not! Nestled into an old home on 45th is a sweet little Japanese restaurant called Kozue. They’ve been open for about 2 decades and unlike most restaurants, in my humble opinion, they’ve gotten better!  Kozue is one of my families’ go-to when we’re craving Japanese food and want to stay hyper-local. We’ve been regulars for almost 5 years, sporadic dropper-inners before that.

One reason we love coming here is that we always get a table. Now of course we’re coming during ‘small child family hour’, you know, that time right when dinner service begins and you breath a sigh of relief that you’re not the only zookeeper corralling monkeys and pterodactyls?

The staff is always welcoming. Our 3 1/2 year-old gets an adorable compartmentalized plastic tray (it’s shrimply the cutest), a kid friendly cup, and a pair of MacGyvered chopsticks so she can become a pro at picking up her rice. Their kid menu is straightforward and sensible. We recently got a slightly modified Kids Combo and although my daughter didn’t eat everything, she tried 80% of the items and the rest we were able to take home. We’ll be back soon, especially since my one year old is giving a TedTalk on baby sushi and needs to work on his chopstick game. Rice rice baby.