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American Girl Bistro Family Lunch in Natick, MA. A Perfect Winter Break Outing for the Entire Family.

The American Girl Store was decked out in beautiful American Girl inspired holiday decor

Our family of six stopped by the American Girl Bistro for an early lunch en route to Boston to watch the Urban Nutcracker. Our party included Mami, Papi, and 4 kids (2 girls and 2 boys ages 12, 9, 6 and 4). Yes, our two boys joined us for lunch at a doll store and enjoyed the food and watching the joy on their sisters’ faces. Our youngest son has a boy doll (named Manny, after the retired Red Sox Baseball player- Manny Ramirez) which he brought with him to the store and wanted to buy everything in sight. Who says that boys can’t love baseball, cars and dolls? 

Manny enjoying his lunch at the American Girl Bistro in Natick, MA

Our family was warmly greeted upon entering the store and our girls went right into American Girl mode. The Natick store was nicely decked for the Christmas holiday and the kids enjoyed looking around prior to our 11:30 am reservation in the bistro. After checking in, we were asked if we wanted to borrow a doll which our 9 year old son politely declined. Our server was amazingly attentive. He asked each child's name, their doll's names and even the doll's dogs' names. He then proceeded to use each name every time he addressed us. Our kids thought that was way cool and smiled each time he spoke to their dolls. He brought out a cup for the dolls and a water bowl for the dogs which my kids thought was a nice touch. The food was very good and the ambiance provided great picture opportunities to document our youngest daughter's first trip to the American Girl Bistro. Our eldest daughter had previously dined at the Natick and the NYC Bistro and I will say that we were glad that we decided to provide this treat for our youngest. If your child does not have his/her own doll, do not fear as they do have dolls to lend out at the bistro.  

Click here to read more about our prior trips to American Girl.

The napkin ring is actually an American Girl hair tie which is a memento

I enjoyed the salmon and it was perfectly prepared

The kids had chicken noodle soup as an appetizer and loved the heart shaped toast

The dessert platter was delicious and visually appealing with heart shaped brownies and sprinkles

The child and doll make your own cupcakes and cookies were a huge hit

The American Girl Bistro offered several holidays specials which added to the festive environment

Enough About the Bistro, Let’s Talk About the American Girl Store

The purpose of our trip was to provide our youngest children with a memorable doll, pet and child lunch experience at the American Girl Bistro, but we would be kidding ourselves if we thought that they would be able to walk through the store and not browse the many dolls, accessories and book offerings.

Our daughters’ smiles as soon as we walked into the store and they saw the Girl of the Year who looked like she could be part of our family 

Our happy girls enjoying a memorable time with their dolls at the American Girl Store

Our love of American Girl dolls started when our eldest was a toddler and we experienced difficulty finding baby dolls that looked like her. She actually had her 4th birthday party at this same store with her cousin and picked out her first American Girl doll. In the year’s since, we have traveled to the American Girl Store and Bistro in NYC and attended the Melody launch in the Virginia store. As we were reminiscing about all of her American Girl experiences, we realized that our youngest daughter had never had the privileged of dining at an American Girl Bistro with her doll. We took advantage of a pre-Christmas trip to Boston, to surprise them both with this trip. Once again, American Girl did not disappoint and I smiled from ear to ear when in the middle of lunch our six year old turned to us and said: “Thank you for making this the best day of my life!” Wow, that was easy. 

The American Girl has faced criticism regarding the large number of Caucasian dolls that they have featured over the years. While I acknowledge and agree with some of this criticism, as a mom of diverse kids living in a white suburb, American Girl has been a lifeline for our family as one of the few large doll companies that have look like me (Truly Me) dolls that cater to a broader audience. Is there room for improvement? Absolutely! However, my girls have truly benefited from dolls, books and movies like Melody, Josefina and Gabriella that feature characters that look like them and I hope that the American Girl company will continue to break down stereotypes and expand their offerings further. 

The Doll of the Year, Gabriella is a dancer which our kids loved as we are a family of dancers

This doll brought me to tears, as I can’t imagine what it would mean for a girl fighting cancer to see a doll that looks like her

Disclosure: I have partnered with American Girl on this blog post. All opinions and feedback are our our (my kids had a lot of input on this write-up).