I Took My 5- and 7-year-olds to a Michelin-starred Restaurant on Vacation-and It Changed the Way I Think About Family Travel

"Four tiny squares of bluefin tuna topped with preserved lemon and caviar: $42. Watching my ramen-obsessed 7-year-old devour an entire octopus tentacle with complete and utter delight: priceless. The bill topped $600, and yes, my kids and I were dressed in secondhand fast fashion amid diners whose shoes alone likely cost more than our entire stay. This was the scene on a recent trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico,"

"when I took my kids-then ages 5 and 7-to Levant, a newly opened Eastern Mediterranean-inspired restaurant curated by chef Michael White, who opened Michelin-starred L'Impero, Alto, Convivio, and Marea. Levant delivers a one-of-a-kind culinary experience in a setting to match, housed inside La Concha Resort 's iconic shell-shaped oceanfront structure designed by internationally renowned architect Mario Salvatori in 1958. The room glowed with low amber light as plates arrived like small, edible sculptures, its servers treating my children like the fine diners they were."

"Some people think indulging our children's unexpectedly sophisticated tastes is financially reckless, socially absurd, or proof that parenting culture has lost the plot. A January 2026 Wall Street Journal article, "Parents Are Going Broke From Their Kids' Sushi Obsession," distilled the panic neatly, suggesting that parents are "paying a heavy price" for indulging their children's palates and, worse, "turning them into tiny food snobs.""

A family dinner at Levant in San Juan combined expensive tasting plates with genuine child delight, producing memorable moments despite a high bill. Levant offers Eastern Mediterranean-inspired cuisine in a sculptural, amber-lit dining room inside La Concha Resort, with service that treated children as valued diners. The experience felt like a casual cultural introduction rather than mere indulgence. Some observers view indulging children's sophisticated tastes as financially reckless or culturally excessive. Media coverage framed the trend as parents overspending and creating "tiny food snobs." Social judgment and practical concerns sometimes accompany families' upscale dining choices.

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