Best Family Style Restaurants in Carlsbad

We really enjoy this restaurant as the experience is consistently excellent. I prefer dining on the patio when the weather permits because inside is too loud!

Its Christmas time ... so having said that .. crowds are heavy, people are impatient and kids are running around misbehaving. The restaurant was jammed. We were seated late; however we were treated very kindly and the wait staff were doing the best that they could. They were clearly under staffed and as I said the restaurant was in my opinion overbooked. I can't say enough about our wait staff; they rushed to get our bread, and our food and drinks. They were polite and did it all with a smile. We gave him a nice tip. He was running around (literally) dodging screaming kids all the while. The food was great but probably won't go back at holiday time. Too many families and parents not watching their kids who are allowed to behave poorly in public.

Wonderful service, menu, and the best mgmt team near the beach! Very consistent and delicious!

Probably my favorite Campfire experience yet. We we treating our son’s favorite teacher and his wife to a holiday meal, and we were able to sit at a quiet table out front which was SO nice! I’m hard of hearing and the entire dinner, I was able to hear what everyone was saying! That is rare for me and I loved it. We tried a few different things tonight, and some of the same things we love. We ordered the cornbread which was new for us and it was 10/10. We also ordered the porridge bread as usual. So good, and my son became obsessed with it this time around. It’s a 9/10 for me but if they brought back the gravy drippings to dip it in that they had a couple years ago, it would be an 11/10. We also ordered the broccoli which was a 10/10 per usual. One of our group has food allergies so they were able to make the broccoli without the fish oil which was so great! We also ordered a side of the fried potatoes, which came in a cast iron skillet. Omg they were amazing. 10/10. For entrees we decided to share the pork and also the pasta. The pork was incredibly tender and wonderful flavors. I’d say 9/10 because I wanted more of the sauce or pear flavor. The pasta was amazing. Really unique with the meyer lemon. The texture was so creamy that it almost felt like a gnocchi on the palette. We ordered a few mocktails: The east end 10/10 in taste. You don’t get much of the drink for what you pay so for that I’d say 7.5/10 overall. The other drink was another mocktail and I didn’t taste it but my husband said it was good and my son said it was “tingly.” The s’more’s are always fun. We got five of those. I’m a s’mores purist so I always just like plain old graham and chocolate, but this is fun for a nice change. I’d give them an 8/10 because the cinnamon on the cookie throws me off a bit. The highlight was the waitstaff. So so good. Attentive, knowledgeable, kind, and efficient. 15/10!!!

The newest offering from the same team that brought us Jeune et Jolie and Campfire, Wildland is a breath of fresh air. Its an interesting combination of fast casual meets hospitality and "when you're here you're family" (but not in the fake Italian sort of way). The menu is concise and has something for every palette, which is helpful, and the drinks are very good (similar to Campfire). The ambiance is cozy but minimal as there is a LOT going on. The open kitchen, bar and bakery make for eye candy everywhere. My favorite bite was the Clams, followed closely by the Mafaldine pasta. The pizzas were above average but could use a little more generosity on the toppings. The Pistachio tiramisu is a must try. We look forward to trying breakfast... and lunch. Well done team