Last week my father celebrated his birthday, and as is tradition in our family, we go out to a restaurant to celebrate. Gone are the days when we chose to go to chain style restaurants. We much rather frequent local establishments, and do not mind trying great, authentic international foods.

My sister and I scoured the internet looking for some new and exciting places to sample. We already knew Zinc Bar and Bistro would be an excellent choice based on my previous experience, but I wanted to save that for another day. My sister mentioned trying a new place called Deagan’s Kitchen and Bar located in Lakewood, Ohio. The menu looked good, and on top of it, Wednesdays are vegetarian and vegan night where they feature lots of specially made meals. In addition, Urban Spoon recently declared Deagan’s the second most kid friendly establishment in all of Cleveland! Excellent, so we decided to give it a try.

Upon arrival, we realized we had made a good choice because the restaurant was located right down the street from one of Cleveland’s most famous restaurants, Melt Bar and Grill, which features a laundry list of signature grilled cheese sandwiches, and an equally impressive beer list. Melt is so impressive, it has been featured on the Food Network many times. But we were in town to try something new.

The inside of Deagan’s was friendly, cozy, and modern. Even though I did not realize it until after, I recently read in one of my local magazines that while they were renovating the building, they discovered a mural hidden on a wall. They called in the experts from the local historical society to find out the history as well as making sure it was preserved and was incorporated into the design. What a great story and backdrop for a restaurant.

The waitstaff was friendly and really good. We were the last to arrive from our rather large party, and they had highchairs waiting for us. They were super attentive from the moment we walked in, realizing we needed a sling rather than a highchair for our infant.

Deagan’s touts itself as a Gastropub. It was the second time I had heard the term Gastropub in two days, which means an establishment that concentrates on high quality food. Now I learned something new just by trying out a new establishment.

Rather than go into super detail about every single person’s food item in our party, I will briefly go over the highlights, mostly which were from the special vegetarian and vegan menu. I had ordered from the small plate menu the Spicy Shrimp Tacos with avocado, corn, white cheddar, and micro cilatro ($9); and the Sesame Crusted Calamari with wasabi honey, sweet chile, and scallions ($9).

They were both good; however, my wife’s meal was amazing. She ordered the vegan Pumpkin Soup ($5) and the Crispy “Griffon” Tacos ($9) featuring local radishes, arugula, and moipoi. I honestly do not know really what was in her taco’s, but it was crispy, with a slight chewy texture, and amazing! The pumpkin soup was also very good and had an excellent combination of sweet and spicy. Not that it matters, but my wife is not a vegan or vegetarian; the special menu just sounded so good, it could not be passed up and was well worth the deviation from the standard menu items. I just realized I failed to get pictures of the best meal at the table. Guess we will have to go back!

My sister ordered vegan Killbuck Valley Mushrooms with potato gnocchi, shallots, mushroom au jus, and gold pea tendrils, which she said was really good.

Other in our party had the Amish Chicken and Waffles, Hanger Steak Frites, and Ohio Beef Burger. My dad even got a piece of their key lime torte (cheesecake) for his birthday, which was delicious! The food was all very well presented, and did make you feel like you were having a higher end meal at a budget friendly price point.

Overall, we were all impressed with the meals and service. They were indeed excellent and well suited for little ones, as was evident by the abundance of other kids in the place. My only complaint was the men’s bathroom did not have a changing station, so after carrying my oldest son and the diaper bag in, I had to head back out and hand everything over to my wife for the swap. Do not assume dad’s do not know how to change diapers!

We have already spread the word to other friends and family, and anytime we make a recommendation, it usually goes well noted and a whole new group of patrons start frequenting the establishments. I wish Deagan’s Restaurant good luck, and we will surely be back to try your new seasonal menu (and those delicious tacos!!).