Mr. Baba is a family restaurant in the literal sense: there is a children's play corner, a kids' menu of three dishes at 7.99 € each, high chairs on request, and free parking with around 30 spaces that you can reach with a pushchair. The Main Deck is the indoor room, roughly 120 seats, with a family corner, which means one child making noise does not spoil anyone else's dinner.
What follows is the practical side: exactly what is on the kids' menu and what it costs, what to order for a child who will not eat fish, which of the five rooms works with children and which does not, how to request a high chair, and what to expect from the car park on a peak summer evening.
Is Mr. Baba suitable for children?
Yes, and this is part of the concept rather than an add-on. The restaurant is a galleon on the beach beside the Sea Station in Varna, and the ship runs to five rooms across three levels, around 280 seats in total. Which means a family with children and a couple on a romantic dinner never have to sit next to one another.
Three things make the difference in practice. First, the play corner, where small children can go while the table finishes dinner. Second, a kids' menu built from dishes a child will actually eat, rather than shrunken portions off the main menu. Third, the car park is free and immediately adjacent, which counts for more than it sounds when you are carrying a pushchair and bags.
What is on the kids' menu and what does it cost?
The kids' menu has three dishes and all of them cost the same, 7.99 €. Portions run between 320 and 350 grams, so they are proper plates rather than token ones.
| Dish | Weight | Allergens | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken fillet with cucumber and fries | 320 g | 06 soya | 7.99 € |
| White fish fillet with cucumber and fries | 320 g | 07 milk | 7.99 € |
| Linguine with rose tomato sauce | 350 g | 01 gluten, 03 eggs, 07 milk | 7.99 € |
The fish option is worth a second look. It is a white fish fillet, boneless and unbattered, served with cucumber and fries, which is to say in a shape a child recognises. For a parent who wants their child to try fish without a battle at the table, that is the shortest route there is. The full allergen list for every dish sits at the foot of the menu.
What can I order for a child who will not eat fish?
A child who will not eat fish has three routes at Mr. Baba and none of them is a compromise. The first is the children's chicken fillet with fries. The second is the linguine in tomato sauce, which works with almost every child. The third is to build a plate out of the side dishes.
Sides work particularly well for fussy eaters, because they are ordered individually and cost little: fries, sauté potatoes (4.60 €), house mashed potato (4.09 €), orange rice (4.09 €) and grilled vegetables (5.11 €). Two sides make a plate a child will finish, for less than the price of a kids' main.
There are options on the main menu too. Linguine aglio e olio with peperoncino (7.99 €) is plain pasta with olive oil and garlic, for a child who dislikes tomato sauce. And for one old enough to try something new, battered calamari are the classic gateway to seafood, because they are crisp and do not look like fish.
Is there a play corner for children?
There is a play corner, and it sits by the Main Deck, the indoor room on the first level. The idea behind it is simple: the child has somewhere to go once their dinner is finished and the table is still talking. That is the difference between a forty minute dinner and a two hour one.
A practical note from the deck. The play corner works best when your table is on the same level, which means the main room. If you sit on the Captain's Bridge, the third level, the distance becomes a flight of stairs, and with a small child that means one adult getting up every single time.
Which room is best for dinner with children?
The Main Deck is the room for dinner with children. It is the indoor space on the first level, around 120 seats, with a family corner and the play corner close by, and the atmosphere is lively and loud, which here counts as an advantage rather than a drawback. A child making noise in a quiet room is a problem; in the main room nobody hears it.
When the terrace is the better call
The Sea Terrace, also on the first level, seats around 60 and runs from May to October. With older children it is excellent, because it looks straight out over the water and dinner passes on its own. With a baby, or a child who will fall asleep, the indoor room is more predictable, because evenings by the sea turn cool and windy.
Which rooms are not for children
The Captain's Bridge, the highest point of the ship at around 24 seats, is a romantic panoramic deck and was not designed with children in mind. The VIP room, for 12 to 24 people, is an enclosed private space for a birthday or a business dinner. The Upper Deck, around 80 seats, is for large parties and runs from May to October. There is more on the differences in our guide to the five rooms.
How do you request a high chair?
High chairs are requested in the booking itself, in the notes field. It is enough to write how many children are coming and roughly what age, and the chairs are waiting at the table rather than being hunted down while you stand holding a child.
That same field is useful for other things: the occasion, an allergy, your arrival time, a table near the play corner. Anything you write in the reservation reaches the floor before you do. On a family evening that is the difference between a set table and ten minutes of rearranging.
Is there parking, and does it work with a pushchair?
Parking is free, around 30 spaces, and immediately next to the restaurant, so it works with a pushchair. There is nothing to pay and nothing to reserve.
The honest caveat concerns peak summer evenings. Thirty spaces fill quickly through July and August, so if you have a pushchair, a group, or a small child for whom running late is a problem, come a little earlier. An early evening is also a calmer room, which with children usually matters more than the view at sunset.
From our kitchen
Families have been part of Mr. Baba since 2005, when the ship was first anchored on the shore, and some of them now arrive with a second generation of children. Which is why the kids' menu is not three lines of formality but the three dishes that genuinely get ordered.
One observation from the deck that may save you an evening. Parents often order for the child first and for themselves afterwards, so the child's food arrives sooner. In practice the opposite works better: order everything together and ask for the child's plate to come out first. The kitchen handles that without difficulty, and the table is not split into two waves.
One more thing about the fish. Head chef Lyubomir Stefanov has been cooking for 32 years and is a second-generation chef, and his rule is that the fish gives the orders, not the cook. With children, though, we make the one exception: the kids' fish fillet is boneless white fish, chosen deliberately to be soft and free of surprises. A child who finds a bone once will not eat fish again for years.
Frequently asked questions
Does Mr. Baba have a kids' menu?
Yes, the kids' menu has three dishes, all priced at 7.99 €: chicken fillet with cucumber and fries, white fish fillet with cucumber and fries, and linguine with rose tomato sauce. Portions run between 320 and 350 grams.
Are high chairs available, and do they need to be requested?
High chairs are available on request. Write in the notes field of your booking how many children are coming, so the chairs are ready at the table when you arrive.
Is there free parking?
Yes, parking is free, around 30 spaces, immediately next to the restaurant and suitable for pushchairs. It fills quickly on peak summer evenings, so with children it is worth arriving earlier.
Which room is best with a small child?
The Main Deck, the indoor room on the first level with around 120 seats, is best with a small child. It is close to the play corner, sheltered from the wind, and lively enough that children's noise goes unnoticed.
Book a table and tell us how many children are coming
Dinner by the sea with children does not take planning, it takes two lines in the notes field. Look through the menu in advance and decide what your child will eat, then book a table and say how many children are coming and whether you would like to sit near the play corner. If it is a summer evening and the children are older, have a look at the sea terrace as well. The story of the ship and its crew is in About us.