One of the MOST Kid-Friendly Restaurants EVER!

Last Thursday I didn’t feel like cooking. It had been a long day at work and I picked up my kids late from after-school care so I bribed good behavior with a trip to a restaurant I had been meaning to take them to for a long time. I sure wish I had found it before now!

About six months ago I was contacted by the owner of a new restaurant called The Flying Pizza Company. After plenty of missed visits and follow-up phone calls to the owner, I made a secret shop visit to this little treasure on East Colonial Drive in Orlando. I had no idea what I was in for but boy! am I glad I finally visited this mom-and-dad-owned restaurant.

Upon walking through the front door, we were greeted by a friendly employee who told us we could sit where we wanted. I quickly noticed the restaurant was decked out in flying decor – hence the name The Flying Pizza Company. There were planes hanging from the ceiling, planes for kids to play with, and many Squadron badges tagged to the walls. As a former Air Force Reserves brat, I was loving it and knew my dad would appreciate it even more.

Immediately after choosing our table we noticed a flat screen TV in our booth; in fact, there was one at every booth. Before even asking us what we wanted to drink, the ever attentive server asked my kids what channel they wanted her to put the TV on. They asked for the Disney channel and while the server was gone noticed the kid at the table next to us had their TV on Nickelodeon. Without missing a beat, the server realized what was going on as she approached the table and told my daughter she would be right back. Suddenly our TV was on Nickelodeon.  My daughter didn’t even get her sentence out and the server was already fixing the “problem.” The beam of happiness from my daughter melted away my bad day. It was as though Cinderella herself had just arrived at dinner.

When the server came back she asked us if we had ever been there before. We told her that we had not and she asked my kids if they knew how to write their name. Pointing to the paper on the top of the table, she asked them to write their name, which they did, with pride spewing from every pore of their body. After they did, she read their names out loud and then said “My name is R-O-N-N-I-E” as she spelled it and pronounced it for us. She then told my kids “if you need anything just ask me.” I almost fell out of my seat. Am I getting punked? Where are the hidden cameras?

I ordered my kids a small pizza to share which only turned out to be $6! - $5 for the pizza and $1 for the sausage on one side that my son likes. That’s cheaper than McDonalds. As we waited for their pizza to cook and the hubby to arrive, my kids enjoyed the play area at the back of the restaurant. It had table-sized checkers, more airplanes, books about airplanes, and an array of other games to keep them busy. Then my kids came back to take a sip of their half fruit punch/half water drink. When they did, Ronnie, almost on cue, brought over gummie candy slices of pizza to bribe the kids with. She showed them the candy as though she was going to give them to them and smartly handed them to me saying, “I’m giving these to your mom for later because I’m sure she wants you to eat your dinner first!” WHAT? Where did Ronnie the server goddess come from? My kids have never been so excited about cleaning their plate and that was even with all of the the fun distractions to entertain them in the restaurant! It’s pretty rare that I’m speachless and this was one of those rare moments.

The kid’s pizza came out shortly thereafter and it was served very hot. In most restaurants I would ding them on this but since The Flying Pizza Company has so much to do, it worked out great. I told them to entertain themselves while the pizza was cooling off and then it was time to eat. I don’t think I’ve ever seen my six-year-old eat that much pizza in one sitting. She even ate her brother’s with sausage on it and she never does that.

In addition to being TOTALLY KID-FRIENDLY, The Flying Pizza Company is a great value too. We ordered 2 pizzas, a large and a small, adult drinks and an appetizer and got out for under $40! Hello!!!! I would have paid $20 alone for the service. I can’t say enough about The Flying Pizza Company and neither can my kids. They have asked me every day since “when are we going back.” The answer finally I have for them: “tomorrow!”

The Flying Pizza Company   13212 E. Colonial Drive, Orlando, FL    407-380-6664

Tell them The Restaurant Mom sent you.