By Roshan Fernandez and Heather Haddon

Ashley Garrett thinks restaurant portions are too big and expensive, and she hates leftovers. Her solution isn't to eat out less. It's to order from the kids' menu.

"Give me chicken tenders or a basic pasta dish, and I'm happy," said the 33-year-old, who orders kids' meals about five times a week.

Garrett has reviewed nearly 200 kids' meals on TikTok and calls herself the "kids' meal connoisseur" in the videos. She analyzes portion sizes and highlights unique side dishes such as chili or broccoli cheddar casserole. Mostly, though, she revels in the simplicity of 12-and-under staples like mashed potatoes and macaroni.

"For me, it's perfect," the Orlando, Fla., resident said.

Restaurants for decades have dedicated corners of their menus to undersized entrees with prices to match, often with a side of crayons and puzzles. The fare tends toward comfort and the utilitarian, designed to please picky eaters and provide parents a night off from the kitchen.

Escalating food prices and healthy eating habits have more grown-ups calling dibs on meals that have traditionally been the exclusive realm of the preteen set. Some diners have undergone bariatric surgery and can't eat larger portions. Others want to lose weight and save money, or just feel like a kid again.

C.J. Person, a retired special-education teacher from Greensboro, N.C., for decades has ordered children's items at Chick-fil-A, McDonald's and Wendy's. Typically it's a burger, fries and drink, like a Jr. Frosty.

"It's satisfying, cheaper, less calories, and sometimes there's a little prize or treat," she said.

Person is used to eating less. She grew up in a big family, where meals meant small portions and there were rarely seconds. Adult-size portions seem wasteful even now to her, and kids' items typically save her $3 to $5, she said.

The number of orders for kids' meals placed by adults rose 28% last year compared with 2019, while overall restaurant traffic declined over the same period, according to industry-research firm Circana. On review site Yelp, user searches for kids' meals were higher in December 2024 than in any month since at least 2019, an increase that Tara Lewis, a Yelp vice president who oversees trends, attributed to more adults seeking value options.

Lewis would know. When she craves fast food, she goes for children's items to limit calories. "I'm getting, sort of, a taste of the nostalgia of a McDonald's french fry without the debt or the damage to my healthier diet," she said.

Even though some restaurants specify an age range for kids' entrees, grown-ups are rarely carded. Decades of experience have helped adults hone counterstrategies. Placing takeout or mobile orders is an easy way to sidestep a raised eyebrow -- though not always.

The absurdity of a confrontation over adult customers straying into the kiddie section is on display in an episode of British comedy "After Life." Ricky Gervais's character tries to order a kids' platter of fish fingers and beans, like his young nephew. "I can't let you order that.... It's for children," the waitress says, scoffing. He orders two kids' meals for his nephew and, after waiting a beat, stuffs his mouth as the waitress and cook look on.

Dan Rowe, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based restaurant investor who has backed taco and burger chains, said servers shouldn't bother enforcing limits for chicken strips and fruit cups. "How do you card for that?" he said.

Still, adults flocking to the kids' menu can be a bad sign, Rowe added, suggesting regular entrees are too expensive. Skewing business toward cups of mac and cheese and sliders could spell trouble for a restaurant's bottom line and servers' tips.

"I'm mercenary about this topic," he said. "If people are ordering off of your kids' menu, you have other issues."

Some fast-food chains actively steer nostalgic adults to kids' meals. Wendy's offered a combo meal around Halloween that was targeted at "kidults" and included a collectible toy. McDonald's in recent years has sold so-called adult happy meals, with collectible cups or Hamburglar, Birdie and Cactus Buddy toys, and regular-size fries and drinks.

The meals can cost upward of $10, and the toys resell on eBay for top dollar.

One downside to the kids' menu is lack of variety: Chicken strips, burgers and grilled cheese sandwiches tend to dominate, according to industry-research firm Datassential. That is beginning to shift, as foodies demand more variety for their children and restaurants add once-exotic options like buffalo sauce and honey BBQ to menus.

But for many fans, it's the convenience of the pint-size portions and prices that keep them reordering.

Shannon Loehrlein, a 37-year-old mom of two from Evansville, Ind., began turning to kids' meals to lose weight when she was on GLP-1 medication in recent years. She found it saved money, too -- particularly on vacation, where an adult fast-food entree may cost $10 to $15 while a kids' option hovers around $8 and often includes a drink.

Haley Hanson first made the switch when she was in high school, working a summer job with nowhere to stash her lunchtime Chipotle leftovers. The habit stuck. Now 27, Hanson orders off the kids' menu at restaurants about five times a week, mainly for lunch at her software-engineer job.

She began posting kids' meal videos on social media in December, using a 10-point rubric to grade entrees. It awards points for calories-per-dollar ratio, meal satisfaction (some items can be calorie-dense but not filling) and quality.

So far Culver's, a fast-food chain concentrated primarily in the Midwest, holds the top rating. The kids' meal includes a scoop of frozen custard and a token. If she collects 10, Hanson can earn a free kids' meal or gear featuring the burger chain's mascot.

Co-workers poke fun when her meals come with an apple juice box instead of a fountain drink, but Hanson suspects they're jealous.

"They're like, 'Mmm, that kind of looks nice,' " the Mesa, Ariz., resident said. "That's the thing about kids' meals, is they're so satisfying because you get a little bit of everything."

Write to Roshan Fernandez at roshan.fernandez@wsj.com and Heather Haddon at heather.haddon@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 13, 2025 05:30 ET (10:30 GMT)

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