My brother had a similar experience, and epiphany, when his kids were small. He wanted to go out with the wife to a nice place, but – the kids --. Finally, just thought F- 'em, and took the kids.
Discovered that at a seriously good restaurant, they offered seriously good service.
Accusations of trollery are not permitted in this forum. Do not do this again.
I’m sure our local Olive Garden has the “noisy, family room in the center”.
I’m pretty sure my wife and I were segregated at a nicer restaurant in New Orleans for lunch one time. We were lead to “the other room” and served there. A look into the second room showed many more people mostly dressed in suits and business wear. We were dressed like tourists in jeans and t-shirts.
One of our memorable dining out experiences years ago (in Pennsylvania, coincidentally) was at a place where a customer at a nearby table was in a wheelchair. This unfortunate man apparently had difficulty swallowing, and frequently made loud choking sounds, to the point where either regurgitation or an urgent Heimlich maneuver seemed likely consequences.
Still, it was better than having a party with multiple children screaming and running around while clueless parents play with their cellphones.
That goes on the floor, to prevent stains on the carpet.
My father is a 79-year-old stroke sufferer who dresses shabbily, drools at times because he has partial face paralysis, and is a messy eater because of the above-named condition. From what I can tell, we’ve never had a restaurant seat us in an out-of-sight table, and we go to some very fancy joints.