We want our children to be “good eaters”—adventurous diners who eagerly accept all forms of fruits and veggies and never protest at a host’s table. But forcing new foods on picky diners is never the answer; you want to entice them. The first step to cultivating a love of varied foods is exposure. Fortunately, some of the best restaurants in town offer ideal conditions for introducing young ones to global cuisines and fine-dining-lite settings. And if all else fails, these spots have backup children’s menus for those times when only fries will do.

Bicyclette Cookshop

Modern American cuisine

819 Vanderbilt Beach Road, North Naples

Who says you can’t play with your food? At North Naples hotspot Bicyclette, young’uns experiment with delightfully remixed global flavors (think: pork short rib with fava pesto) and maybe even their first taste of caviar. The team serves the salty delicacy with a bag of Bugles corn chips, which are just as fun to eat as to wear on fingers as claws. Bicyclette chef Kayla Pfeiffer’s youthful energy and penchant for reinventing classics continues on the appropriately dubbed Happy Meal menu, with sourdough grilled cheese sandwiches and housemade dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets fried to a glorious, golden crisp. bicyclettecookshop.com

Chez Boet

French cuisine

755 12th Ave. S., Old Naples

The charmingly appointed bistro in Crayton Cove transports diners to the French countryside with authentic rustic fare that easily translates for kids. The white-tablecloth restaurant’s Well-Behaved Children’s Menu has some fail-safe options (creamy, butter-laden pasta; grilled chicken with rice and veggies), but more curious littles can go for intermediate Francophile creations, such as la cocotte de boeuf, a mini-Bourguignon stew with Wagyu beef. chezboetnaples. com

21 Spices

Indian cuisine

4270 Tamiami Trail E., East Naples

Asif Syed (who famously beat celebrity chef Bobby Flay at his own game) exalts flavors from his native India at his fine-dining gem. Indian food can be the perfect gateway to a more cosmopolitan palate—dishes including butter chicken (a rich, creamy, tangy curry), samosas and sweet mango lassi are satisfyingly approachable. And few do the culinary genre better than Syed. 21spicesdining. com

Zen Asian BBQ

Asian cuisine

10823 Tamiami Trail N., North Naples

Coax picky eaters with a fun and engaging experience. At the 2015-opened Zen Asian BBQ, littles can help prepare their bites— with parental oversight—on one of the several Korean barbecue tables, where diners cook bountiful spreads of mouth-watering steak (including New York strip and Kobe beef ), chicken, beef, shrimp and scallops. This meal is best experienced family-style, so order plenty of variety and let your gastronomes- in-the-making go wild. Once you’ve conquered Korean fare, go back for Thai and Japanese explorations. If you’re looking to test the sushi waters, Zen’s veggie maki is a great place to start. zenasianbbq.com

El Gaucho Trattoria

Italian cuisine with Argentinean twist

14700 Tamiami Trail N., Suite 5, North Naples

Youngsters learn about the Italian influence on the restaurant owners’ South American roots. Milanesa, introduced to Argentina by Italian immigrants more than a century ago, is a perfect example. The breaded, deep-fried meats—chicken, beef or veal— are served with fries, so tiny diners will be impressed. Appetizers feature garlic knots and rice balls, while more familiar entrees include pizza or spaghetti and meatballs. elgauchotrattoria. com