One of the most useful pieces of baby gear we've ever bought, hands-down, is our high chair. 

We snapped up a lobster high chair before our daughter was born in 2017 and now, 3 years later, we still use it just as much as we did in her first year. 

Portable high chairs can be used when you're traveling, out and about, or even just at home. 

Check out parent's top picks below.

Top 10 Portable High Chairs

#1: Summer Infant Pop N’ Sit Portable Booster
#2: Phil&teds Lobster High Chair
#3: Inglesina Fast Table Chair
#4: The First Years On-the-Go Booster Seat
#5: Chicco Caddy Hook On Chair
#6: Bumbo Multi Seat
#7: Beanstalk Child Care Booster Seat High Chair
#8: Fisher-Price Healthy Care Booster Seat
#9: Ciao! Baby Portable Travel High Chair
#10: IKEA Antilop High Chair

Do You Really Need a Portable High Chair?

Restaurant high chairs are probably some of the most neglected parts of a restaurant, being shuffled by harried waitstaff between baby after messy baby. I don’t care to think about how rare it is for them to see a little cleaning, much less some maintenance.

Rather than hope and pray for the places we go to eat on the road to have a clean high chair (or even a high chair at all), Ryan and I always make sure we have a portable high chair with us no matter what.

They’re easy to pack with you, ensure you’re never settling for a wobbly, crusty old restaurant high chair, and give your baby a safe place closeby to eat, without sitting in your lap and reaching for your steak knife or knocking over your wine.

#momoftheyear.

We wouldn’t be able to dine out nearly as comfortably or conveniently without our #2 ranked phil&teds Lobster high chair.

What To Look For In A Portable High Chair

In my always over-the-top approach to finding the best of everything for Poppy, I’ve become kind of an expert on portable high chairs.

That’s right, it’s going on my resume.

Before we dive into it, you need to decide what design of chair you want. Because there are basically three kinds of portable high chairs:

• booster seats
• clamp on chairs, and
• complete chair setups.

And there’s no point in reading about one if you definitely aren’t in the market for a booster seat, for example. Oh, and some chairs include trays, and some don’t. Not having one isn’t a deal breaker, but they definitely help with cleanup. Just sayin’.

OK, here’s what to pay attention to in those product descriptions:

Portability
How compact is it when it’s folded up? Does it weigh a ton or can you easily carry it in your diaper bag on the way to the restaurant?

Function
We’re talking things like: Is it easy to set up? Easy to clean? Is the tray large enough? And does all the design features work well together? Oh and don’t forget ease of cleaning here…Because my god, babies are messy eaters. Read through reviews to get a sense of how easy they are to clean—don’t trust the product descriptions.

Safety
Some high chairs, portable and otherwise, can be top heavy. Read reviews and product descriptions carefully to get a sense of what age the seat is appropriate for, and how it’s secured.

Style
Now I’m not going to lie, initially I thought style points on a high chair was silly. But after checking out a few chairs I realized that some are way cooler than others (and that totally counts in my books). See what I mean and just check out #1—it’s Saaaaweeet.

Price
Is it worth the money? Or would you be better off spending a little more on something better?

I’ve combed the web looking for the best of the best, and I’ve found ‘em—here are the best portable high chairs for foodie parents.

A super affordable, ultra portable, multi-use pop-up style high chair wins the race!

This little booster is designed to be used at table height (atop another chair—it comes with straps and buckles to secure it), but can be used on the floor during play time or at the beach.

On top of all that, it’s lightweight and comes with a carry case. We couldn’t quite give it full safety marks because there's been some concerns over the placement of the straps, and while not dangerous, they can be a bit awkward for baby.

High Chair #2:
Phil&teds Lobster High Chair

Okay, I know this one's spendy. But seriously, it’s the bee’s knees.

This is the chair that Ryan and I wound up getting, and it’s super portable, folding completely flat when not in use, so you can fit it in a lot of diaper bags (or carry it in the included bag). The best part though? The fabric slides off the frame for machine washing, and the tray is 100% dishwasher safe.

SCORE.

This seat works for babies up to 37 pounds, and has an awesome deep dish seat and 5-point safety harness to keep wiggly littles where they need to stay.

High Chair #3:
Inglesina Fast Table Chair

The Inglesina is the same clamp-on style as the the #2 ranked Lobster and has all the bells and whistles (read: Pocket on back of seat, carry bag, washable cover) and we almost bought it over the phil&teds…

But in the end, the extra safety feature of the 5-point harness and included tray on the Lobster won us over (the Inglesina uses a 3-point harness and doesn’t include a tray).

Nonetheless, this one is a great option and a little more moderately priced. And what’s really cool about it is that the company has confirmed that they don’t use any flame retardant chemicals on it—a win for crunchy parents everywhere!

High Chair #4:
The First Years On-the-Go Booster Seat

Okay, so check this out: this booster seat is self-inflating. Pretty sweet, right?

Even at #4, this little booster is a win because it's ultra affordable, compact, and lightweight (it weighs only 1 pound!). While it's not the best looking, it’s still very functional.

Although, the problem is, your kid is sitting on air, which can shift, and since this booster is attached to a chair, it’s very easy for the straps to loosen and littles to knock over the entire deal.

Definitely only use this one with baby within arm’s reach.

Overall, it’s super portable, crazy cheap, and easy to wipe clean, so it makes our list for stable sitting babies.

High Chair #5:
Chicco Caddy Hook On Chair

The Chicco Caddy has a substantially bigger footprint than my Lobster chair, even when folded flat, so it fails a bit on portability (and because it’s heavy at 7 pounds versus the others that are under 5), and users complain that it can be a real pain to take apart and clean.

That said, this one is substantially cheaper than the #2 ranked Lobster, so if you’re on a budget, it might be the next best thing. Just note, it doesn’t come with a carry bag, so you’ll have to figure out how you want to stow it.

High Chair #6:
Bumbo Multi Seat

The famed Bumbo seats have finally made their debut into something that you can use somewhere besides the floor.

The foam shells on these seats make them a great snug fit for littles that are just learning to sit up and SUPER easy to clean, but also means that this thing absolutely, 100% does not collapse. It’s bulky, guys.

Another drawback is that we’ve heard reports of the detachable tray (that hides away on the back of the seat) getting moldy after a while because it’s mostly hollow and can trap food particles in the void…But, if you’re handy, there’s a workaround—just drill some holes on the back side so you can flush it out once in awhile and you’re good to go.

High Chair #7:
Beanstalk Child Care Booster Seat High Chair

This interesting chair works for babies with good back and neck control 6 months and up. It actually braces against the back of the chair, so it may not work on a booth bench. It also has no front support, so baby has to be able to sit up on her own without falling forward to use it.

However, it’s incredibly portable, easy to setup and clean, and is a great affordable portable high chair option. Plus, your kid will never outgrow it because you can dismantle the chair parts to make two walking canes.

High Chair #8:
Fisher-Price Healthy Care Booster Seat

Though this one’s a bit bulky for frequent use in our opinion, there’s no doubt that the Healthy Care Booster Seat has got to be one of the easiest to clean thanks to its dishwasher-safe tray and completely plastic composition (it actually has the highest amazon product review rating of all of them (4.8 stars). Ha!).

This chair attaches directly to another chair with a series of straps, and for less than 20 bucks, it’s a steal. But be warned, it has the style of a burlap sack.

High Chair #9:
Ciao! Baby Portable Travel High Chair

While a little spendy for what it is, and with better options out there, this camp-chair style high chair is incredibly easy to use and packs nicely into carrier bag that’s included. Having said that, it’s way heavier and bulkier than the rest (at 8 pounds vs 4, and it’s long when folded up).

This chair also doesn’t come apart to clean, but the fabric is quick drying, and any major messes can be sprayed off using a garden hose. Ha!

Overall, this chair reminds us of a “Canadian Tire special” and we don’t recommend it for the serious foodie.

High Chair #10:
IKEA Antilop High Chair

This IKEA chair is minimalist sleek in design, and while it probably works great at home as a permanent high chair, it doesn’t seem easily portable. You’re literally putting together an entire high chair when you take it somewhere. But it is freakishly easy to clean and very stable.

If you do decide to travel with it, ignore any stares as you put it together—haters gonna hate.

OK.

With great [high chair] power comes great [eating] responsibility…

Or something like that.

Either way, go choose your favorite portable high chair with killer confidence and this gear guide in hand. Because whether your choice is based on portability, function, safety, style, or price, taking the time to find the best portable high chair to suit your needs is critical for those, still to be had, romantic dinners out.