You had plenty of choice whether you could have it switched on.
Why not do what we all did before mobiles arrived and wanted to remind everyone how self important we are:

"I'm off out tonight, if you need me in an emergency, call the restaurant on 555-12345."
Then on arrival, slip the Maître d' a tip and mention that there's a slim chance someone might call for you should your kids be involved in a terrorist attack or whatever the hell it was you were worried about.

For your mobile to be ringing four or five times is just taking the piss and plain rude. Especially if it was "a fairly posh restaurant".

I hope you don't mind if I tweak a quote of yours:
"Look, it's a restaurant, not a playground your living room. Letting your kids race around mobile repeatedly ring in the restaurant, even if it's a crappy diner somewhere, is worse than irritating to the other people there- it's teaching them showing you to be self-centered little twats who can get away with about anything as long as the parents are otherwise distracted it suits you."
( Pig Bodine., Tue 23 Oct 2012, 14:16, Reply)