America's Favorite Family-Friendly Restaurants
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Kids Welcome
New York: The Meatball Shop
This pick-your-own-meal Meatball Shop already has the ideal menu for families, giving picky diners the ability to customize each component along the way. Pick your ball, your sauce, your side and even your dessert for a quick, all-pleasing meal. Kids who don’t want to choose from the adult menu can make their selections from the Baller in Training menu, picking two meatballs (chicken, veggie or beef), a sauce (tomato, mushroom or Parmesan cream) and a side. If there’s room left for dessert, kids and adults can create their own cookie ice cream sandwich.
Multiple locations across NYC
Go to: The Meatball Shop
Minneapolis: Tilia
Go to: Tilia
Washington, D.C.: Beefsteak
Leave it to Spanish food wizard José Andrés to innovate a new way for parents get their kids to eat veggies. This quick-serve spot is all about the vegetables — and although it’s not a vegetarian restaurant, the meat takes a back seat. Kids will love picking out their own bowl and watching it be prepared before their eyes, dunked into fryers filled with water for healthier cooking. Vegetables take on the life of superheroes — as kids get to color in their very own from the “Veggie Universe” while they wait.
Multiple locations across D.C. and Philadelphia
Photo courtesy of Rey Lopez
Go to: BeefSteak
Seattle: Ballard Pizza Company (Ballard and Frelard locations)
Ethan and Angela Stowell run some of Seattle’s more upscale restaurants, but with two little ones of their own, they also wanted a place where the whole family could grab a bite and be happy. While Mom and Dad are indulging in pizzas like the Primo with Zoe salami, red onions, pickled peppers and fresh mozzarella, kids can keep it simple with a margherita or pepperoni pie. The Ballard location has a huge backroom perfect for celebrating birthday parties, and the Frelard location has a kids’ play area integrated into the design of the restaurant, so parents can enjoy a glass of wine while their kids burn off the pizza.
Photo courtesy of Geoffery Smith
Go to: Ballard Pizza Company
Miami: Grown
Go to: Grown
New Orleans: The Backyard
Go to: The Backyard
New York: The Living Room at the Park Hyatt
An upscale hotel may not be the obvious choice for kid-friendly dining, but the Park Hyatt pulls out all the stops for kiddos. When kids sit down to eat, they are presented with a children’s activity pack inspired by Joshua David Stein’s book Can I Eat That? While they eat, they can opt for a “book course” — think cheese course, only this time with books — which deploys a vintage book cart full of Phaidon’s newest children’s book releases for them to enjoy while indulging in sophisticated dishes like kale salad with honey vinaigrette, salmon bento boxes and fruit with Chantilly cream.
Photo courtesy of Katie Burton
Go to: The Living Room at Park Hyatt
Detroit: Buddy’s Pizza
Go to: Buddy's Pizza
Miami: Yardbird Southern Table & Bar
More About: Yardbird Southern Table & Bar
New York: Blue Smoke
More About: Blue Smoke
Nashville: The Pharmacy
Go to: The Pharmacy
Portland, Oregon: Lechon
Go to: Lechon
San Diego: Bo Beau Kitchen + Garden
Go to: Bo Beau Kitchen + Garden
Providence: Tom’s BaoBao
Go to: Tom's BaoBao
Chicago: Roots Pizza
Go to: Roots Pizza
Nashville: Loveless Cafe
Go to: Loveless Cafe
Baltimore: Miss Shirley’s Café
Go to: Miss Shirley’s Cafe
San Antonio: Two Bros. BBQ Market
Go to: Two Bros. BBQ Market
Charleston, SC: Hominy Grill
Stowe, Vermont: Picnic Social
Go to: Picnic Social
Austin: The Park
Go to: The Park
Dallas: Chicken Scratch
More About: Chicken Scratch
Denver: Steuben's Food Service
More About: Steuben's Food Service
Houston: Amazon Grill
More About: Amazon Grille
Phoenix: Joe's Farm Grill
More About: Joe's Farm Grill
Washington, D.C.: 2Amys
More About: 2Amys
Los Angeles: Roku
Go to: Roku
Chicago: Crosby’s Kitchen
Go to: Crosby's Kitchen
Seattle: Verjus
This bright, sunny vegetarian-focused restaurant lures locals and visitors alike to Bainbridge Island. Although there isn’t a kids’ menu, the little ones can slurp healthy mint chocolate chip smoothie made with spinach, mint, Dos Leches milk, banana and cocoa nibs, and gobble vegetable rolls served with a peanut dipping sauce. The outdoor patio is perfect for playing after eating. Parents will appreciate the lack of refined sugars and also the sore-throat pops, made with honey, hibiscus and golden juice, for kids who are under the weather.
Photo courtesy of Suzi Pratt
Go to: Verjus
Miami: Essensia
More About: Essensia
Madison, Wisconsin: Gates and Brovi
Philadelphia: Marathon Grill
More About: Marathon Grill
Los Angeles: Pitchoun!
Go to: Pitchoun Bakery
Jackson Hole, Wyoming: Calico
Go to: Calico
Cleveland: Melt Bar and Grilled
Grilled cheese is a crowd favorite for kids and for kids at heart. That makes this grilled cheese restaurant a favorite of cheese lovers of all ages. The kids’ menu goes beyond grilled cheese with a burger, pizza, chicken tenders and a classic PB&J, and includes a banana, a special side or fries with each dish. On Tuesdays, everything on the kids’ menu is $2.
Locations across Ohio
Go to: Melt Bar & Grilled
Washington D.C.: DBGB Kitchen and Bar
Go to: DBGB Kitchen and Bar
San Francisco: Little Gem
With veterans of Thomas Keller’s restaurants at the helm, food is taken seriously at this bright little cafe. Everything on the menu contains local, seasonal ingredients with no additives or chemicals. The food is also dairy- and gluten-free, so those with allergies can partake. The kids won’t even realize they are eating healthy when they can indulge in AB & J, an almond butter and housemade jam combo served on a tapioca crepe. More-adventurous diners can savor smoked Wagyu beef brisket and flavorful bibimbap.
Photo courtesy of Cynthia Lin
Go to: Little Gem