The Best Kid-Friendly Restaurants In The U.S.
Because Mama needs a drink — and the kids need dinner.
Get to know the top spots to bring fussy kids, picky eaters, or the entire carpool crew — including one place that's Jessica Biel-approved!
Highland Grill; St. Paul, MN
This diner's waiting game is strong. While your meal is cooking, servers will bring over a bucket of toys for your tots to play with, plus a bowl of goldfish to tide them over.
Grown; Miami, FL
Here's how you know this kid-friendly restaurant was created by a parent (of five, no less): The partitioned plates mean foods never touch, the menu caters to little ones with allergies, and there's a wall full of iPads if tiny eaters get bored. It's a sneaky win for mom and dad, since all the tablets are programmed with educational games.
The Living Room at Park Hyatt; New York City
The Living Room does kid-friendly the only way you'd expect a luxe Manhattan hotel to do so. Their multi-course kids menu comes with a "book" course, where a vintage cart of Phaidon reads is rolled out to the table. Tykes with adventurous palettes will enjoy the meal most — think, dishes like salmon bento boxes — but picky eaters will find chicken fingers, too.
Au Fudge; West Hollywood, CA
Jessica Biel is one of the brains behind this indoor playground-meets-restaurant. It's got a menu of kids classics, including mac and cheese or waffles, and avocado toast and salad for L.A. moms. Kids can play in Au Fudge's treehouse or participate in a drum circle (under the watchful eye of au pairs), while mommy and daddy have some grown-up time.
Bo-Beau Kitchen + Garden; La Mesa; CA
Families should ask to be seated near the covered back garden at this spot. It's decked out with old school bus that kids can play in, and the chalkboard wall asks, "When I grow up I want to be...?" The Kids Menu covers the usuals (pasta, chicken nuggets, and a quesadilla), and the Not A Kids Menu (for 12-year-olds and older) has mini versions of adult meals: steak frites, pan-roasted catch of the day, and seared salmon.
Melt Bar and Grilled; Multiple locations, Ohio
Not only does this Ohio chain dole out around two dozen versions of every kid's favorite sandwich — a grilled cheese — their entire kids menu is just $2 on Tuesdays. The everyday price is only a couple bucks more.
The Diner; Washington, D.C.
On weekend mornings, kids are encouraged to show up to this Adams Morgan spot in their pajamas to enjoy a short stack and the cartoons that play on the restaurant's TVs. Parents, meanwhile, are encouraged to knock back one of the five adult beverages, including a "Green Mary" (a tomatillo and kale riff on a traditional Bloody) and an Irish coffee.
Slappy Cakes; Portland, OR and Lahaina, HI
Think of Slappy Cakes as a DIY habachi restaurant ... but for pancakes: Every table has a griddle in the middle and squeeze bottles of batter so kids can design their own pancake shapes. There are five flavors (including a vegan/gluten-free one), almost two dozen sweet and savory toppings, and twelve syrups and spreads.
Natachee's Supper 'n Punch; Houston, TX
Every dish on the kids menu here comes to the table in a vintage lunchbox. Even the names are fun for youngsters to say, like kidlet lickers (sliders) and fish nibblers (fried tilapia strips). You'll find mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, and corn dogs too, plus a kick-ass burger menu for parents to peruse.
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