New York offers some top restaurants that welcome kids with plenty of entertainment to keep them occupied while serving delicious food.
These eateries are great for the family with kids being excited to try a slice of pizza or a quality meal in a welcoming vibe that lets kids be kids. As there is no shortage of destinations, here are some 20 top kid friendly restaurants in NYC to savor.
This restaurant has been serving homage to burger and shake lovers since 2009. It is the largest standalone burger joint in the city.
This spot continues to surprise patrons with an impressive craft burger list that includes its signature Bill's Fat Cat Burger, ranked among NY sources. This popular restaurant is further known for a welcoming, low-key, and kid-friendly environment to enjoy good company, great food, and beverages.
Location: 16 West 51st Street, New York
This restaurant is a casual version of Michelin-starred Carbone with great food, and a super fun, and family-friendly environment. This is a great place to enjoy your family's Italian classics, like meatball Parm, chicken Parm, and the famous Spicy rigatoni Carbone.
They prepare the best versions of recognizable dishes while remaining faithful to their history, and serve them in a familiar environment.
Location: 235 Columbus Ave Between 70th & 71st
Ellen's Stardust Diner contains retro-themed memorabilia such as photos of many past Miss Subways on the walls and theater screens showing 1950s performances. It is popular among kids, young children, and adults.
It is known as one of the best-themed restaurants in New York. It serves breakfast, lunch, dinner, and also late-night meals and drinks. It also provides special preferences to vegetarian-friendly eaters.
Location: 1650 Broadway, New York
This is the home of amazing food and decadent desserts, including the world-famous Frozen Hot Chocolate. It's an enchanting spot where artists and actors of past and present come for inspiration.
It is known for its whimsical decor, eclectic menu, celebrity sightings, and over-the-top desserts. It has been a place of celebration, delectable treats, and homage to NY's rich history.
Location: 225 E 60th St, New York City
Located in West Harlem, this barbecue spot serves some of the city's better-smoked meats, spanning a pan of regional selection of styles.
Since 2004, their menu has only gotten longer, adding sliders, banh mi, bowls, po'boys, cheesesteak sandwiches, grilled salmon, and other lures for kids and adults. Their sides include good baked beans, great mac and cheese, and Syracuse salt potatoes.
Location: 700 W 125th St, New York
This spot has served up some of the best old NY Italian favorites. Their cooking technique comes from Southern Neapolitan traditions and served huge family-size platters.
Known for its delicious family-style meals, it's a favorite for theater-goers and locals alike. The portions are huge, perfect for sharing, and the atmosphere is lively. It is also ideal for kids and children and is recommended for its reasonable prices and consistent quality.
Location: 147 West 43rd Street
Brooklyn Diner celebrates American ethnic dishes found all over Brooklyn, with the menu featuring the kind of real food. It is the perfect place for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, the food you want to eat.
The atmosphere here is nice as it feels like an old-fashioned American diner. Their menu features several food items, milkshakes, and desserts, including their standout Brooklyn Burger, made with juicy beef patty, melted cheese, and classic toppings.
Location: 212 W 57th St, New York City
It is NYC's first true Japanese-inspired cat cafe that serves coffee shop food and beverages during the day and transforms at night with a tasting menu and sake bar.
It has an artisanal Japanese-influenced menu, house-made desserts, alcoholic liquors and cold beverages, and a furry family of adoptable cats. Their kitties roam freely around 3-cat centris spaces where kids and adults enjoys their company while eating.
Location: 26 Clinton St, New York
Alice's Tea Cup is New York City's most whimsical tea house, founded in 2001. This restaurant provides an unparalleled magical experience for the guests, with no shortage of scones, tea sandwiches, and hundreds of teas.
Their menu features freshly baked scones served with clotted cream and other various delectable treats. It is also perfect for kids to get introduced to the world of tea and treats.
Location: 102 W 73rd St, New York
Virgil's Real Barbecue is the perfect spot to get the southern home-style cooking in the Big Apple. With its friendly atmosphere, it has become a gathering place with warm service and exceptional barbecued ribs, chicken, brisket, and pork.
Their vast menu also highlights other comfort food favorites and varied regional cuisines that complement the famous smoked meats. You can also enjoy Mexican dishes, to create an Cajun classics.
Location: 152 W 44th St, New York City
Bubby's is a weekend brunch hot spot serving homestyle American dishes with many locally sourced ingredients. It wants people to know where their food comes from, who grew it, and what is good about it.
More than burgers and pie, it also serves Chinese, Mexican, and Southern cuisine. They have been cooking and baking in a way that is thoughtful, healthy, and delicious for 32 years.
Location: 120 Hudson St, New York
This restaurant showcases its Western theme delighting parents and kids alike for decades with its Southern and Southwestern food. They have also a small toy store implanted in the front of the restaurant and good strong drinks for the parents.
You can begin your meal with their famous black-eyed pea dip and then progress to Frito pie, chicken-fried steak, or barbecued ribs. Also, they offer you an icecream that looks like a baked potato for dessert.
Location: 519 Hudson Street, NYC 10014
Cecchi's is a modern bar and grill renowned for its curated environment that captures the atmosphere, vibrancy, and hospitality of the city's quintessential restaurants.
Walking through the door, they welcome you into a beautifully lit, warm, and inviting environment. Also, this restaurant is accommodating for families, offering crayons and paper, mainly catering to kids. Dishes like burgers, mac and cheese with bacon, and other items are also present which kids like.
Location: 105 W 13th St, New York
This is among the country's largest pizzerias and a perfect budget-friendly place for small and large groups to enjoy New York's thin-crust, brick-oven pizza.
The pies here cook in just a minute or two and are whisked to the table. You can have thin pizza crusts, the tomato sauce plain, and toppings, which is not overly profuse. This place has a coal-oven pizzeria, filled with wooden booths and murals of Naples.
Location: 278 Bleecker St, New York
This restaurant has been around since 1950, featuring outdoor dining during the summer, a full-service bar, and a beautiful dining room. Their extensive menu features most Brooklyn specialties and sophisticated salads and entrees.
They have a bakery with a full selection of coffee drinks cakes and pastries as well. It also offers barbecued pork ribs, Philly cheesesteaks, fried calamari, avocado toasts, and all-day breakfasts.
Location: 386 Flatbush Ave Ext, Brooklyn
The Cheesecake Factory offers something for everyone featuring over 200 menu varieties prepared fresh to order each day and 30 legendary finest cheesecake varieties.
They are all freshly prepared from scratch, to order, every day. All of their appetizers are perfect for sharing. You can also have roadside sliders, bite-sized burgers on mini-buns, served with grilled onions, pickles, and ketchup.
Location: 90-15 Queens Blvd Space #1073, Elmhurst,
Harlem Shake is a fast-casual restaurant that serves burgers, shakes, and fries. This place first opened in 2013.
It specializes in heavily seared smash burgers, with dressed fries, chicken sandwiches, and hot dogs. The menu highlights include Harlem Shake's Hot Mess Burger, signature red velvet shake, Dardra's Truffle Fries, and Mama's Fried Chicken Sandwich.
Location: 100 W 124th Street On the Corner of Lenox Avenue
This burger joint from burger historian George Motz offers carefully researched burgers, egg creams, french fries, egg salad sandwiches, pies, and cookies. For little kids, there are PBJs; for their parents, beer.
With a nostalgic and authentic vibe, this place is renowned for its perfect burgers, crafted by a burger scholar and served in a cozy and inviting atmosphere.
Location: 51 MacDougal Street, New York
Carmine offers exceptional value to its guests through several Southern Italian cuisines. They aim to bring guests abundant portions and make any meal like an Italian American wedding feast.
The menu includes pasta, decadent seafood or meat entrees, and of course homemade desserts for sharing among friends and family.
Location: 200 W 44th St. Times Square
Max Brenner Chocolate Bar is a chocolate-themed restaurant known for its emphasis on all things chocolate and a menu with a wide variety of sweet treats.
The menu ranges from chocolate-inspired dishes and desserts, decadent hot chocolates, to chocolate fondues, waffles, crepes, and chocolate pizzas. It also serves savory dishes. It's a great place for kids and has a kids' menu with smaller portions.
