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A burger and fries on a diner table. — A burger from Old John’s Luncheonette.

The Most Kid-Friendly Restaurants in NYC

Dining out with babies, toddlers, kids, and even tweens can actually be enjoyable

by Eater Staff Updated Jul 24, 2024, 3:26pm EDT

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A burger from Old John’s Luncheonette.

| Molly Tavoletti/Eater NY

by Eater Staff Updated Jul 24, 2024, 3:26pm EDT

Dining out with kids doesn’t have to feel like a chore when a restaurant ticks off all the right boxes: high chairs and booster seats (call ahead for availability), a set of crayons, a menu with options for picky eaters, and perhaps even space to run around. It’s also a lot more pleasurable when an establishment actually welcomes babies, toddlers, kids, and even tweens. When dining out with children, it’s a chance to not only share a meal but it can be an educational experience as well — it all depends on choosing the right restaurant for diners of all ages.

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Dinosaur Bar-B-Que

This sprawling barbecue with plenty of parking in the vicinity serves some of the city’s better smoked meats, spanning a pan-regional selection of styles. Since its founding in 2004, the menu has only gotten longer, adding sliders, banh mi, bowls, po’ boys, cheesesteak sandwiches, grilled salmon, and many other lures for kids and adults. Sides are particularly noteworthy, including good baked beans, great mac and cheese, and Syracuse salt potatoes, a nod to Dinosaur’s upstate New York hometown.

700 W 125th St, New York, NY 10027

Visit Website

Planks of meat on a seeded bun with grass on the ground below it. — Brisket sandwich at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que.

Also featured in:

Harlem Shake

Done up like a rockin’ ‘50s diner with lots of chrome, twirling stools, and a turquoise color scheme, Harlem Shake specializes in heavily seared smash burgers, along with dressed fries, chicken sandwiches, and hot dogs. Soft serve ice cream is a secondary focus, with shakes topped with whipped cream and root beer floats. For parents, there are beers and pitchers of mimosas.

100 W 124th St, New York, NY 10027

Visit Website

Three plates on a black tray. — Harlem classic burger, fries, and Snoop Dog, with cheese and chili.

Also featured in:

Good Enough To Eat

This Upper West Side staple has been feeding families since 1981, with an emphasis on salads, sandwiches, chili and the like, and with special attention paid to breakfasts ranging from Austin-style migas to eggs Florentine. There’s a build-a-burger option that runs to dozens of choices, and an opportunity to order thick shakes alongside. No mystery why so many families with small children dine here. Dinner features a bargain prix-fixe menu of four courses.

520 Columbus Ave, New York, NY 10024

Visit Website

A nighttime view of a restaurant with the front open and a few diners sitting at tables. — Good Enough to Eat on the Upper West Side.

Also featured in:

12 Perfect Pancakes in New York City

Parm Upper West Side

This accessible Italian American restaurant (with several locations) offers comfort food familiarity in a casual dining room. It’s a good place to grab a minute of peace and collect yourself while kids enjoy the make your own sammy or make your own pasta options on the kids menu.

Open in Google Maps

235 Columbus Ave, New York, NY 10023

Visit Website

Old John's Luncheonette

Diners are great for kids and this one was recently spruced up and made to look more retro-modern; about 50 percent of the menu remains traditional, while the other half incorporates dishes that would be natural to a diner menu if the diner as an institution were invented today, including breakfasts like avocado toast, huevos rancheros, and Italian frittatas.

Open in Google Maps

148 W 67th St, New York, NY 10023

Visit Website

The dining area of Old John’s Luncheonette. — Old John’s Luncheonette.

Also featured in:

Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao

Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao, Flushing’s resident soup dumpling experts, has become something of a mini-chain, but that doesn’t make it any less fun. The menu lists several types of soup dumplings, including their signature pork-and-shrimp versions, as well as a deluxe version with “watercolor swirl skins” with specialty ingredients.

Open in Google Maps

39-16 Prince St #104, Queens, NY 11354

Visit Website

Rainbow skinned dumplings in a bamboo steamer. — Soup dumplings from Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao.

Also featured in:

Konban

Konban, a Japanese restaurant based in Seoul, opened in Manhattan at the end of the year, offering tonkatsu, fried pork cutlets that are marinated, dried, breaded, and deep-fried. The subterranean space has lots of high chairs, a kid-friendly menu, children’s utensils, and fast service.

Open in Google Maps

311 West 17th Street, New York, New York 10011

Visit Website

A hand picks up a piece of fried pork with chopsticks.

Cecchi's

Cecchi’s is named after owner and longtime maître d’, Michael Cecchi-Azzolina — who has noted the front-of-the-house gig is a “lost art form.” In the position at various restaurants for over 35 years, he worked at River Cafe, Raoul’s, Minetta Tavern, and Le Coucou. He also wrote the restaurant-service chronicle, Your Table Is Ready. As such, the restaurant is extremely accommodating for families, sporting high chairs, offering crayons and paper, and generally catering to kids. Yes, there are burgers, mac and cheese with bacon, and other items kids might like.

Open in Google Maps

105 West 13th Street, Manhattan, NY 10011

Visit Website

A burger smothered in American cheese on a brioche bun in the foreground.

Also featured in:

15 Great Places to Eat in Greenwich Village

Cowgirl

This Western-themed honky-tonk has been delighting parents and kids alike for decades with its Southern and Southwestern food, and its exhibit of ranch and cowgirl memorabilia. There’s even a small toy store implanted in the front of the restaurant, and good strong drinks for the parents. Begin with the famous black-eyed-pea dip, and then progress to a Frito pie, chicken-fried steak, or the excellent barbecued ribs. For dessert, there’s an ice cream made to look like a baked potato.

519 Hudson St, New York, NY 10014

Visit Website

A breaded cutlet smothered in gravy. — Chicken fried steak at Cowgirl Hall of Fame.

Also featured in:

30 Snappy, Standout Hot Dogs Around NYC

John's of Bleecker St.

What kid doesn’t love pizza? Or for that matter, what adult? This venerable coal-oven pizzeria, filled with wooden booths and murals of Naples, has been entertaining families for a century. The pies cook in just a minute or two and are whisked to the table. While you wait, there’s a rudimentary salad dressed with olive oil and red wine vinegar. The pizza crusts are thin, the tomato sauce plain, and toppings not overly profuse. This place offers some of the best New York-style pies in the city.

278 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10014

Visit Website

A dining room with murals on opposite walls and a round pizza on every table — or two. — The interior of John’s is rollicking and picturesque.

Also featured in:

Hamburger America

This new luncheonette burger destination from burger historian George Motz offers some carefully researched burgers, egg creams, french fries, egg salad sandwiches, pie, and cookies. For the little kids, there are PBJs; for their parents, beer. This is a fun spot for the whole family.

51 MacDougal St, New York, NY 10012

Visit Website

People sitting at yellow stools along a counter.

Also featured in:

Morgenstern’s Finest Ice Cream

With its vast range of flavors, Morgenstern’s provides picky kids with more choices than they know what to do with, including entire rosters of vanillas and chocolates, and flavors featuring candy and nuts implanted in the ice cream. As of late there are also great smash burgers and fries, so that it’s possible to eat your entire family meal here at mainly outdoor tables.

88 W Houston St, New York, NY 10012

Visit Website

A white room with glass ice cream cases. — The gleaming white interior of Morgenstern’s and list of flavors.

Also featured in:

16 Essential Ice Cream Shops in New York City

Juliana's

This successor to next-door Grimaldi’s (still open, but not as good as it once was) keeps up the faith where coal-fired ovens are concerned, baking the pies to within an inch of their lives in a couple of minutes. Pizza is something both kids and their parents can agree on, the Juliana’s are real gourmet pies, the equal of any in Brooklyn, the pizza capital of the world. Fennel sausage and onion pies are a favorite.

Open in Google Maps

19 Old Fulton St, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Visit Website

A round pie splashed with tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella in swatches, with additional skin on swatches of eggplant. — The eggplant pie is another good choice.

Also featured in:

Junior's Restaurant & Bakery

This Brooklyn landmark — convenient to the Manhattan Bridge, BQE, and a slew of subways — has been around since 1950. It started life as a Jewish deli, but over the years, it extended its menu to better reflect Brooklyn’s population. Besides matzo ball soup, latkes, and a range of reubens (one with turkey), it also offers barbecued pork ribs, Philly cheesesteaks, fried calamari, avocado toasts — and all-day breakfasts. Pro tip: Save room for the cheesecake.

Open in Google Maps

386 Flatbush Ave Ext, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Visit Website

A wedge-shaped building garishly let, with a small group of people in the pointy vestibule. — Junior’s, open from 7 a.m. in the morning till late into the night.

Cafe Spaghetti

Down by the old container port in what is now delicately called the Columbia Waterfront District, Cafe Spaghetti appeared this past summer with great fanfare. The menu offered Italian-American dishes only slightly updated, with plenty of pastas and a wine list that leans natural. More important is the giant fenced backyard with its shaded tables and an ornamental scooter that kids love to climb on.

126 Union St, Brooklyn, NY 11231

Visit Website

Three pasta dishes blanketed in red and white sauces are arranged on a plate. — Who doesn’t love old-fashioned pasta?

Also featured in:

Brooklyn Farmacy & Soda Fountain

There’s tons for kids to ogle when they enter Brooklyn Farmacy & Soda Fountain, a longtime favorite carved from a former pharmacy that dates to a century ago, featuring milkshakes, sundaes, sandwiches, pastries, and homemade sodas. A display of tin wind-up toys makes this child-friendly place feel like museum, and watching the soda jerks making milkshakes and floats is an education in itself.

513 Henry St, Brooklyn, NY 11231

Visit Website

A hot dog flops out of the bun on both ends, plus a foamy root beer float. — A root beer float, with the root beer made while you watch, plus a fully dressed footlong makes a nice kids’ meal.

Also featured in:

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Dinosaur Bar-B-Que

700 W 125th St, New York, NY 10027

This sprawling barbecue with plenty of parking in the vicinity serves some of the city’s better smoked meats, spanning a pan-regional selection of styles. Since its founding in 2004, the menu has only gotten longer, adding sliders, banh mi, bowls, po’ boys, cheesesteak sandwiches, grilled salmon, and many other lures for kids and adults. Sides are particularly noteworthy, including good baked beans, great mac and cheese, and Syracuse salt potatoes, a nod to Dinosaur’s upstate New York hometown.

700 W 125th St, New York, NY 10027

Visit Website

Planks of meat on a seeded bun with grass on the ground below it. — Brisket sandwich at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que.

Harlem Shake

100 W 124th St, New York, NY 10027

Done up like a rockin’ ‘50s diner with lots of chrome, twirling stools, and a turquoise color scheme, Harlem Shake specializes in heavily seared smash burgers, along with dressed fries, chicken sandwiches, and hot dogs. Soft serve ice cream is a secondary focus, with shakes topped with whipped cream and root beer floats. For parents, there are beers and pitchers of mimosas.

100 W 124th St, New York, NY 10027

Visit Website

Three plates on a black tray. — Harlem classic burger, fries, and Snoop Dog, with cheese and chili.

Good Enough To Eat

520 Columbus Ave, New York, NY 10024

This Upper West Side staple has been feeding families since 1981, with an emphasis on salads, sandwiches, chili and the like, and with special attention paid to breakfasts ranging from Austin-style migas to eggs Florentine. There’s a build-a-burger option that runs to dozens of choices, and an opportunity to order thick shakes alongside. No mystery why so many families with small children dine here. Dinner features a bargain prix-fixe menu of four courses.

520 Columbus Ave, New York, NY 10024

Visit Website

A nighttime view of a restaurant with the front open and a few diners sitting at tables. — Good Enough to Eat on the Upper West Side.

Parm Upper West Side

235 Columbus Ave, New York, NY 10023

This accessible Italian American restaurant (with several locations) offers comfort food familiarity in a casual dining room. It’s a good place to grab a minute of peace and collect yourself while kids enjoy the make your own sammy or make your own pasta options on the kids menu.

Open in Google Maps

235 Columbus Ave, New York, NY 10023

Visit Website

Old John's Luncheonette

148 W 67th St, New York, NY 10023

Diners are great for kids and this one was recently spruced up and made to look more retro-modern; about 50 percent of the menu remains traditional, while the other half incorporates dishes that would be natural to a diner menu if the diner as an institution were invented today, including breakfasts like avocado toast, huevos rancheros, and Italian frittatas.

Open in Google Maps

148 W 67th St, New York, NY 10023

Visit Website

The dining area of Old John’s Luncheonette. — Old John’s Luncheonette.

Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao

39-16 Prince St #104, Queens, NY 11354

Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao, Flushing’s resident soup dumpling experts, has become something of a mini-chain, but that doesn’t make it any less fun. The menu lists several types of soup dumplings, including their signature pork-and-shrimp versions, as well as a deluxe version with “watercolor swirl skins” with specialty ingredients.

Open in Google Maps

39-16 Prince St #104, Queens, NY 11354

Visit Website

Rainbow skinned dumplings in a bamboo steamer. — Soup dumplings from Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao.

Konban

311 West 17th Street, New York, New York 10011

Konban, a Japanese restaurant based in Seoul, opened in Manhattan at the end of the year, offering tonkatsu, fried pork cutlets that are marinated, dried, breaded, and deep-fried. The subterranean space has lots of high chairs, a kid-friendly menu, children’s utensils, and fast service.

Open in Google Maps

311 West 17th Street, New York, New York 10011

Visit Website

A hand picks up a piece of fried pork with chopsticks.

Cecchi's

105 West 13th Street, Manhattan, NY 10011

Cecchi’s is named after owner and longtime maître d’, Michael Cecchi-Azzolina — who has noted the front-of-the-house gig is a “lost art form.” In the position at various restaurants for over 35 years, he worked at River Cafe, Raoul’s, Minetta Tavern, and Le Coucou. He also wrote the restaurant-service chronicle, Your Table Is Ready. As such, the restaurant is extremely accommodating for families, sporting high chairs, offering crayons and paper, and generally catering to kids. Yes, there are burgers, mac and cheese with bacon, and other items kids might like.

Open in Google Maps

105 West 13th Street, Manhattan, NY 10011

Visit Website

A burger smothered in American cheese on a brioche bun in the foreground.

Cowgirl

519 Hudson St, New York, NY 10014

This Western-themed honky-tonk has been delighting parents and kids alike for decades with its Southern and Southwestern food, and its exhibit of ranch and cowgirl memorabilia. There’s even a small toy store implanted in the front of the restaurant, and good strong drinks for the parents. Begin with the famous black-eyed-pea dip, and then progress to a Frito pie, chicken-fried steak, or the excellent barbecued ribs. For dessert, there’s an ice cream made to look like a baked potato.

519 Hudson St, New York, NY 10014

Visit Website

A breaded cutlet smothered in gravy. — Chicken fried steak at Cowgirl Hall of Fame.

John's of Bleecker St.

278 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10014

What kid doesn’t love pizza? Or for that matter, what adult? This venerable coal-oven pizzeria, filled with wooden booths and murals of Naples, has been entertaining families for a century. The pies cook in just a minute or two and are whisked to the table. While you wait, there’s a rudimentary salad dressed with olive oil and red wine vinegar. The pizza crusts are thin, the tomato sauce plain, and toppings not overly profuse. This place offers some of the best New York-style pies in the city.

278 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10014

Visit Website

A dining room with murals on opposite walls and a round pizza on every table — or two. — The interior of John’s is rollicking and picturesque.

Hamburger America

51 MacDougal St, New York, NY 10012

This new luncheonette burger destination from burger historian George Motz offers some carefully researched burgers, egg creams, french fries, egg salad sandwiches, pie, and cookies. For the little kids, there are PBJs; for their parents, beer. This is a fun spot for the whole family.

51 MacDougal St, New York, NY 10012

Visit Website

People sitting at yellow stools along a counter.

Morgenstern’s Finest Ice Cream

88 W Houston St, New York, NY 10012

With its vast range of flavors, Morgenstern’s provides picky kids with more choices than they know what to do with, including entire rosters of vanillas and chocolates, and flavors featuring candy and nuts implanted in the ice cream. As of late there are also great smash burgers and fries, so that it’s possible to eat your entire family meal here at mainly outdoor tables.

88 W Houston St, New York, NY 10012

Visit Website

A white room with glass ice cream cases. — The gleaming white interior of Morgenstern’s and list of flavors.

Juliana's

19 Old Fulton St, Brooklyn, NY 11201

This successor to next-door Grimaldi’s (still open, but not as good as it once was) keeps up the faith where coal-fired ovens are concerned, baking the pies to within an inch of their lives in a couple of minutes. Pizza is something both kids and their parents can agree on, the Juliana’s are real gourmet pies, the equal of any in Brooklyn, the pizza capital of the world. Fennel sausage and onion pies are a favorite.

Open in Google Maps

19 Old Fulton St, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Visit Website

A round pie splashed with tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella in swatches, with additional skin on swatches of eggplant. — The eggplant pie is another good choice.

Junior's Restaurant & Bakery

386 Flatbush Ave Ext, Brooklyn, NY 11201

This Brooklyn landmark — convenient to the Manhattan Bridge, BQE, and a slew of subways — has been around since 1950. It started life as a Jewish deli, but over the years, it extended its menu to better reflect Brooklyn’s population. Besides matzo ball soup, latkes, and a range of reubens (one with turkey), it also offers barbecued pork ribs, Philly cheesesteaks, fried calamari, avocado toasts — and all-day breakfasts. Pro tip: Save room for the cheesecake.

Open in Google Maps

386 Flatbush Ave Ext, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Visit Website

A wedge-shaped building garishly let, with a small group of people in the pointy vestibule. — Junior’s, open from 7 a.m. in the morning till late into the night.

Cafe Spaghetti

126 Union St, Brooklyn, NY 11231

Down by the old container port in what is now delicately called the Columbia Waterfront District, Cafe Spaghetti appeared this past summer with great fanfare. The menu offered Italian-American dishes only slightly updated, with plenty of pastas and a wine list that leans natural. More important is the giant fenced backyard with its shaded tables and an ornamental scooter that kids love to climb on.

126 Union St, Brooklyn, NY 11231

Visit Website

Three pasta dishes blanketed in red and white sauces are arranged on a plate. — Who doesn’t love old-fashioned pasta?

Related Maps

Brooklyn Farmacy & Soda Fountain

513 Henry St, Brooklyn, NY 11231

There’s tons for kids to ogle when they enter Brooklyn Farmacy & Soda Fountain, a longtime favorite carved from a former pharmacy that dates to a century ago, featuring milkshakes, sundaes, sandwiches, pastries, and homemade sodas. A display of tin wind-up toys makes this child-friendly place feel like museum, and watching the soda jerks making milkshakes and floats is an education in itself.

513 Henry St, Brooklyn, NY 11231

Visit Website

A hot dog flops out of the bun on both ends, plus a foamy root beer float. — A root beer float, with the root beer made while you watch, plus a fully dressed footlong makes a nice kids’ meal.

Related Maps