Family-friendly NYC Restaurants by Area
While planning our NYC Family Vacation, I was a bit stumped by all of the different areas and how to get to all of the restaurants on my NYC bucket list. After spending way too much time figuring all of it out, I wanted to share with you the fruit of my labour: 50+ Family Friendly NYC Restaurants organized by area – so you can narrow down what to eat, where!
Where to Eat in NYC with Kids
Being in a big city with kids can be unpredictable and difficult, so I’ve set out to try to make your NYC travel plans a little easier.
Whether you are just in the planning stages and looking for solid family & foodie-friendly recommendations, or you’re actually in NYC right now and stumped where to bring the kids for lunch – we’ve got you covered.
This is the first of two Family-friendly NYC Restaurant Posts. The next will contain detailed descriptions about each restaurant, including pictures of some of the dishes that we ordered at each. (I thought it would be information overload to include both in the same piece.)
I also have to highly recommend checking out a local food tour if your kids are seasoned travellers – we tried Food Tours of NY which was super family-friendly. It incorporated equal parts history, tastings, and sight-seeing. Plus, you work off a bit of the food as you eat it! It wasn’t a ton of walking, but you also don’t want to hold up the tour if your children are likely to run off or whine about moving on the next location.
Trying to understand NYC’s neighbourhoods and their distinctions can be super complicated, so be sure to look at the NYC Restaurants Google Map that I made for all of these locations and make a copy for your own use. (Make sure you’re signed in with your Google account to access.)
Several of the restaurants I recommend have multiple locations throughout the city, so I’ve included all of them (as of this writing). I’ve linked the first instance and noted beside it what kind of food it offers and how many locations throughout New York and Brooklyn it has. (I’ve also indicated which restaurants offer delivery – sometimes through a third party.)
I’ve also included several restaurants that came highly recommended to me by two or more foodie friends and I checked the menus to ensure there were offerings my foodie daughter would enjoy. (Because as much as our kids can be “foodies” there are some things that are just not going to go over as well, and you also don’t want to spend a fortune on a meal your kid won’t eat.)
Please add any recommendations you might have in the comments below!
Where to Eat with Kids in Brooklyn
Shake Shack (burgers, 26 locations) *delivers
The Bagel Store (breakfast, 2 locations)
Ignazio’s (pizza) *delivers
Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory (ice cream, 2 locations)
River Cafe (gourmet – with kids, go for lunch or brunch)
Mister Dips (Burgers and ice cream)
Ample Hills Creamery (Ice cream, 5 locations plus 2 seasonal)
The Meatball Shop (Subs and salads, 6 locations) *delivers
Doughnut Plant (doughnuts, 3 locations) *delivers
Wafles & Dinges (7 locations and truck) *delivers
10 Below Ice Cream (4 locations)
Emack & Bolio’s (Ice Cream, 3 locations)
Russ & Daughters (Deli, 4 locations) *delivers
Where to Eat in Greenwich Village
Takashi (Japanese yakinuki)
Big Gay Ice Cream (ice cream, 3 locations)
Mimi (French)
Shake Shack *delivers
Where to Eat with Kids in the Upper West Side/Lincoln Square/NoMad
Alice’s Tea Cup (3 locations)
Cafe Lalo (French Patisserie) *delivers
Papaya King (hot dogs, 2 locations)
Lexington Candy Shop & Luncheonette (traditional diner fare)
Shake Shack *delivers
The Smith (4 locations) *delivers
Levian Bakery (3 locations)
Wafels & Dinges *delivers
Bagels & Co. (Breakfast, Deli & Pizza, 2 locations) *delivers
Sarabeth’s
Where to Eat with Kids in Hell’s Kitchen/Clinton
Friedman’s (5 locations) *delivers
Larb Ubol (Thai)
Mercato (Italian)
Rustic Table (Breakfast, Sandwiches & Salads) *delivers
Tabata Noodle (ramen) *delivers
Dizengoff (Israeli)
Ample Hill’s Creamery
The Meatball Shop *delivers
Shake Shack *delivers
Where to Eat with Kids in the Upper East Side
Magnolia (dessert, 6 locations)
The Meatball Shop *delivers
Sarabeth’s
Sprinkles * deliver
Emack & Bolio’s
Bagels & Co. *delivers
Russ & Daughters *delivers
Shake Shack *delivers
Where to Eat with Kids in Soho and Tribeca
Osteria Morini (Italian) *delivers
Dominique Ansel Bakery (Cafe)
Maman (Cafe, 5 locations plus Greenpoint)
Bubby’s (Breakfast, Lunch and Pie, 2 locations) *delivers
Wafels & Dinges *delivers
Shake Shack *delivers
Sarabeth’s
Where to Eat with Kids in Midtown NYC
Sarabeth’s (7 locations) *delivers
Black Tap (Burgers and Shakes, 4 locations) *delivers
Her Name is Han (Korean)
Made Nice (casual gourmet) *delivers
Momofuku Ma Peche
Momofuku Fuku+
The Smith *delivers
Wafels & Dinges *deliversShake Shack *delivers
Where to Eat with Kids in the Flatiron District
Eataly (Italian, 2 locations)
Shake Shack *delivers
Where to Eat with Kids in the Theatre District
Becco (Italian)
Friedman’s *delivers
Shake Shack *delivers
Where to Eat with Kids in East Village/South Street Seaport
Momofuku Noodle Bar (Korean, 7 different locations)
Momofuku Ssam Bar
Momofuku Fuku
Big Gay Ice Cream (1 in East Village, 1 is South Street Seaport)
The Smith *delivers
Wafels & Dinges *delivers
10 Below Ice Cream
Russ & Daughters *delivers
Shake Shack *delivers
Where to Eat with Kids in Chelsea/Meatpacking District/Highline
Chelsea Market – so many good options here, check out Cappone’s, Creamline, Tuck Shop, Green Table
High Street on Hudson *delivers
Doughnut Plant *delivers
Friedman’s *delivers
Shake Shack *delivers
Ample Hill’s Creamery
The Meatball Shop *delivers
Bubby’s *delivers
Momofuku Nishi
Sprinkles * deliver
Where to Eat with Kids in Harlem (NYC)
Friedman’s *delivers
Levian’s Bakery
Sprinkles * deliver
Shake Shack *delivers
Where to Eat with Kids in Union Square
Max Brenner (Chocolate emporium) *delivers
Maialino (Italian) *delivers
The Bagel Store
Shake Shack *delivers
Where to Eat with Kids in Herald Square
Friedman’s *delivers
Shake Shack *delivers
Lower East Side
The Meatball Shop *delivers
Doughnut Plant *delivers
10 Below Ice Cream
Russ & Daughters *delivers
Shake Shack *delivers
West Village
The Meatball Shop *delivers
Shake Shack *delivers
Nolita
Momofuku Ko
Shake Shack *delivers
Noho
Space Market (to-go breakfast) *delivers
Baohaus (Taiwanese sandwiches) *delivers
Downtown
Sprinkles * delivers
Shake Shack *delivers
WHEW! Be sure to pin this collection of Family-friendly NYC Restaurants by Area, and please let me know if you try any of these out – or if you have another suggestion for readers!
For more awesome NYC Family Vacation Planning Ideas, please check out our Self-Guided NYC Ice Cream Tour or our 100 Things to do in NYC with Kids.
