A real list. Tested by two kids, and two parents who love good food and are willing to travel across Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens.
This is not a list of family restaurants in NYC in the way that phrase usually means. No soft-play corners, no laminated kids’ menus with chicken fingers and a cup of apple juice. These are the places we love, where the food makes us happy, where our kids eat real food alongside us and don’t complain, because they are happy.
Our Favorite Family Restaurants Across NYC
Let’s start with our neighborhood.
Our Fort Greene/ Clinton Hill Go-Tos
These are the places within walking distance of home.
- La Bicyclette French Bakery. 136 DeKalb Ave, Fort Greene.
Tues through Sun, 8am to 1pm only. We love the sandwiches here. Ham, cheese, and butter in a perfect baguette. Very French, very delicious.
- Dino Italian. 222 DeKalb Ave, Fort Greene.
I lost count of how many times we have eaten here. The spaghetti al limone is perfect. The back patio is easy and cute.
- Evelina Mediterranean/Italian. 211 DeKalb Ave, Fort Greene.
Wood-fired dishes and handmade pasta right at the edge of Fort Greene Park. The kind of place you end up at constantly without quite planning to.
- Doza Royale South Indian. 65 Lafayette between Fulton & S. Elliot Fort Greene/Clinton Hill.
Dosas, uttapam, and sambar. Vegetarian and genuinely delicious. The kids love it.
- Chef Katsu Japanese. 143 Greene Ave, Clinton Hill.
We love this place. Katsu burgers, rice bowls, lots of big flavors. The yuzu mint lemonade is particularly good.
- Impasto Roman-Style Pizza. 373 Waverly Ave, Clinton Hill.
We get tons of different squares to try them all. Roman pizza sold by weight, soft-serve gelato to finish. Point at what you want, they cut it.
- Colonia Verde Latin American. 219 Dekalb Ave. Fort Greene.
This one is for the parents. The grilled food is out of this world. The back courtyard is beautiful, cocktails are worth the babysitter. We go without the kids.
The Playful Ones
These are the places where dinner becomes a whole afternoon. Kids are moving, parents are eating, everyone leaves happy.
- Brooklyn Crab Seafood + Games. Red Hook, Brooklyn.
Mini golf, a sandpit, cornhole, rooftop views of the Statue of Liberty, and Maryland-style crab. Plan around it.
- Brooklyn Bowl Bowling + Food. Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Family Bowl on weekends: free entry, Blue Ribbon fried chicken, live music. Saturday noon to 5pm, Sunday noon to 6pm.
The Most Photogenic Ones
These are the ones that give you the coolest pictures.
- Lexington Candy Shop Soda Fountain + Diner. Upper East Side, Manhattan.
Open since 1925, cash only. They still make Coca-Cola from fountain syrup. The egg creams are legendary and the booths are original.
- Brooklyn Farmacy & Soda Fountain Ice Cream + Soda Fountain. Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn.
A restored 1920s apothecary with original tin ceilings, spinning counter stools, and egg creams made the old way. Won the 2025 National Egg Cream Invitational.
Family Friendly Restaurants by Cuisine
Our picks organized by what we’re craving, across Brooklyn, Manhattan, and beyond.
Lebanese
- Sawa Park Slope, Brooklyn.
Warm Lebanese food in Park Slope, baby-friendly, mezze-forward.
- El Cedro Lebanese-Mexican Fusion. Cobble Hill, Brooklyn.
Two cuisines that have no business being this good together. Lively, unfussy, great for kids.
- Manousheh Grand Lebanese Flatbreads. Lower East Side + Greenwich Village, Manhattan.
Fresh manaeesh from a brick oven: za’atar, cheese, thyme. Our kids eat these the way other kids eat pizza. The Nutella one is dessert.
Spanish Tapas
- Boqueria Times Square + UES + SoHo, Manhattan.
Kids menu, paella, classic tapas. The closest thing to eating in Spain that Manhattan offers.
Italian
- Piccoli Trattoria Italian-Argentinian. Park Slope, Brooklyn.
Handmade pasta, an unexpected Italian-Argentinian menu, a small warm room.
- Da Andrea Northern Italian. West Village, Manhattan.
Handmade northern Italian pasta, quiet by Manhattan standards. We go here when we want to feel like adults.
- Eataly Italian Market + Food Hall. Flatiron, Manhattan.
Fresh pasta, pizza, gelato, and a grocery under one roof. We actually love this place. It’s a whole afternoon.
Chinatown Noodles
- Xi’an Famous Foods Hand-Pulled Noodles. Multiple locations.
Spicy cumin lamb noodles, cold skin noodles, bold flavors. Our kids eat every bite.
- Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles 1 Doyers St, Chinatown, Manhattan.
On the beautiful curved bend of Doyers Street. Noodles pulled by hand in front of you, deep broths. One of our favorite spots in the whole city.
Ethiopian
- Haile Ethiopian Cuisine East Village, Manhattan.
Spongy injera, shared platters of spiced meats and lentils, eating with your hands. Kids take to this immediately.
- Bunna Cafe Ethiopian Vegan. Bushwick, Brooklyn.
Exceptional vegan Ethiopian food—spiced lentils, garlicky collards, berbere-kissed vegetables—plus a free coffee ceremony Friday through Sunday evenings at 5pm.
Japanese
- Blue Ribbon Sushi SoHo, Manhattan.
Good sushi that works for kids and feels like a real meal for parents.
- Katsu-Hama Midtown East, Manhattan.
Perfectly breaded pork katsu, Japanese curry, rice. The kids eat enormous portions and sit quietly.
Mexican
- Los Tacos No. 1 Chelsea Market, Manhattan.
My personal favorite. Al pastor and adobada straight off the trompo. Standing-room, loud, and worth every second.
- Tacos Matamoros Sunset Park, Brooklyn.
Deep in Sunset Park, the real thing. Weekend barbacoa, fresh tortillas, always al pastor.
Colombian
- Arepa Lady Jackson Heights, Queens. Also Astoria and Downtown Brooklyn.
Maria Piedad Cano has been making arepas de queso in New York since the 1980s. Crispy outside, soft inside, white cheese that pulls apart. Our kids ask for these by name.
Indian
- Curry in a Hurry Curry Hill, Manhattan.
Fast, real, filling Indian food in one of Manhattan’s most underrated eating corridors.
- Chote Nawab Curry Hill, Manhattan.
Slow-cooked North Indian dishes and biryanis. A step up from the quick counters on the same block.
Southern and Soul Food
- Cheryl’s Global Soul Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.
Gumbo, shrimp and grits, crawfish omelets, and weekday morning sing-alongs with kids’ entertainers. You eat a hot meal. They’re occupied. Everyone wins.
When We Feel Adventurous
These require more logistics to get to. The kids know they’re going somewhere different. That’s part of the experience.
- Caracas Arepa Bar – Venezuelan food, The Rockaways, Queens.
Summer only. At the end of the A train, by the beach. We come here for arepas and tequeños, and stay all Sunday afternoon dancing with the kids to the best DJs.
- Astoria Seafood – Greek food, Astoria, Queens.
A fish market and restaurant in one. You pick your fish from the case, they grill it right there. We celebrated one of my birthdays here. It was perfect.
One More Thing
If you’re a family visiting New York, or a New York family who wants to remember what this city tastes like, I hope this list is useful. These are real places. We eat at them. Our kids eat at them.
And if you want to photograph your family doing exactly this, eating at the counter at a noodle shop in Chinatown, or spinning on a stool at a 1925 soda fountain, or sharing injera at a wooden table in Bushwick, that’s what we do.
We photograph your family at full volume.
