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2019 North America/Michelin, seanadair/Instagram, briancantstopeating/Instagram, eatmenyc/Instagram, Handcrafted Japanese Soba/Sobaya, Soba and Donburi/Sobaya, Evan Sung/Speedy Romeo, Evan Sung /Speedy Romeo, Al Badawi, Al Badawi
Best Restaurants to Take the Kids
5 Restaurants
This may sound counterintuitive but one of the most pleasant experiences you can have as a parent is dining out with your children—if you pick the right spot. We’re not talking about restaurants that serve coloring books with their chicken fingers or places where they offer nine varieties of grilled cheese. These are restaurants where the children can expand their palates (but remain within their comfort zone) while the parents can indulge in grown-up conversations and a glass of wine.
Located in a former garage parts building in Brooklyn’s Clinton Hill neighborhood, Speedy Romeo serves kid-friendly fare like pizza, burgers, and chicken parmesan, but prepared with foodie parents in mind. For chef and owner Justin Bazdarich, who worked for chef Jean-Georges for over a decade, that means wood-fired pies like the Truffle Shuffle, a soppressata and pepperoni pizza topped with truffle sauce, and The Dangerfield, a rich combination of pork meatballs, béchamel sauce, and ricotta. The food is ambitious, but the casual atmosphere makes it fun for the entire clan.
Ivan Ramen, the brainchild of Ivan Orkin, Long Island-born Japanophile who opened his first noodle shops in Tokyo, hits all the right notes when it comes to family dining. Kids will love to slurp down a bowl of noodles swimming in the signature tangy, salty broth. It’s a great opportunity for children to learn to operate chopsticks while parents will appreciate all the big flavor found in dishes like triple pork garlic mazemen and spicy red chile ramen.
Mile End, a Jewish deli from Montreal, offers the usual crowd-pleasers like doughy bagels, matzo ball soup, and a high-quality hot dog on a challah roll. But for more adventurous young eaters, there’s poutine, the Québécois dish of French fries, cheese curd, and gravy.
Stepping into Al Badawi, a festive Palestinian restaurant on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn’s Cobble Hill is like stepping into another land. There are long communal tables filled with Middle Eastern families lingering over large platters of mezze (baba ghanoush, labneh, tabbouleh) and pouring water from large terra-cotta jugs. From the pizza oven there is a steady procession of khubz (flatbreads) which can be eaten plain or topped with various spices, meats, and cheeses like a Middle Eastern pizza. For the grown-ups, there’s lamb shanks with cooked with yogurt and cabbage leaves filled with rice and meat.
See the other spots that made the list below.