The Best Kid-Friendly Restaurants In SF

You’re planning a night out, and there are children involved. Maybe they’re yours, maybe they’re a friend’s, and maybe they’re your kids’ kids—whatever the case is, you need a restaurant that can handle your little rugrats for a couple of hours. These places have coloring materials, dining rooms where a child’s ear-splitting shriek will go unnoticed, and menus that’ll appease even the pickiest five-year-olds. Here’s where to go when you want to give your sitter a night off and enjoy some quality time with your offspring.

THE SPOTS

Kevin & Chris's Noodle House

On nights when the thought of cooking is less appealing than listening to the Bluey theme song for three hours straight, have a quick midweek dinner at Kevin’s. The Vietnamese restaurant in the Sunset serves some of the best phở in town , with kid’s portions available of their steak, meatball, and chicken versions. Setting a bowl of this noodle soup in front of a child is a great way to quiet them down for at least five consecutive minutes—you can maybe finally get around to beating your Candy Crush record while they slurp.

Komaaj Mazze Wine Bar

At this Iranian restaurant in Bernal Heights , you can have your kids count the number of decorative pots or wine bottles behind the bar while you sip on an icy glass of sauvignon blanc. There are big circular tables, ideal for spreading out with multi-person mazze platters for the adults and Tupperwares of dry Cheerios for the littles (or the sweet and sour chicken stew, which is tender enough for even the teething crowd). The mazze, which ranges from eggplant and walnut dip to pomegranate-heavy olives, are excellent to snack on as you recount the day’s playground drama.

Tastebuds

Tastebuds is a soul food-inspired brunch spot in the Richmond where you can get in, fuel up for a day full of birthday parties and soccer practice, and get out within 45 minutes. Order at the counter, grab some coloring sheets and crayons for the kids, and look forward to crispy fried chicken and waffles, steamy bowls of grits, and refreshing green smoothies. Portions are big, so you don’t have to worry about breaking for snacks later.

San Tung Chinese Restaurant

We don’t personally know any children who would refuse a sticky-sweet, gloriously messy chicken wing from San Tung. The Chinese restaurant in the Sunset is wing central—their crackly renditions are on every table in the constantly packed dining room. If you’re also crammed around a table with your entire extended family, know that you’ll need multiple orders to start (there are 12 per plate, but you will want seconds). It’s also pretty loud in here, so you don’t have to feel bad about the impending witching hour meltdown from whatever baby you’re with.

Zazie

The back patio at Zazie’s is dog-friendly , so if your definition of “children” also includes mutts, you’re in luck, because on Mondays, you get $10 off a bottle of wine if a pup is in your party. Bring the entire family to this French place in Cole Valley. Plop down on the patio, order chicken and mashed potatoes or plain burgers off the kid’s menu, and get some french onion soup and wine for yourself. Zazie is also a brunch legend, though we wouldn’t recommend subjecting a hungry seven-year-old to the typical two-hour wait for some french toast, so proceed at your own risk.

Scoma's Restaurant

Perhaps your toddler’s obsession of the week is the sea lion, or maybe you’ve got relatives in town who won’t rest until they see Fisherman’s Wharf . Whatever the reason, you’re braving the tourist hordes and now need sustenance. This seafood institution is here for you. On top of free bread and old-school charm in the form of buttoned-up staff and pepper grinders the size of a baseball bat, Scoma’s also has a children’s menu of mostly beige-ish things that your kid will approve of, like fish and chips, chicken tenders and fries, and mac and cheese. Grown-ups should never leave here without the clam chowder .

Spark Social SF

Spark Social is a food truck park in Mission Bay that’s larger than a football field with plenty of picnic tables and grassy space for your kids to run around and tire themselves out. The trucks rotate daily, but there’s usually something for everyone— pizza , empanadas, noodles, and poke are just some of the options on hand. Strollers and families abound, so you won’t feel out of place here with a gaggle of rampant toddlers. Spark Social is split into two separate areas, so make sure to do the rounds before deciding what you’re getting.

Yank Sing

The main draw of bringing your entire family to Yank Sing—aside from the dim sum , obviously—is the fact that the connected Rincon Center Atrium is a contained place for kids to run free while the adults take a load off in the restaurant. The Chinese spot in SoMa has solid BBQ pork buns , siu mai, and chow fun—all great things to preoccupy yourself with while pretending you’re not related to the kid yelling “Skibidi toilet!” at the top of their lungs.

Barebottle Brewing Company

Barebottle is a Bernal Heights brewery where you’ll have to step over dog toys and stroller wheels to get around the warehouse-like space, which is exactly why families seem to love it. The gigantic taproom fills up most evenings with the cool-parent crowd, so the odds that you run into your third grader’s classmate (and their dog) are high. There are also tons of arcade games scattered around, plus TVs and foosball—let the children run wild while you throw back a beer or three with your friends and grab a meal from whatever food truck is parked at the entrance.

Flour + Water Pizzeria

Nothing screams “kid-friendly” like piles and piles of fried cheese, and that’s exactly what you can get at Flour + Water Pizzeria. The North Beach restaurant excels in the mozzarella stick department—the stretch factor is seriously impressive, and they pair perfectly with the side of chunky marinara sauce for dipping. There are a bunch of big tables and booths to pile into, or bar seating if you want to show your toddler the pizza life cycle as staff spin dough behind the counter. Other dishes we’re guessing your kids will enjoy here: any of the charred, bubbly pizzas, and, of course, the cups of soft serve topped with rainbow sprinkles for dessert.

Nopalito

Open spaces are just better for dining with kids—it must have something to do with the lack of bad acoustics (a.k.a. the potential for an entire dining room to hear your child ask where your hairline is going). Head to Nopalito’s patio when you need a margarita and your kid needs a quesadilla. The patio is heated and covered, making it comfortable even when it’s a cool 55 degrees out. Everything on the menu of Mexican dishes is shareable and well-executed. When in doubt, go for the carnitas, which pull apart with ease and are best folded up in a supple corn tortilla.

The Laundromat

There are as many GoGo Squeez-toting families at The Laundromat as there are 20-something couples in beanies at this Outer Richmond spot. The laundromat-turned-bar and restaurant is the neighborhood’s hottest place to split a rectangular pizza or a drippy smashburger (Wednesdays only), and the grown-ups can sip on wine or beer while the kids methodically lick all the tomato sauce off the crust or pick the cheese off a patty. Another family-friendly AM activity: coming by for a sack of bagels , which are plump, in-your-face malty, and made fresh daily.

Marufuku Ramen

The distractions at the Japan Center Malls are endless, even for full-grown adults. And you’ll need to make use of them while you wait in line for Marufuku’s fantastic ramen, because there will be a wait. Browse the bookshop for kid-friendly, non-iPad activities, or swing by Daiso to pick up novelty trinkets—by the time you’ve caved and bought your child another Smiski, your table will be ready. The tonkotsu ramen is intensely creamy, and even better with their extra tender chashu. Feel free to join the chorus of loud slurpers here, if not to drown out of the noise of any potential tantrums.

Original Joe's

Original Joe’s has been a family-run operation since it opened in the 1930s, and they’ve done a great job in ensuring other broods feel welcome at the Italian North Beach restaurant (with another location in Westlake) as well. Roomy leather booths and perfect-for-a-big-group tables make it easy to sneak in a high chair or to give a moody preteen their space to sulk. Solid steak, seafood, pasta, and burgers all in stomach-stretching portion sizes ensure kids and adults will have something they’ll want to eat and likely take some home for seconds. Walk-ins are accepted, but it’s recommended you make a reservation online.