7 Kid-Friendly Restaurants and Dining Deals Around Boston
Moms and dads like to go out to eat, too. These family-friendly deals and dishes make dining out with children a little easier.
A kid’s meal at Buttonwood comes properly separated. / Photo by Ezra Pollard
The next time you want to do something special for a busy parent in your life, consider giving a gift card for a family night out. While it can be refreshing to leave the kids with the teenager down the street and enjoy a childless date, it can also be enjoyable to dine as a family without a giant pile of dishes looming.
From a destination-worthy farm-café on Cape Cod, to kids-eat-free deals from Somerville to Jamaica Plain, here are seven kid-friendly restaurants to keep in the weekly meal rotation.
The Automatic
Yep, this cool cocktail bar is also kid-friendly. A colorable kids’ menu features items like noodles, grilled cheese, and a burger, each for $5. When the weather’s nice, bring the whole family—the patio is dog-friendly, too.
50 Hampshire St., Kendall Square, Cambridge, 617-714-5226, theautomaticbar.com.
The Buffalo Jump
Parents themselves, co-chefs Brandon and Laura Higgins-Baltzley decided to operate a family-friendly café on Cape Cod this season, in addition to their esoteric, Sunday-Tuesday evening tasting menu. Bring the kids for breakfast or lunch any day of the week, where in addition to a working landscape complete with animals, they’ll find hyperlocal dishes like wild blueberry French toast, and a rice bowl with steamed greens and pulled pork. There are also silly specials kids will appreciate, like “dirt” cupcakes with gummy worms, and fruit leathers. Parental bonus: It’s always BYOB.
Coonamessett Farm, 277 Hatchville Rd., East Falmouth, thebuffalojump.com.
Buttonwood
David Punch’s first Newton restaurant, Sycamore, is naturally more of an adult hangout. So when the chef and team opened a sister spot in Newton Highlands earlier this year, they strove to make it family-friendlier with more approachable food and price points. It’s working: A glowing review from the Boston Globe’s Devra First notes that $9 kids’ meals here, served on separated (!) plate with a side dish, carrot sticks, and cut fruit, “It winds up looking like something you might serve your kids at home, except you don’t have to make it, or feel bad that your desire to go out comes at the expense of the future generation’s vegetable intake.”
51 Lincoln St., Newton, 617-928-5771, buttonwoodnewton.com.
The Frogmore
Any night of the week, kids’ meals here are free for people under 12 from 5-6:30 p.m. If busy parents miss that window, dishes like mac and cheese with Ritz cracker topping, and sorghum-glazed carrots are still just $6 nightly.
365 Centre St., Jamaica Plain, 857-203-9462, thefrogmore.com.
The Independent
This pub in the heart of Union Square is a go-to for everything from craft beer tap takeovers, to dollar oyster nights, to live vinyl DJ sets, so naturally it’s kid-friendly, too. The dining room side has lower booths that are easier for shorter legs to climb into, but a kids’ menu (with a cartoon to color in by local artist George Pfromm) is available no matter where you sit. For kids under 12, options like mac and cheese or fish and chips are free with the purchase of an adult entrée every Sunday-Thursday from 4:30-6:30 p.m., too.
75 Union Square, Somerville, 617-440-6022, theindo.com.
Kirkland Tap & Trotter
This Somerville spot is the more neighborhood-y second act from James Beard Award-winning chef Tony Maws of Craigie on Main, and offers scratch-made kids’ meals like a house-made hot dog, and fresh spaghetti with meat sauce, all served with fries and a vegetable side. From 5:30-6:30 p.m. every Sunday-Thursday, kids (dining with an adult, of course) eat free.
425 Washington St., Somerville, 857-259-6585, kirklandtapandtrotter.com.
Lumière
At this West Newton neighborhood stalwart, chef-owner Jordan Bailey just introduced a new incentive to let someone else do the cooking during the week. Every Tuesday and Wednesday night, there’s a $60 “family meal,” created for two adults and two children under 12 to share. Choose from a whole roasted chicken with jus, bread, green salad, and a trio of vegetable sides; or cornmeal-crusted fried fish with tartar sauce, bread, green salad, seasonal slaw, French fries, and broccoli rabe. Takeout orders come with house-made chocolate chip cookies, and families who dine in can share an ice cream sundae from Newton favorite Cabot’s.
1293 Washington St., Newton, 617-244-9199, lumiererestaurant.com.
Lumière “family meal” is a $60 deal for four every Tuesday and Wednesday, completely with a Cabot’s Ice Cream sundae / Photo provided
