Explore children’s restaurant menu ideas

Let’s be honest, if you have kids under the age of 5 years old, the most important thing when dining out is how quickly the first plate of food can hit the table. Yes, many restaurants hand out crayons and coloring paper. Yes, my Little Slices sit and draw pictures like calm young men…for about two minutes before they start making laps around the other tables and are wrestling on the floor.

Do I love eating good food and trying new places? It’s one of my favorite things to do. However, I’ve realized that being a parent is about finding balance in almost everything we do — and that includes compromising on where we eat. That’s why finding a place where everyone is happy and actually eats the food on their plate is so essential. While having a kids menu isn’t required, it can definitely help sway a family’s decision to eat at a restaurant. Especially if it’s a good one. 

In an era where many restaurants are putting a lot of thought into where their ingredients come from and how they are grown and processed, it’s no wonder that kids menus are also becoming more and more elevated.

Chefs seems to go about creating a kids’ menu one of two ways. They either get the memo that kids like good food too, and pick a few items that are central to their standard menu and simplify them. This is about taking what really makes your restaurant shine, and making a kid friendly version. Making smaller versions of what you already sell saves you prep time, makes it so you don’t have to order extra ingredients and keeps everyone (hopefully) happy.

The other way, which I’ve realized is also quite common, is to serve very basic, cheap food for the kids portions. Along the lines of box Mac ’n Cheese (and yes, I do give this to my boys but if you’re serving homemade for adults why not just make a smaller portion size for the kids?), frozen hamburgers or chicken nuggets. I’m in the camp where you don’t have to overcomplicate a kids menu as long as what you are serving tastes and feels good.

The Makings of a Great Kids Menu

A few things that make up a great kids’ menu:

• Smaller portions. Half the food usually ends up on the table, floor or finished by the parents.
• Cheaper price. Everyone wants a deal, especially if you have an entourage of little ones following you around.
• Easy and fast to make. The faster the food gets on the table, the less chance of a complete meltdown there is and the happier everyone in the entire restaurant will be.
• Meat and vegetarian options. Not everyone eats pepperoni. Some kids live off it. If you really want to make it special, a vegan option is great too.
• French fries, if you have a fryer. Always French fries. Sadly, we don’t have a deep fryer at my shop and I’m contemplating putting one in just so I can feed my babes fries.
• Dipping sauces. If your kids are anything like mine, they love to dip. Dip and make as big of mess as possible. Please remember to tip your servers.
• Gluten free option. Some kids really are Celiac and it’s really difficult for them not to have something to eat. I wish I had been more conscious of this in the past. My nephew is Celiac and I now realize just how hard it is for him to eat out anywhere or even partake in simple things like eating birthday cake.
• Serve items that reflect your main menu. Don’t buy things that you don’t already serve on your menu. Your customers are coming to you for a reason.
• Simplify. Creating smaller and more basic versions of staple menu items is sometimes all it takes.
• Cater to both picky eaters and more adventurous ones. Even if you only have one item on your kids menu, make it so it can be prepared with a standard option like cheesy bread or an advanced option like garlic and bacon cheesy bread.

It’s safe to say that every kids menu will be different depending on the cuisine you are serving. As with any menu, it’s always fun to get creative, so don’t be afraid to give your kids menu an up level from what it once was. Being in the pizza industry makes creating one pretty easy as pizza is the definition of kid food. It is an easy dish to keep simple or offer more flavorful toppings, and there are many things in a pizzeria that can be made adventurous. Why only serve basic fries when you can also offer an alternative with meatballs and melted mozzarella on top? Instead of a basic grilled cheese with ketchup to dip, make it an Italian grilled cheese on your house focaccia with a side of marinara and ranch. It could be the difference of families picking your place over another for their weekly Friday night pizza.

I recently added what I call “Johnny Rolls” to our menu, which is essentially my take on a Stromboli. It was a natural fit to make a kids size version, a Little Johnny if you will. The great thing about these is that they are super easy to make and can be customized for each kid. If your little one only likes cheese, no problem. Do you have a kid who craves spice and substance? One jalapeño and pepperoni Little Johnny
coming right up.

Whether you are looking to jazz up your kids menu or are starting from scratch, just remember to put things on there that will appeal to most everyone. Well, everyone under the age of 10 at least. There is absolutely nothing wrong with serving up hot dogs, hamburgers and French fries … just make them good. The kids will notice and the adults are the ones wiping the plates clean anyway, so they will definitely notice. If you want to keep it basic, the more adventurous eaters can always order off the main menu. I know my Little Slices usually want what we have anyway.

Whether or not your kids like a lot of flavor or a basic grilled cheese, it’s always nice to have something special just for them. Creating a kids menu with a few solid options can benefit both you and your customers and keep all of those Little Slices coming back for more.

Audrey Kelly owns Audrey Jane’s Pizza Garage in Boulder, Colorado.