Kid-Friendly Austin Restaurants

[hobbs]

We are coming to Austin this weekend with the kids and I was wanting some restaurant recommendations.

We often end up at places like Shady Grove, Hut's, Central Market, etc. and I was interested to see what some of you would suggest.

 

[austintexas]

Phil's Ice House (Burnet Rd, just south of Koenig Lane)
E-Z's on Lamar between 38th and 45th
Mr. Gatti's on MLK
Maudie's on Lake Austin or Lamar always has a lot of kids there
Hula Hut does too
Yellow Rose is a good spot too.

 

[iamtigerwoods]

Waterloo Ice House at 360/2222...

 

[Traffic]

I second:
Phil's
Waterloo at 2222/360

both of these have playscape thingys. Phil's has an Amy's Ice Cream attached (and cows!). Waterloo has a bar!

 

[jimmyjazz]

It's just a restaurant, and a not-particularly-great-one at that (although not bad for a chain), but Texas Land & Cattle has "kids eat free" on Saturdays until 4 PM.

Phil's has great burgers. Waterloo has the biggest and safest kiddie play area.

Freddie's Place (South 1st) is very kid-friendly.

As far as I'm concerned, most "hip" Austin restaurants are. Guero's, Artz Rib House, the Salt Lick, Chuy's, Maudie's, Nuevo Leon, Romeo's, none of them seem very stuffy. Enjoy yourselves.

 

[Horn2K]

"third" Waterloo on 2222/360.

The back yard has several picnic tables, plenty of space for the kiddos to run around (even throw the football around) and to climb on.

 

[MirrOlure]

In reply to:

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[TheTresLeches]

In Westlake there's a pizza place called Flying Tomato that has a playscape and the Hangtown Grill out there is pretty friendly too.

In South Austin where I live, Freddie's, Taco X-Press, Rockin' Tomato, Shady Grove and the new Opal's on South Congress are regular stops.

 

[hobbs]

Thanks for all of the recommendations.

I recognize that places in Austin are, for the most part, typically kid-friendly, especially those that I would consider for a family outing. However, some menus don't have viable kid options and it is nice to hear from others with experience.

 

[1990txgirl]

There are always kids running around Freddie's, and they have a great grilled cheese sandwich. Depending on which area you're going to be in:

South: Freddie's--large outdoor area similar to Shady Grove. I believe you can throw horseshoes there too.
Central: Phil's--I must reiterate the plus of having Amy's next door

Sometimes the ice cream guys will play catch across Burnet with a bowl of ice cream to entertain the crowd
North/West: Waterloo @ 360/2222--in addition to the giant playscape outside, there's an enclosed room towards the back of the restaurant that has video games

 

[austinmama]

Waterloo and Flying Tomato are our standards.

Central Market (38th) is also a great casual option. Large playscape, lots of room to run, and a pond with ducks.

 

[hobbs]

We tried out Phil's and really enjoyed it. I thought the burgers were good and the adjacent Amy's is obviously a plus. We will definitely be adding it to our list of kid places.