The 100 Best Family-Friendly Restaurants in America, According to Yelp

Parents already have a lot on their plates, and dining out can prove to be an added challenge. Kids can be picky, energetic beings — not to mention, they often lack a grasp of restaurant etiquette. Not every establishment is kid-friendly, either. Depending on the locale, you might have to find a babysitter for a top-notch reservation. If you’re anything like us, you’re scouring the reviews before locking down any plans. 

Yelp just rounded up the top family-friendly restaurants in America to ease your mind, and the top spots may just surprise you. In today’s announcement, the platform relied on its thousands of restaurant reviews to sort the 100 best eateries for families with kids in tow. 

“What stands out about these restaurants is that they are not only highly rated, but also beloved by users who appreciate the effort these businesses make to accommodate children and parents alike,” Yelp director of communications Brenae Leary tells Food & Wine. 

To compile the rankings, Yelp compiled a list of restaurants where “family friendly” was mentioned heavily in reviews. Then, the platform considered relevant factors — including overall reviews, a passing health score, and a substantial number of positive “family friendly” reviews —  to rank these establishments from 1 to 100. 

It’s no surprise that many of the Top 100 restaurants are near popular tourist destinations, including Las Vegas, Myrtle Beach, and Chicago. Another popular hotspot for family-friendly dining is Pigeon Forge, a tourist-friendly town in Tennessee that is home to Dolly Parton’s Dollywood and four restaurants mentioned in Yelp’s report. 

Overall, the most kid-friendly restaurants on this list excel in three main areas: entertainment, design, and healthy menu options. The restaurant that clinched the top spot, Little Matt’s in Houston, takes a high-tech approach to keeping kids engaged before mealtimes, according to Yelp’s analysis. (Tablets and a mini arcade come standard in this laid-back establishment.) Reviewers called it the “kid nirvana” with a comprehensive kids menu, while adults can order a free frozen margarita, beer, or wine with any entree. 

Hotspots with a “picnic-style vibe” and a casual, loose table setup also ranked highly. As the platform notes, parents often seek a safe environment for their kids to explore and stretch their legs (and give parents a little breathing room). Families with little ones might also value a holistic menu featuring locally grown produce, hormone-free ingredients, and made-from-scratch recipes — all of which especially impressed Yelp users. 

The Local Goat, an eatery in eastern Tennessee, ranked No. 4 on this list and No. 57 on Yelp’s Top 100 Burger Spots of 2023. On Yelp, users recommend the deep-fried deviled eggs — “the perfect balance of flavors,” as one reviewer notes — along with their burgers. 

“Families can use Yelp to discover kid-friendly restaurants by filtering searches for ‘Good for Kids’ or searching for keywords like ‘family-friendly restaurants,’ and other similar phrases,” Leary tells Food & Wine. “Parents can read about other families’ experiences and see photos to help choose the right spot.”

Dining out with kids in tow? Trying a new restaurant can be daunting, but knowing that your dinner spot has been vetted by other parents makes the decision much easier.