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In such a large, busy city it can be a bit of a challenge to find child-friendly eateries. There are just so many restaurants to choose from and there's nothing worse than dragging fractious, hungry tots around looking for the perfect family eating hole. We have selected five fantastic family restaurants. Serving up child-size portions of healthy nosh, and also making sure the parents' food is equally delumptious, they are fantastic options for summer holiday feeding sessions.
 Giraffe  If you happen to be with the kids on the South Bank this summer, this is a great little eatery in which to recharge al your family's batteries. Located in front of the Royal Festival Hall, right on the river, the restaurant is incredibly spacious and the whole place beams with warmth, colour and cheerfulness. They are known for extending a gracious welcome to youngsters, so this small chain is very popular among folk in search of child-friendly establishments. Flexible and generous opening hours mean busy parents can drop in for coffee, brunch or cocktails as well as meals. They’ve also put together a special menu just for kids. Your ravenous tots can choose from fried or scrambled eggs, beans, veggie or pork sausages, chicken and fries or mash. They even throw in a juice and some yummy ice cream and only charge you £5.25 for the whole meal. It’s very refreshing. If that doesn’t take their fancy the restaurant has a mouth-watering selection of starters that make perfect meals for youngsters; the spicy chicken wings and the vegetarian mezze are particularly good options. However, the white chocolate and crushed Toblerone cheesecake is the real winner - this delicious desert is made especially to suit the sensitive tastebuds of tots and teens. Yum. Venue: Giraffe Address: Units 1&2, Roverside Level 1, Royal Festival Hall, SE1 Phone: 020 7928 2004 Guide Price: Main courses £7.95 - £10.95 / Set meals £6.95 for 2 courses (only available from 17:00-19:00) Nearest Station: Waterloo Tube / Rail Please Click Here for Travel and Hotel Information Near Giraffe   Blue Kangaroo Kiddies are invited to eat and play at this popular food funland on the King's Road. The good news is, although it is exclusively a restaurant for youngsters, adults can also tuck into some pretty top-notch English fare too. While kids explore the plethora of nets, slides, ball ponds and tunnels that inundate the basement, adults can linger over dinner while their offspring tear up nets and throw themselves into pits of brightly coloured balls. The Brasserie menu includes some classic goodies - the pumpkin risotto and the excellent salmon fishcakes are particular favourites. The children menu has very superior, homemade versions of the usual kiddie fare - chicken of fish goujons, spaghetti, penne, and cottage pie made with organic meat are matched only by the, oh so lovely, puddings such as ice cream puzzle pieces and banana boats. The restaurant has a great atmosphere. The staff are fantastic and always so seemingly un-flapped by the chaotic din of lots of hungry youngsters. It’s a really special place to take your children and we can’t recommend it enough. Please be aware the play area is for children aged 4-7 years old only. Venue: Blue Kangaroo Address: 555 King's Road, SW6 Phone: 020 7371 7622 Guide Price: Main courses £6.95 - 13.80 Nearest Station: Sloane Square Tube / Fulham Broadway Tube Please Click Here for Travel and Hotel Information Near Blue Kangaroo  Banners Banners is a home-from-home atmosphere for young families and is basically a bit of a creche during the day. Kiddies get through impressive quantities of crayons and colouring books, while frazzled parents can sit back, linger over coffee and soak in a remarkably easy afternoon with their offspring. The food is fairly obvious but consistently enjoyable. That’s what children need. The garlic chips and big stuffed sandwiches are wonderful, while the lasagne and the jerk chicken are also very popular. Youngsters can choose from a menu that lists sausage and mash with gravy, chicken breast and chips, burgers, beans on toast and pasta. There’s also a special £1.50 baby meal of cheesy mash and baked beans that is great for the gurgling, toothless members of the family. Incidentally, come 7pm - when the young 'uns are in bed - this charming place gives way to a hipper, mellower vibe to become the ideal escape venue for those lucky parents with babysitters. Venue: Banners Address: 21 Park Road, Crouch End, N8 Phone: 020 8292 0001 Guide Price: Lunch £6.95 - £10.95 Nearest Station: Finsbury Park Tube / Rail Please Click Here for Travel and Hotel Information Near Banners  Babes 'n' Burgers An incredibly child-friendly burger bar, the owners have crammed this place with a raft of books and toys to distract your inexhaustible tots. The menu is refreshingly littered with organic fare and there is a wonderful selection of healthy options to meet the needs of dieting yummy mummies. The place is child-proof too. Everything is wipe-clean so it doesn’t matter if your tot happens to spray the joint with tomato ketchup. The menu lists organic burgers, chicken breast, tofu and vegetarian options and a long list of scrumptious smoothies and wheat-grass based health drinks - being in Notting Hill, you should expect nothing less. The chips and organic ketchup are an ideal energiser for weary youngsters. The only problem with this place is the skeletal mothers that pick undecidedly at banana bread trying to work out how many sit-ups they need to do when they get home if they actually ate it. But seriously, Notting Hill niggles aside – it’s a great, healthy environment to let kiddies tackle the odd burger or too. With so many other children and distractions on hand, it’s also a wonderful retreat of respite for weary parents. Venue: Babes 'n' Burgers Address: 275 Portobello Road, Notting Hill, W11 Phone: 020 7727 4163 Guide Price: Main courses £3.50 - £9.95 Nearest Station: Ladbroke Grove Tube Please Click Here for Travel and Hotel Information Near Babes 'n' Burgers  Petersham Nurseries A lovely spot for an al fresco meal with the kids, this award-winning eatery is just idyllic on a sunny summer’s day. It’s essentially a rather grand garden centre with the most divine little café, totally engulfed by the rolling greenery of surrounding paddocks, meadows and woodland between Richmond Hill and the Thames. Perfect for lazy lunches and tranquil tea-times, the kitchen is located in an old shed and the whole place exudes an old-world cottage charm. The slightly rustic setting has no bearing on the food, which is absolutely exquisite. Elegantly delivered, the owners use only top quality products, quite often grown on site. The menu changes daily and you can scan the day’s specials on a lovely blackboard propped up outside the door. Summer gazpacho and the seared salmon fillets are particularly good. They also do these delightful little chocolate pots with strawberries on top, which are understandably popular with youngsters. They don’t have an actual children’s menu but are only too willing to serve up reduced-priced, smaller portions for smaller appetites. Their own-made lemonade and yummy cakes are lovely things for kiddies to feast on too. Admittedly, the food isn’t cheap, however rest assured that all the meats and dairy produce are organic and the fish have been line-caught. The quality is astounding for such a uniquely rural setting. It’s a lovely summer escape for all the family. Venue: Petersham Nurseries Address: Petersham Road, Petersham, Richmond, Surrey, TW10 Phone: 020 8940 5230 Time: Tuesday - Saturday 10:30 - 16:30 | Sunday and Monday 11:30 - 16:30 Price: £15.00 - £22.00 Nearest Station: Richmond Tube / Rail followed by short journey on the 65 bus Please Click Here for Travel and Hotel Information Near Petersham Nurseries |
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