Family-Friendly Restaurants in Minneapolis
While the kids clamor for flavorless pizza and arcade games, you just want family meals out to consist of decent food and some semblance of a civilized atmosphere. With these Minneapolis restaurants, everyone can win, thanks to family-friendly vibes, convenient parking and exciting menus that offer an item for everyone in the gang. Your young critics will thank you later.
Animales BBQ
Some of the best barbecue can be found in the Harrison neighborhood, just west of downtown Minneapolis at Animales BBQ. Not only do they smoke BBQ favorites, like pork belly, St. Louis style ribs and andouille sausage, they also make bangin' smash burgers, prime rib cheesesteaks and po boys. Adults will love Animales for the flavorful BBQ, full bar and live music lineup, but kids will be begging to come back. The restaurant has a fun kid's play area complete with a slide, a mini food truck model, building blocks and more ways to keep the little ones entertained.
Free parking lot available.
Blue Door Pub
Eating a Juicy Lucy is a rite of passage for anyone claiming to have visited or lived in the Twin Cities, and some of the best are prepared right here. The local chain serves a specialty Longfellow “Blucy” (melty cheese sandwiched between Angus beef patties) with herbed goat cheese, garlic and a blackberry sauce. You’re never too old to salivate over the tots here, too.
Free Street Parking Available.
Buca di Beppo
Nothing brings everyone together like passing around food during a family-style meal. Be sure you grab plenty of garlic bread on the first go-round: it’s addictive. The red-and-white checkered tablecloths, Italian comfort food and warm service add to the homey atmosphere, and you don’t have to worry about the dishes.
Ample paid garage parking is available within steps of the restaurant.
Kramarczuk's Sausage Co
This iconic Minneapolis deli serves up specialties sure to impress the entire family and the pickiest eaters — because what kid doesn't want a plate full of pierogis? That's not where the menu ends. Enjoy cabbage rolls, Kramarczuk sausages, sandwiches and desserts. Stop at the deli afterwards to take Eastern European flavors home with you!
Small parking lot on site as well as metered street parking.
Chatterbox Pub
A local watering hole by night, Chatterbox stays lively during the day with customers playing vintage Sega Genesis, Nintendo and Atari games (Pac-Man, anyone?). Available board games such as Yahtzee and Pictionary also make this a fun spot for family game night—and the kids will love ordering root beer from the bar.
Free street parking available.
Day Block Brewing
While you and the sweetheart swig the on-tap Frank’s Red Ale and Leonard Day IPA, the younger members of your party can try brewed-in-house kombucha or a bottle of ginger beer.
Limited free parking in the lot behind the building after 5pm; also free parking in the Sherwin-Williams lot (entrance on 3rd Street) after 5pm weekdays and all day on weekends.
Kyatchi
At Kyatchi in South Minneapolis, you'll find fun times, happy service, Japanese-inspired food, and a focus on sustainable sushi. Customers rave about the sushi, of course, but also their ramen and Japanese hotdog. Kids will love their own menu, which has kids ramen, yummy sushi combos and chicken meatballs with white rice and special sauce.
Free street parking available.
French Meadow Bakery & Cafe
Uptown’s counter-service palace of pastries hits the sweet spot with fresh berry cream tarts and flourless chocolate brownies. Equal care is put into the lunch menu of organic chicken wings and sustainably sourced burgers, with smaller portions available for children.
Free off-street parking is available in the two lots adjacent to the north and south sides of the building. Metered street parking also available.
Hell’s Kitchen
It’s a slightly unsettling journey to walk into this underground eatery downtown, as you pass below a light fixture with suspended knives to reach your destination. Once you’re seated, though, it’s all smiles as you savor plates of sinfully good lemon-ricotta hotcakes and bowls of wild rice porridge.
Ramp parking ($5 after 4pm and on weekends and holidays) is located just past the street entrance. The restaurant is also a half-block from Nicollet Mall’s Metro Transit bus stops.
Hen House Eatery
A trio of food-loving girlfriends launched this spot in 2014 to serve farm-fresh fabulousness among downtown’s skyscrapers. If you love breakfast food for lunch, it’s hard to go wrong here, with build-your-own omelet ingredients including chorizo, quinoa, feta cheese and hollandaise sauce.
Paid parking ramp available across the street. Less than a block from Marquette Avenue Metro Transit stops, and approximately two blocks from Nicollet Avenue stops.
Holy Land
A staple of the city’s multicultural corridor along Central Avenue, Holy Land is well known for its hummus sold statewide. Try it as a side with your gyro platter or tandoori chicken skewers, then buy a container at the connected grocery store, which also features a bakery selling fresh, scratch-made pita.
Free off-street parking available in the back.
Italian Eatery by Travail
Located on Minnehaha Parkway nestled between lakes of South Minneapolis, Italian Eatery is a neighborhood eatery at heart. They specialize in authentic Italian dishes, and serve everything from eggplant dishes, porkchops, and crowd-favorite pastas. Your kids will love the buttered noodles and fried chicken strips and potatoes on the menu!
Ample parking lot and free street parking available.
The Lowry
Wood accents and dark, upholstered booths and chairs lend an upscale vibe at this opened-in-2011 urban diner in Uptown. Kids get a kick out of Ruby’s Spaghetti Tacos (they’re exactly what they sound like) while adults can enjoy grilled salmon and Korean BBQ short ribs.
Free off-street parking available. Metro Transit routes 2, 6, 12 and 114 have stops within a block of the diner.
Pizzeria Lola
Looking for innovative pizza? Try Pizzeria Lola, headed by James Beard award-winning chef Ann Kim. They serve traditional pizzas, but also ones with Korean flavors. The Lady Zaza, which has Italian red sauce, gochujang kimchi, sakura pork, scallions, and sesame, is what made Pizzeria Lola famous. After dinner, order their signature soft serve ice cream, which comes drizzled with olive oil and flaky salt.
Parking lot and free street parking available.
The Market at Malcolm Yards
This Minneapolis food hall is perfect for all types of eaters. Korean fried chicken sandwiches, pizza, sushi, and hamburgers can be found inside. You can't make a wrong choice - it's all delish. Adults can take advantage of the self-pour tap wall, and kids will love an ice cream treat from Bebe Zito.
Ample free parking is available in front and rear parking lots.
Punch Bowl Social
Come early in the day to take advantage of bowling, billiards, board games and vintage arcade games before the evening party crowd rolls in. A thoughtful kids menu includes vegetarian and gluten-free options like a banana almond butter sandwich. The refreshing Strawberry Rhubarb Fizz is just one of many non-alcoholic drinks available.
Ample free parking available throughout The Shops at West End complex.
Punch Pizza
Your family may have a new favorite go-to pizza after trying these Neapolitan-style pies crafted in 900-degree wood-burning ovens. The result is a thin, chewy crust that lets the ingredients—like mozzarella di bufala, prosciutto and sun-dried tomatoes—shine. Order a couple pizzas to share at one of 12 metro-area locations.
Parking situation varies based on location, but many offer free off-street spots.
Red Cow
Meat-lovers flock to this burger paradise for patties made with the signature Red Cow Grind, a blend of 21-day aged ribeye, chuck, short rib and brisket. But they grill up great plant-based burgers here, too. Mini doughnuts and sticky toffee cake desserts seal the deal for families at the restaurant’s three Minneapolis locations.
Parking situation varies based on location. The North Loop location offers valet service and metered street parking.
Midtown Global Market
For those who can’t sit still, this is the perfect option. Enjoy a multi-course, multi-ethnic meal among more than a dozen eateries, stopping for tacos at Salsa A La Salsa, fresh-ingredient pizzas at Slice Pizza, and bubble tea at Sabbai Cuisine. Bonus: Family-friendly events and performances take place here throughout the year.
Use the ramp at 10th Avenue and Lake Street, the metered lot on Elliot Avenue or street parking.
World Street Kitchen
When a food truck becomes such a hit that it can no longer be contained in a vehicle, it becomes a brick-and-mortar restaurant. That’s exactly what’s happened here (lucky us!). No longer do you need to run down a truck to catch rice bowls with caramelized lamb belly or lemongrass meatballs. Before dinner’s up, the kids will be tugging you—rightfully so—to Milkjam Creamery next door.
Limited free off-street parking available next to the building. Otherwise, metered street parking is your best bet.
