Whether you need a night off from catering at home, or are on the road with your children in an unfamiliar city, it's always good to know the best restaurants where you can get a meal to please the entire family. Here is a selection of our favourite family-friendly restaurants around the country. Call a lifestyle manager to book, or to get recommendations in your local area.
The Olive Press
4 Lloyd Street, Manchester M2 5AB
The Pride of Manchester Awards recently voted the Olive Press as the city's most child-friendly restaurant. The ‘little olives' menu offers a wide range of healthy dishes and the main menu offers hearty Italian dishes, such as chicken Milanese, duck breast with pecorino mash and red snapper with caponata, as well as a wide selection of pizzas, salads and handmade pastas. There are also branches in Liverpool and Preston.
Guide price: £20
The Bank
4 Brindley Place, Birmingham B1 2JB
This smart, lively brasserie overlooking the canal in Brindley Place has a modern eclectic menu that features Thai green curry, crispy duck with Chinese greens and a selection of steaks. Children, meanwhile, can tuck into fish and chips, chicken and chips, or linguine – and finish off with a sticky toffee pudding.
Guide price: £20
Jamie's Italian
Oxford, Bath, Kingston, London and Brighton
Even the toughest critics agree: perennially-popular Jamie Oliver's new mini-chain of Italian eateries is simply excellent. Oliver's restaurants serve fresh, organic, rustic Italian food served in a bright, bucolic atmosphere – and at competitive prices. Antipasti, pasta and grilled mains are all equally good. Like Oliver, the restaurant is family-friendly – but it doesn't get creche-like.
Guide price: £25
Toast
146 Marchmont Road, Edinburgh EH9 1AQ
This well-established neighbourhood bistro has been attracting increasingly long queues over the last couple of years as word has spread about Edinburgh's best weekend brunch – opt for the traditional Scottish breakfast or go for American-style French toast with several delicious toppings. Evening meals are also a winner, however, with simple dishes such as pork fillet with leek mash and lamb chop with bubble and squeak. Small portions are readily available. ‘The warm family atmosphere is a fine example of Scottish hospitality,' says lifestyle editor Jean Edelstein.
Guide price: £15 (£10 for brunch)
Eden Bistro
Brassknocker Hill, Monkton Combe, Bath BA2 7HS
At the Combe Grove Manor Hotel and Country Club, the Eden Bistro offers child-sized portions of food that veers far from the usual chicken nuggets or burger choice – but which is still pleasing to small palates. Kids can enjoy dishes such as poached salmon or grilled chicken with lemon, while parents can sample tantalising grown-up fare, sitting at tables on the front lawn while the little ones cavort in the spacious gardens. There's a barbecue on weekends, too.
Guide price: £20
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