Kid-Friendly Restaurants In San Antonio That Actually Have Good Food

By Kelsey Kennedy | June 14, 2023

As a foodie with an insatiable appetite for trying new culinary experiences, I have to admit that it’s a bit disappointing when my kids ask for Chick-fil-a….again. There are SO many great restaurants in San Antonio! But, as a mom, I get that finding a place with a playground and chicken tenders is sometimes the priority, simply for mental sanity. However, whenever I can, I try to scope out kid-friendly restaurants in San Antonio that actually have good food. {Map below!}

It’s a win-win for everyone in my family. I get to experience the impressive culinary scene of SA’s independent restaurants, and my kids get to be hooligans and tackle each other in the grass, or whatever they feel like doing after they’ve gobbled down their food in five minutes flat.

You’ve been there too? Great.

Pinkertons - kid-friendly restaurant in San Antonio

When it comes to dining out, finding a restaurant that satisfies both their taste buds and yours can be tricky! You’re a foodie and you want to try one of those fun new restaurants in San Antonio.

You also know that you’ll enjoy your meal much more if your little ones get to have a kid-friendly experience.

I know you’re tired of searching for “kid friendly restaurants near me” and getting nothing but burger chains, fast food restaurants with playgrounds, and more burger restaurants in the results feed.

And if you’re a foodie who loves exploring the local restaurant scene in your city and you try to avoid national chains and fast food options when you’re traveling, then welcome! This guide to kid-friendly restaurants in San Antonio is for you.

We’ve scoured the vibrant culinary scene here to bring you a list of kid-friendly restaurants in San Antonio that not only cater to the younger crowd but also serve up food that, well, doesn't suck.

Get ready to embark on a culinary adventure where everyone in the family can leave with happy and satisfied bellies!

Here’s What Makes A Restaurant Kid-Friendly

No, it doesn’t mean that they serve “kid food.” Kids can easily eat off the adult menu (there’s always at least something they’ll want to eat) or share entrees with parents. Here’s what makes a San Antonio restaurant great for kids:

1. Lots of space.

Even more important than the food, the square footage (or lack thereof) greatly matters when I’m dining out with my young children.

The Pearl - kid-friendly restaurants in San Antonio

The other day, my 3-year-old decided to start pushing the double stroller through a restaurant that was way too crowded. He was running into people and tables and chairs and just living his best 3-year-old life. I had to quickly jump up and intervene and move elsewhere (byeeee warm plate of food). There’s definitely a lesson there in teaching him to read the room, but also…he’s just a little guy and he wants to play and have fun. If I had chosen a more age-appropriate place for us to hunker down for a while, he could have had space to play.

The point being: having enough space for the little ones to move around matters when you’re looking for kid-friendly restaurants in San Antonio! Those little bums will be in and out of their seats about 100 times during the meal.

A big outdoor space is always AMAZING, but if that doesn’t exist, an indoor restaurant with lots and lots of square footage is much easier than a small place.

2. Plenty of noise.

“Wait, you’re consciously looking for the noisiest restaurants?” Well, kind of…

Kids are noisy. If you’ve ever tried dining somewhere with your kids where you are CLEARLY the noisiest table in the place, it’s kind of awkward.

The trick is to go somewhere that has a nice ambiance of background noise so you and your kids can just blend in.

3. Food the kids will love.

Ok, ok….I am listing this one, but not until point number 3. While it’s true that children can try almost any type of food, there’s definitely a bit of pressure taken off the parent’s shoulders when you know you’re taking your kids to eat somewhere they will LOVE.

Telling a car full of kids that you’re going to “that really fun pizza place” is much easier than convincing them to eat the garbanzo beans off the edge of your Mediterranean plate because they’re not interested in anything else. So yeah, kid-friendly food can totally be a factor in choosing a kid-friendly restaurant. It often is for me, too.

Beautiful landscaping at Yanaguana Garden

4. A playground

Or a splash pad. Or a big grassy field. Honestly, it doesn’t have to be a formal “play structure” like you’d find at a public park. Of course, those are fun, but children can get just as much fun out of a grassy hill and a couple soccer balls.

The Best Kid-Friendly Restaurants In San Antonio

1. Food Hall At The Pearl + Splash Pad

This one is hard to beat for many reasons! If you’re looking for excellent kid-friendly dining experiences in San Antonio with food that caters to creative foodies AND picky eaters (+ it has tons of space to move around and play!), then you need to head to The Pearl.

The food hall at the Bottling Department is a free-standing structure at the Historic Pearl. This district is a powerhouse in San Antonio for both locals and tourists to dine, eat, stay overnight, shop, and play. And while there are many incredible restaurants at The Pearl that I would recommend for a date night, if you’re dining with kids, you absolutely must go to the food hall.

The food hall, which is built on the site’s original historic bottling department, features multiple food booths that showcase some of the best food in San Antonio.

There are 4-5 booths that feature rotating local San Antonio chefs and restaurants that want to try out their concepts before opening larger brick-and-mortars in the city. It’s a cool way for chefs to have a focus group for their new projects, and visitors get the benefit of trying fun new food.

Since the booths at the Food Hall at the Bottling Department are fairly small, the menus aren’t as robust as a normal restaurant. You can still expect plenty of options, though! And with 4-5 different booths open at any given time, there are plenty of types of food to try.

The best part about this kid-friendly San Antonio restaurant? It’s adjacent to a HUGE outdoor turf-covered area WITH FOUNTAINS! Kids are allowed to splash around in the fountains (bring towels and a change of clothes!) or run around and play in the green area.

Oh, and one more perk for adults: there’s a bar at the food hall. You can grab a spritzy cocktail and sit down in the shade while your kids splash around nearby. It’s definitely an incredible place to dine with little ones in San Antonio.

WEBSITE | 312 Pearl Pkwy, San Antonio, TX 78215

2. Pinkerton’s BBQ

There are many excellent bbq spots in San Antonio, but Pinkerton’s is the best pick for kid-friendly BBQ in San Antonio.

It’s a great option for visitors because it’s in downtown San Antonio, so it’s close to a lot of the other activities you might be doing during your stay in SA.

But unlike most downtown restaurants, Pinkertons has a HUGE amount of space! It’s a beautiful, rustic/modern building that opens up to Legacy Park, which doubles as a play area for the kids. The restaurant has picnic tables on that front lawn so you can dine on delicious barbecue while the kids are running around on the grassy hills. It’s really a one-of-a-kind dining experience in regards to downtown restaurants.

Pinkertons actually started in Houston before opening this second location in San Antonio. Grant Pinkerton, who is a self-taught pitmaster, has been on the Forbes 30 under 30 list and his barbecue restaurants have been on the Texas Monthly 50 Best list.

If you’re wondering what to eat here, the sliced brisket is some of the best in the state, and the glazed pork ribs are incredibly unique with their sweet, shiny glaze that’s brushed on upon ordering. Don’t skimp on the sides!

Kids will have plenty of options, too. With bacon mac n cheese, cheesy rice, Texas beans, and (of course) all of the standard meat options, odds are you’ll be able to find at least a few things that your little ones will be excited to eat.

Pinkerton's is an excellent family-friendly restaurant in San Antonio if you're looking to check out the best of the BBQ scene.

WEBSITE | 107 W Houston St, San Antonio, TX 78205

RELATED: San Antonio’s Best BBQ Spots

3. Dough Pizzeria at Hemisfair Park

Dough Pizzeria - kid friendly restaurant in San Antonio

Here’s yet another incredible kid-friendly restaurant that has SO many things going for it! Dough Pizzeria is one of the best pizza spots in SA, serving authentic neapolitan-style pizzas. It’s been featured on The Food Network and now has two locations in San Antonio.

These pies are fairly small (only 12 inches), so you can get a fun foodie pie for the creative eaters + separate basic pies (cheese or pepperoni) for the kids. They have excellent handmade pasta, delicious appetizers, and a wonderful wine list.

Be sure to go to the Southtown location at Hemisfair. It’s on the corner of the park, and the back patio of the restaurant opens up to Yanaguana Gardens. The splash pad and the sand pit are literally right next to Dough Pizzeria and there is SO much space near this restaurant for little ones to run around.

The restaurant itself is actually fairly small. Depending on the age of your children, I actually recommend one of the two things:

Get your pizza to-go. You can place your order online and pick it up at the restaurant. Bring the pizza boxes to the edge of the park so you can eat your dinner while the kids are playing nearby, or do a picnic-style dinner.
Eat at the outdoor patio at Dough. Again, the back patio is near the splash pad! If your kids are at the age where they can sit still for a full dinner, this outdoor space is nice because there's enough adjacent room for them to move around a bit. The interior restaurant is just too small.

WEBSITE | 518 S Alamo St, San Antonio, TX 78205

4. Alamo Beer Co

There aren’t many kid-friendly breweries in San Antonio, but Alamo Beer Co. is a good option! It’s a craft brewery that’s ½ mile east of downtown and the Riverwalk, and it’s a fun spot to bring the family.

Alamo Beer Co is a large indoor/outdoor space with craft beer, food, picnic tables, and yard games like corn hole. The outdoor beer garden is a great place for families.

The beer hall features all of their standard TX beers on tap, but you can also find some special brews that aren’t canned and distributed elsewhere. The large space often has events like live music, and it's an all-around good time.

The 21+ crowd can enjoy those independently-brewed beers, and everyone can indulge in their BBQ-centric menu. While I wouldn't necessarily call it "great food," especially compared with some of the all-time best restaurants in San Antonio, it's definitely good and there are plenty of delicious things to try on the menu.

Try the loaded nachos with amber lager BBQ sauce, the polish sausage sandwich, or the grilled portobello mushroom tacos on corn tortillas. And yes, there are plenty of kid-friendly options like mac n cheese, bean and cheese nachos, grilled cheese, chips, potato salad, beans, and a delicious bavarian pretzel.

When you’re looking for a good kid-friendly brewery in San Antonio that also serves food, Alamo Beer Co. is at the top of the list. But if you’re simply searching for excellent craft breweries in San Antonio to visit, be sure to check out this list for all my insider tips.

WEBSITE | 202 Lamar St, San Antonio, TX 78202

5. CommonWealth at Hemisfair

This is a great option for a kid-friendly breakfast or lunch spot in San Antonio. CommonWealth is an adorable coffee shop in SA with multiple locations. Actually, most of their locations would be great to visit with kids, but the Hemisfair coffee shop is my personal favorite. I can get a latte, a breakfast taco, and a breakfast plate for my little ones and enjoy it on their large outdoor deck. When I’m done eating, I can take my latte to-go and we can wander over to the (massive!!) playground nearby.

Playground near CommonWealth Coffee shop

CommonWealth has some of the best breakfast tacos in the city. They’re custom made-to-order where you can pick your own toppings, and they’re quite large. One typically fills me up.

This San Antonio coffee shop is also known for the yummy pastries. A black coffee + a chocolate croissant is a great start to any day, and my little ones love to pick out a treat for themselves too.

But the full menu is really good! The Croque Madame is insanely delicious, and their salads are wonderful for a healthier lunch option.

CommonWealth also has a full dedicated kids menu, which is so considerate for all the parents who stop by and want to get something for their little ones. The kids entrees are kid-sized and kid-priced, around $5 - 8, so you don’t have to worry about your child eating ¼ of their expensive sandwich and then running off to play. The kids menu includes a little breakfast platter, a kids breakfast taco, a grilled cheese sandwich, or a ham and cheese sandwich. All of the items on the children's menu come with orange smiles and a juice box or a child-size hot chocolate.

WEBSITE | 611 Hemisfair Blvd, San Antonio, TX 78205

6. The Good Kind

This absolutely gorgeous outdoor garden restaurant in Southtown is a great option for dining with kids in San Antonio. Owned by Food Network Chopped competitor Tim McDiarmid, The Good Kind serves local, yummy food, made with responsibly grown ingredients. The result is a menu full of healthy comfort food: food that tastes delicious and makes you feel amazing!

And it’s not just veggies and hummus here (although there are some really beautiful market bowls and platters); The Good Kind has genuine comfort food too, like french fries with lemon parm aioli, breaded chicken fingers, and a wonderful grass-fed Angus burger and sweet potato fries.

Kids will have plenty of space to act like kids. Tables are spaced out, and there’s a lot of empty space for standing up, moving around, and playing with toys.

For adults, there are some lovely zero-proof mocktails, as well as cocktails, beer, and wine. Be sure to check out their happy hour menu if you want to get a good discount on both beverages and food.

Psst: a fun fact about this place: it started at the Food Hall at The Pearl (option #1 on this list) as one of the "trial restaurants" there. Once they tested out their dishes and recipes and knew it would work, they opened this restaurant in Southtown. Very cool.

This is one of my favorite kid-friendly restaurants in San Antonio with excellent adult food, too.

WEBSITE | 1127 S St Mary's St, San Antonio, TX 78210

7. Two Bros BBQ

The San Antonio barbecue scene is fierce, and since barbecue restaurants are typically casual spots to hang out, they make excellent kid-friendly restaurant options. While many of these top BBQ restaurants in San Antonio would be good options, Two Bros BBQ is notable because it has a playscape for kids.

Load up your plate with cherry-glazed baby back ribs, sliced brisket, and stuffed jalapenos, and enjoy a delicious Texas BBQ lunch while your little ones run around.

One thing that I especially love about Two Bros is that they’re open 7 days a week. (Most BBQ spots are closed on Monday and/or Tuesday.) So if you’re working with a tight schedule, Two Bros can work in almost any situation.

WEBSITE | 12656 West Ave, San Antonio, TX 78216

8. Henry’s Puffy Tacos

You know what kids love? Funny food. I’m not talking about unrecognizable food in strange colors, but food that makes them laugh.

And you know what’s hilarious to a 6-year-old? Puffy tacos.

There’s just something about a taco that looks seemingly normal, but then it’s all “puffed” up and looks like a balloon. Amazing.

Henry’s Puffy Tacos is one of the many places in SA that sell this iconic San Antonio food. It’s my personal favorite because it’s the original home to the puffy taco! If you’re looking for a fun, family-friendly spot to head out on a Friday night for Tex Mex, grab a table at Henry’s.

The pickiest eaters can choose beans or ground beef for their taco filling, or you can get fajita chicken or guacamole tacos. Of course, they have all the other Tex-Mex grill staples here, like fajitas, enchiladas, and margaritas.

WEBSITE | 6030 Bandera Rd, San Antonio, TX 78238

RELATED: 17 Best Tacos In San Antonio

9. The Friendly Spot

The Friendly Spot is a cute watering hole in Southtown. You’ll recognize it by the giant slide in the front yard that’s visible from the street. It really is just a “friendly spot” ice-house where folks can stop by for lunch, grab a beer from their list of 250 brews, and order a few burgers for the table.

It’s primarily an outdoor restaurant, which makes it a great option for dining with kids in San Antonio. There are lots of tables, plenty of kid-friendly items on the menu, and a bunch of delicious drink options for the 21+ crowd. Psst: their Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos are delicious!

WEBSITE | 943 S Alamo St, San Antonio, TX 78205

10. Big Bibb BBQ

Delicious smoked meats, a variety of sides, and good ol’ classic BBQ desserts paired with lots of space for the little ones to move around...check! The Big Bibb BBQ an excellent choice for a kid-friendly restaurant in San Antonio.

The Bib Bibb has been around since 2000 when it operated as a one-man BBQ pit. Since then, it’s grown into multiple locations. You can find their delicious smoked meat all over town, including at HEB and at the Alamodome.

But if you just want a fun Saturday lunch spot with the fam, head to their location at Lanark Dr. There’s a lot of seating both indoor and out, and the ambiance is very gracious toward noisy kids.

WEBSITE | 104 Lanark Dr, San Antonio, TX 78218

11. Big’Z Burger Joint

Big’Z Burger Joint is kind of known as a kid spot…so it's a pretty easy pick for kid-friendly restaurants in San Antonio. (However, if you're craving burgers and you don’t want to dine with a bunch of kids, check out one of these other burgers in San Antonio instead.)

But if you want a casual, fun spot to hang out with the kids on a Friday night, Big’Z Burger Joint is the spot! Delicious burgers, a bunch of beers on tap, and (best of all) a really big outdoor space for kids.

If you can snag one of the tables on the outdoor deck, you can sit next to the grassy area. Bring a soccer ball of a few trucks and let the kids play nearby.

WEBSITE | 2303 N Loop 1604 W, San Antonio, TX 78258

12. Julian's Italian Pizzeria & Kitchen

You might have seen us mention this restaurant on our guide to the best pizza in San Antonio, and that's because Julian's truly serves some of the best slices you can get in San Antonio.

(And also because most of these pizza spots make good kid-friendly restaurants in San Antonio. Not all of them, but many.)

But in addition to that, Julian's is a great option for kid-friendly restaurants nearby. Adults win because this hand crafted Italian food is absolutely fantastic.

And kids win because they have an excellent kids menu. You little ones can get a kid's size Alfredo, some yummy cheese ravioli with red sauce, or even their own personal kid-size pizza. All kids meals come with a small drink.

Julian's is a casual, family-friendly spot. You won't have to worry about your kids being too noisy here. They expect families to dine at the restaurant!

By the way, the lunch specials at Julian's are really good. They're priced very low, and each meal includes a salad and a drink. You can choose from a lot of options like a (HUGE) slice of pizza, eggplant parm, or baked rigatoni with meat sauce, among (many) other options.

WEBSITE | three locations