The top child-friendly restaurants in LA

The City of Angels isn’t just about Hollywood glamour. It’s a vibrant, diverse city with an incredible culinary scene. There are no fewer than 25 Michelin-starred restaurants in the LA area, allowing you to experience the finest gourmet food.

Fine dining isn’t just for the grown-ups, either. Many of these exclusive restaurants welcome younger diners, and there are plenty of kid-friendly restaurants in Los Angeles that can introduce your children to new flavours, new experiences, and new delights. It's time to steer them away from the quotidien and explore the riches of authentic flavours from around the world.

Dining together is one of the most important family activities. It’s a time to share a meal, conversation and good moments. In every culture, a family meal is a significant opportunity to bring everyone around a single table and to chat, laugh and enjoy time with one another. The best family restaurants in Los Angeles recognise not just the importance of fine food but of the collective experience that dining together offers.

To help you make every meal special, we've compiled a list of the best family-friendly restaurants in Los Angeles. These restaurants serve exquisite food and welcome diners of all ages, catering for younger guests with developing palates. We've also divided our guide into specific types, including beachside, city centre and local restaurants.

Top beachside kid-friendly restaurants

Malibu and Santa Monica are the places to be if you’re looking for fine dining with a beachfront view. The Pacific’s bounty is endless, and many of the beachfront restaurants focus on seafood, while others focus on traditional French or fusion cuisine. If your children are ready to try something different, these restaurants offer delicious food and a relaxed, comfortable atmosphere.

Le Great Outdoors – 2525 Michigan Avenue, Santa Monica

One of Santa Monica’s trendiest restaurants, Le Great Outdoors still manages to hold on to a relaxed and very family-friendly feel. The tables are all outside, creating a ‘family picnic’ atmosphere that the children will love. The restaurant purchases all of its food from the local farmer’s market, keeping the transport miles down. Everything is cooked on a wood-fired grill, giving it a wonderful BBQ taste and filling the air with the delicious scent of their signature meat skewers and grilled veggies. Le Great Outdoors is quickly establishing itself as one of the best family restaurants in Los Angeles.

Duke’s, Paradise Cove – 21150 Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu

Dukes is the quintessential SoCal beach restaurant. Offering a full range of breakfast, lunch and dinner menus, this is an ideal place to have a meal if you're spending the day at Paradise Cove. For lunch, dive into their famous Coconut Shrimp. Duke’s is loved by the locals for its chilled-out atmosphere, especially in their barefoot bar, where you can get the best Mai Tais in the area. Valet parking is available, and you’re only steps away from a soft sandy family-friendly beach.

Taverna Tony’s – 23410 Civic Center Way, Malibu

A little piece of the Mediterranean in the heart of Malibu, Taverna Tony’s is an institution on the LA dining scene. This family-run Greek restaurant welcomes little ones, and many of their dishes are ideally suited for young diners starting to feel a little more adventurous regarding flavours but still with foods they can recognise. From freshly baked bread to locally-sourced ingredients, they offer the best in Greek cuisine at one of the most welcoming and friendly family restaurants in Los Angeles.

Top mid-city family-friendly restaurants

Moving into the city centre opens up a whole new selection of kid-friendly restaurants in Los Angeles. From Mexican to Italian, Thai to Americana, the choices are endless. Here are three of the best, all of which welcome children and cater to their tastes and needs.

Rossoblu – 1124 San Julian St, LA

Can pizza and pasta be gourmet? Absolutely - especially when it's served at Rossoblu. This exceptional restaurant fuses Americana with chef Steve Samson’s passion for his Bologna heritage. The result is one of Los Angeles’ best family-friendly restaurants, serving handmade pasta and exquisite dishes made from organic, farm-fresh produce. Their pizzas are far more than just cheese and tomato. Exceptional offerings include their signature Sausage Rabe, which is adorned with house-made fennel sausage, rapini, fresh mozzarella, sun-dried tomato, garlic and crushed chilli.

Osteria Mozza – 6602 Melrose Avenue, LA

Another Italian offering, but as Italian cuisine is so diverse, you’re bound to find something new here. With a Michelin star and a reputation for serving up some of the best (and most authentic) Italian food in LA, it is renowned in particular for the sheer range of mozzarella on offer. Younger diners will want to skip the main course and go straight to dessert, which is, of course, gelato and their signature torta della nonna.

Kali – 5722 Melrose Avenue, LA

This Michelin-starred restaurant on Melrose Avenue ticks all the right boxes for families with older children. If you thought the local cuisine was just hamburgers and fries, prepare to be surprised with an exquisite selection of Californian flavours. Chefs Kevin Meehan and Drew Langley specifically use local produce to give you an authentic gourmet experience with low food miles and sustainability at its core. Their prawn crudo and olives are divine, as is their simple yet utterly delicious beef tenderloin with onion and fingerling potatoes, which will appeal to younger and older diners alike.

The best Downtown LA and East Side family-friendly restaurants

Every neighbourhood in LA has its own must-visit restaurant, the one that the locals go to all the time and that visitors have to go in search of for a gourmet experience. These are the final three in our list of the best family-friendly restaurants in Los Angeles, but in reality, there are hundreds out there to discover, depending on where you stay and what your food preferences are.

Maude – 212 S Beverly Dr, Beverly Hills

Run by chef Curtis Stone, Maude is fine dining at its best. With a menu focused on southern Californian food, this cosy Beverly Hills restaurant specialises in delivering that personal touch. You're likely to have Curtis come out of the kitchen and check that your food is exactly to your liking, and the staff are attentive and welcoming to diners of all ages. Each month, Curtis and his team focus on a single signature ingredient, creating a rich and varied menu around it to highlight both the flavours of SoCal and the importance of sustainability and mindful dining.

Raffi’s Place – 211 E Broadway, Glendale

Raffi’s Place offers the best Persian and Mediterranean cuisine in LA and has a reputation for its friendly, relaxed atmosphere. Popular with locals, its menu is packed with delicious dishes that are not overly spicy but packed with flavour, making them ideal for young, more adventurous diners. The Koobideh dish is particularly popular, and their Shish Kabobs are done to perfection. The attentive service and family-friendly menu make this one of the best kid-friendly restaurants in Los Angeles and well worth seeking out, even if you’re staying on the other side of the city.

BaekJeong – Ktown, 3465 W 6th Street

Los Angeles is well known for its Chinatown and the myriad restaurants packed into that small area. But if you want something a little different, Koreatown is a buzzing, vibrant location located between Beverly Hills and Downtown LA. This is where you’ll find the hugely popular BaekJong, one of Korea’s biggest restaurant chains, serving up the best sticky ribs in LA. If you want to try a little bit of everything, go for one of their beef or pork combo meals that also include a helping of their signature kimchi.

Tips for an effortless family dining experience

Going out for a meal should be relaxing, special and memorable for all the right reasons. But in reality, young children can find the whole process challenging, especially if it’s their first time in a restaurant. There are things you can do to make the experience more enjoyable for you, your children, and other diners.

Bringing along entertainment to occupy the kids while waiting for food

A lot of family-friendly restaurants in Los Angeles recognise that little diners can find waiting for their food to be served a challenge and provide young guests with colouring sheets or word-search puzzles to keep them occupied. However, this isn't universal, so taking your own entertainment, such as a colouring book and some crayons or pencils, is a good idea.

Engaging children in the dining process and trying new foods together

Eating isn’t just a matter of taking in nutrients – it’s an experience to be savoured and enjoyed. If you're planning an exceptional meal at one of the many family restaurants in Los Angeles, make sure your children feel involved in the process. Ask them what they’d like to try. Let everyone make a suggestion and then find a restaurant that appeals to all. The vast majority of restaurants in LA have detailed websites with their current menus so you can see exactly what’s on offer before heading there.

A great way of trying lots of different dishes is to book a taster menu experience, where a variety of dishes are served, letting your children discover new favourites. The choices they make may surprise you.