Where We Actually Eat with Kids in L.A.

Photo credit: Debbie Steingesser

I recently listened to our beloved Evan Kleiman interview Helen Zoe Veit about her new book, Picky: How American Children Became the Fussiest Eaters in History, on an episode of Good Food. The conversation prompted me to reflect on the feeding journey we’ve experienced raising our children in L.A. (spoiler alert: it is not linear).

When our son was born in spring of 2020 (shoutout to the pandemic parents — you’re the real ones), I became obsessed with feeding him. I FaceTimed with our lactation consultant while my husband held the phone up to me breastfeeding him. I read countless books about introducing solids and pureed all the organic fruits and veggies we got from our weekly produce pickup at The Lady and Larder. I remember asking our pediatrician when it would finally be safe to take our son to an outdoor restaurant, because I was determined to raise a mini foodie like me.

On March 14, 2021, we took our 10-month-old son to his first restaurant in Los Angeles: Majordomo (I mean, where do you go from here?!). They had a beautiful enclosed patio created for COVID times, and our friend Ken was the sommelier, so our little family was VIP-ed in the best possible way. We came prepared with our stroller and diaper bag full of toys, books, wipes, diapers, changing pads, bibs, burp clothes, baby cutlery (no screens — we weren’t there yet), excitedly anticipated creating a glimpse of our own pre-pandemic, pre-parental life with our baby in tow.

That perfect evening at Majordomo under the 5 p.m. dusky downtown L.A. sky and twinkling patio lights, our son (“The Gourmet” as our lactation consultant coined him) ate everything. Bing bread with cultured butter, thinly sliced ham, and hummus. Branzino topped with every herb at the Santa Monica Farmers Market, charred broccolini, crispy rice, curried cauliflower, lo mein noodles, and white rice (quadruple carbs forever, duh). My husband and I delighted in our multiple glasses of sparkly and red things while taking photos and exhaling, we reveled in the fact that we had created a miniature foodie and life might even return to something that resembled normal again.

It has been over five years since our magical Majordomo moment. A lot of life and dining out in L.A. has happened since then. Our son, once the most adventurous eater, has become incredibly selective, and our daughter, who entered the world three years after our son, likes to stand up, sprint, scream, dance, or lie down on the floor at restaurants. Double orders of butter pasta with parm, Peppa Pig on my phone leaning on a water glasswicky sticks (they will get swallowed), crayons (find them in your dryer the next day), and early dessert (good luck with bedtime) have entered the chat, but we prevail.

The following is our food-loving family’s best-of list, our very favorite places to dine with kids in LA. These restaurants are not just kid-friendly; they’re kid-loving. They go the extra distance of having clean high chairs, extensive kids menus (or off-menu options), fun things to play with at the table, and other families with children present at the 5 p.m. hour to sympathize with while your kids simultaneously melt down. We’d love for you to try them and comment your favorites below … Round two, perhaps?

1. Birdie G’s - We must start with a restaurant named after Chef/Owner Jeremy Fox’s actual kid, Birdie. Re-opening this summer in the Fairmont Century City (luxury family staycation or Backseat Babies moms night escape, anyone?). Birdie G’s champions one of the greatest kids menus in the city, complete with wicky sticks, crayons and games — we recommend a double (or triple, trust me) order of cornbread (shaped like real corn!), butter pasta with parm, fries with aioli (“it’s yellow ketchup”), and chocolate cake with whatever ice cream they’re serving that day. Maybe your kid will also eat some of their famous Caesar salad or steak frites, but TBH you’re the lucky one who gets to enjoy the kids’ butter pasta and cornbread crumbs.

2. Bagel Nosh - A few words to change your life: “Over the Rainbow Bagel with strawberry cream cheese.” Suddenly, all your upcoming birthday parties are solved and you can exhale. Our beloved “Nosh” does BOMB catering (say hi to Ryan for me), epic bagel sandwiches you can barely fit into your mouth, and rainbow-colored bagels that will get your kids to be excited about their food. Perfect for a park picnic or a simple, affordable dine-in option, it’s worth a Westside trip to try. Pro tip: Buy extra rainbows to have breakfasts and lunches set for a few days.

3. Capitol Seafood Monterey Park - Our selective eater will generally devour anything in the form of a dumpling with dipping sauce. Therefore dim sum is a must for the whole family. We have a tradition of coming to Capitol Seafood on a Sunday morning around the holidays (hi, no traffic) for a Jewish Christmas feast. It’s one of the only dim sum spots in San Gabriel Valley that takes reservations (by phone) and is always full of other kids and families to make table friends with. The sesame balls, xiao long bao, and custard cups are our kids’ favorites. When they inevitably get up and run from the table, you can take them to see the live lobsters and grab some Pocky sticks at the 99 Ranch next door.

4. Ethio Kitchen and Coffee - A perfect Saturday for us is a leisurely browse and buy at Children’s Book World, then lunch across the street at Ethio Kitchen with new Dog Man and Poppleton books in tow. This lovely Ethiopian restaurant serves buttered spaghetti and pizza, which for our selective kids is a gateway to trying some of the most delicious, made-to-order Ethiopian platters I’ve had in L.A. A bite of pasta, a bite of injera, a bite of misir, a bite of chicken tibs, and a giant coffee for you — pure genius. The owner is the absolute sweetest, and she used to work with children, so she makes the experience feel like you’re having lunch in someone’s dining room.

5. Don Antonio’s - Los Angeles is home to a flourishing array of multi-generational, family-owned, sit-down Mexican restaurants. Our very own Pico district arguably has the best (which made this a hard one to choose). Our little crew has spent many afternoons with sizzling fajita trays and live Mariachi music at Lares or a crispy taco/enchilada combo from Gilbert’s El Indio, smothered in enough cheese to put you in a food coma for hours. But, Don Antonio’s stands in a class of its own. With their iconic signage, indoor cave-like vibes, and perfect kids menu, this is our family’s go-to spot. For our particular eater, there are burgers and fries on the kids menu. This is not necessarily what you want your child to eat at a Mexican restaurant, but if it can be a doorway to them watching (and smelling) their sister crumble fresh queso and avocado slices into a large bowl of chicken tortilla soup (and maybe even trying a bite), we consider it a success. We’ve been here on two occasions with large parties of four to six kids, and the restaurant is always welcoming and accommodating. Pro tip: Bring your kids and kids’ friends with parents you want to drink margaritas with to their perfectly lit back patio this summer.

6. Heavy Handed - Our family first met our friends at Heavy Handed when they were a food truck parked outside Good People Coffee during the pandemic. Now they have two brick-and-mortar locations in Santa Monica and Studio City in addition to their truck for catering (hello, birthday parties!). L.A. has an epic assortment of delicious smash burgers. However, Heavy Handed is home to the only burger patty our selective son will actually eat. He will also eat the pickles, which is now considered a vegetable group in our home. Did I mention they have soft serve?! This is the real L.A. happy meal. Pro tip: Next time you have to bring food to a school picnic, order five baskets of Heavy Handed fries with extra ketchup and please report back.

7. Smorgasburg - This free weekly outdoor food festival and artisan market is curated by my old coworker and friend of KCRW, Zach Brooks, aka Midtown Lunch, who has impeccable taste in food and a knack for discovering vendors for all the tiny tastebuds of L.A. Our kids’ faves were wood-fired Mamani Pizza (which they said was the best pizza of their life), Buttery Popcorn’s kettle corn, xiao long bao from The Dumpling Dream, and black sesame and chocolate Thai ice cream from Moom Maam (OMG the sticky rice at the bottom). In addition to all the above delicious things I got to taste, my personal favorites were spicy tuna rice balls from Mama Musubi and With Bee’s unreal Afro-Caribbean plate with jollof rice, fried plantains, and lamb (I’m honestly still thinking about it). We can’t wait to come back and try more things! Join us?

8. Din Tai Fung - I often tell people that our kids were built on Din Tai Fung because it was what I craved and consumed most while pregnant with both of them. Hence, it’s not surprising they demand it often and receive it sometimes. Din Tai Fung is our go-to special occasion place and a perfect opportunity to fold in a trip to the Lego Store (Century City), Disneyland (downtown Disney), or The Cayton Children’s Museum (Santa Monica). In addition to the staples — pork xiao long bao, vegan rice cakes (our kids love these!), green beans (who cares if they just lick the sauce off?), and chocolate dessert dumplings with sea salt cream (a must!) — we highly recommend ordering the off-menu egg fried rice, which usually comes out first, and the vegan dumplings, which are green and contain the only vegetables our kid will eat. Pro tips: Bring a whole apple for your toddler to work on at the table while you wait for multiple courses, and make sure you check out the chefs making dumplings in real time through their open kitchen windows.

9. Vito’s Pizza - When you have a kid in Santa Monica, you’re going to eat a lot of Vito’s Pizza … lucky for all of us parents at birthday parties, it’s so good. As an East Coaster, I can safely say Vito’s is the closest you’ll get to NY-style pie on the West Side. The pizzas are large, delicious, and you can do ½ toppings, so you’re in luck if your kid loves plain cheese and you love broccoli (don’t come at me). Their kids butter pasta and breadsticks are also must-haves for the choosy eaters in your family. Everything delivers so well, and you can order direct delivery or pick up through their own site. We order Vito’s for our kids and their babysitter on our date nights and they have a pizza party with special homemade hats. And, on New Year’s Eve, our friend group had a “Noon Year’s Eve” party at Vito’s complete with balloons, party hats, horns, and 15+ very excited children 6 and under … and we somehow lived to tell the tale and not get kicked out.

10. Handel’s Ice Cream - Let’s end on a sweet note, shall we? Nothing says summer in Los Angeles like wiping sticky sprinkles off your kid’s face on a bench at Handel’s. They don’t have kids scoops, so ask them to take it easy on the small cone if you want to sleep later. Each of the Handel’s locations are wildly supportive of all things sports, schools, and fundraisers for kids in Los Angeles. Pro tip: It takes the same amount of time for your kid to eat a single scoop in a cup with a cone on top as it does for you to consume a double hot fudge sundae with black raspberry and whatever peanut butter chocolate flavor they currently have.

We can’t wait for you to try (or try again) all the tasty spots listed above and add your own in the comments below. Until next time, please go out and support our diverse L.A. restaurant community with your backseat babies in tow. Fingers crossed they might even try something new.