Small children friendly restaurants? Are there any?

by Ashleigh
(Estepona, Malaga, Spain)

Entertaining the troops!

It was my other halfs 30th birthday at the weekend and we wanted to go out with a group of friends for a lovely lunch, bringing our kids along too! All our kids are small - under 5, so we wanted somewhere where they wouldn't get bored too quickly, hopefully somewhere with a play area.

I was so disappointed to hear the The Black Horse Tavern in Benamara had closed, it was such a perfect place to bring small children.
We were looking for somewhere that the adults could enjoy some great food (and a glass of wine or 2) but where our small people could run around as well (without getting in everyones way and receiving disapproving looks from other diners).

Does such place exist anymore? Apart from Kidz Kingdom (which I must say is brilliant and their food is lovely) but we wanted somewhere where the adults would enjoy too, as Kidz Kingdom gets super busy on the weekend, and we fancied table service and a getting a little bit spoiled! lol.

We racked our brains and finally opted for TGI Fridays in Puerto Banus - mainly because they give the kids colouring pencils and paper to draw on. The food was good, but the kids quickly bored of colouring in, so we couldn't stay for long! The staff were great and put up with our little hooligans (just about)but it was more suitable for a quick bite to eat rather than a long leisurely lunch.

Is there a restaurant that opens for lunch that fulfills all of these requests or am I asking for too much? I have heard there is something in Mijas - have no idea what it is called - can you help? Any ideas for the next time would be great - anywhere between Gib and Malaga would be worth the trip!

Thanks in advance,

Ashleigh

ashleigh@theicingonthecakespain.com

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Small children friendly restaurants? Are there any?

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Nov 16, 2009

Kid Friendly restaurants in Marbella and Costa del Sol
by: Marbella Family

Although restaurants around Marbella are usually child-friendly, we do understand the difficulty of finding a place where you can relax and eat well while small kids are kept entertained with something other than coloring pens.

We would normally recommend a chiringuito (beach restaurant) as kids can play on the beach while the adults enjoy their food. But if you are looking for something a bit more secure and enclosed, without the worry of the kids running into the sea, then you will have to look elsewhere.

We have asked around and done a bit of research. We found that the following restaurants could match your criteria:

1. Le Papillon - Elviria (Marbesa)
2. Los Arcos - Estepona
3. Tony Roma´s - Marbella
4. Robin Hood - Estepona
5. El Gamonal - San Pedro Alcantara
6. La Taberna del Alabardero - San Pedro Alcantara

Personally, we haven´t been to these restaurants yet. We will visit them soon and write a full review about them. However, they all came highly recommended by friends with little kids, as good food places with an area for kids to play around. If you try them, let us know what you thought as your comments will be helpful to others.

Dec 02, 2009

Restaurants good for children
by: Anna

Better than TGI's is the Hard Rock Cafe in Puerto Banus. Kiddies meals are 6.95 euros and you get the colouring pencils too.
Another idea, but I haven't been there for a long time is the Robin Hood pub by the Cancelada exit. Pub that serves very traditional English food and has a small garden outside which might be handy for little ones.
Or in La Canada shopping centre there are plenty of restaurants and little ones can run around the terraces perfectly safely and there are a few rides that they could go on too. They have a recently opened Chinese buffet there that would be a nice sit down meal and if you sat near the back of the restaurant you would be able to supervise your little ones as they ran around. Older children would like this as they could walk to the bowling alley and play on some of the arcade games, table football/air hockey.

Feb 11, 2010

STREETS
by: Anonymous

there is a fantastic place in la cala the original streets of london now has a bouncy castle and play park safe for kids an quality food