Best Norfolk Family Friendly Restaurants!

Eating in restaurants with children can be a bit stressful if you go to the wrong places but choose an eaterie with family friendly values and family dining out will leave you laughing with the whole mini entourage of your gang! Here in Norfolk we are lucky enough to have some amazing places who welcome children very warmly, these are some of my absolute favourites:

The Silver Darlings Cafe at Time and Tide Museum, Blackfriars Road, Great Yarmouth

Wile we wholeheartedly recommend visiting the museum (which is part of Norfolk Museums where an annual pass for two adults and as many children as you take with you costs under £100 for all ten museums in their fleet), you don’t have to be a museum visitor to enjoy the cafe here where the food is SO gloriously delicious you will want to go back for more and more and more and most importantly they provide a wonderfully warm welcome for the littles. Not only is their children’s menu VERY reasonably priced (bordeirng on the absurdly cheap actually) with something like a sandwich and crisps setting you back £2.50 or a more extensive meal like ham, egg and chips costing £3.95 but the also have a play corner where little ones can plonk themselves prior to the food arriving. It’s brilliant with a tiny one like Raffie as he can feel the freedom of play rather that restriction of sitting in a high chair but hey also cater to bigger ones with pens and paper so everyone wins. I LOVE the food here and especially make the journey just for the warm bread, garlic butter and olives they bring out at the start of the meal with no charge. HOW they make that butter is beyond me but it IS divine!

The Bowling House, Dereham Road, Norwich

I would ordinarily go a long way to avoid eating in the bowling alley but The Bowling House, with its bijou lanes, funky decor and AMAZING karaoke booth also serves up fantastic fodder. Jonny and I loved it when we went for date night but the kids also REALLY enjoy the food here and this set up absolutely doesn’t insist on bowling as a requisite so I would very definitely visit for a meal alone. They have been incredibly kind and thorough when I’ve taken a friend with us who can’t eat gluten and I highly recommend their party package which includes bowling and a meal but if you fancy a simple dining experience here with the kids then their menu costs £7.97 for a main with salad and skin on chips, a bowl of ice cream with a wafer and a squash and the food is totally yum! My kids recommend the mac and cheese as well as the southern fried chicken which I too can personally give a seal of approval to. It’s home made with buttermilk and makes my mouth water just thinking about it!

The Rocket House Cafe, Seafront, Cromer

Everything, right down to the sauces, is home made here and it’s such a dreamy place to sit watching the waves as you eat but it’s also laid back enough that bringing the kids is no problem. We adore the food here and in the summer it’s the perfect place to enjoy a home cooked breakfast out on their balcony while in the winter we like to huddle up with their giant mugs of hot chocolate and delicious cakes. For the kiddos their sandwiches, which are served with chips and a crunchy salad, all come in at under £4 while the most expensive main meal of home made fish fingers and chips cost £5.25. It’s brilliant for little ones who don’t like to eat much like Jimmy as I always resent paying for him to have a full meal when he will eat less than half as they can have something small and simple like cheese on toast for £2.75. We love this restaurant and go back time and time again. It’s worth noting that underneath it is the free to enter Henry Blogg museum all about Henry’s days as a fisherman and lifeboat man in Cromer – well worth a visit!

The Pigs, Edgefield, Melton Constable

When I tell my kids we are off to The Pigs they whoop with joy because they love it here so much but you can’t go on a whim and HAVE to book because it’s VERY popular. Don’t make the mistake of announcing a trip off the cuff because there will be disappointed tears before bed time! It’s not inexpensive but the food is VERY, VERY good and they have the most wonderful playground outside for children which was designed by another Norfolk fave of ours (who also serve fantastic food), BeWILDerwood! If you’ve been to BeWILDerwood then you’ll be able to imagine just how much fun the playground is at The Pigs but let’s face it, there’s not a tremendous amount of days in the year when it doesn’t rain in North Norfolk so The Pigs have that covered too with a BRILLIANT indoor games room. We totally let the big kids loose while we sup on a glass of wine as they play and it would work for that alone but the food is also pretty great. One day we will book a spa room for the whole family (yep, they do that too and have outdoor baths, saunas and TVs for each room so the kids will love it) but for now we simply recommend making a booking and having some Sunday lunch where they have an all inclusive pudding table – YUM! The Piglets Menu costs £5.50 for a main, £3.95 for desert and £2.60 for drinks (FYI in case that £2.60 makes you wince like it does me, they’re fancy drinks!) – like I said, it’s not inexpensive but a real worthy treat and if you have a dog they even have a pooch menu to boot!

Cocina Terrace, Castle Mall, Norwich

We stumbled upon this when going to the cinema one day as they had 20% off PLUS kids ate free as it was the school holiday but ordinarily the fiesta kids menu maracas in at £4.95 for a main course with a drink (a regular soda or an agua frescas of hibiscus, mago or strawberry). They can have quesadilla, chicken strips or cod goujons with the latter two being served with skin on fries and the food is PERFECT for little ones. DEFINITELY not spicy but with a real Mexican flavour and the crisps they bring out at the start of the meal are SO moorish that you might want to ask for a separate bowl for the kids or you won’t get to try any yourself! Honestly love the vibe in this place and the food packed a brilliant punch for us as well!

Zaks American Diner, Poringland/Thetford/Norwich Riverside or Norwich Mousehold

Zaks begain in 1976 with a caravan inGreat Yarmouth serving burgers wrapped in tin foil (which you can still buy) but these days there are four different diners to choose from. We’ve eaten in all but the Thetford branch and have to say that our favourite is the Mousehold restaurant due to ambiance and aesthetics. American number plates adorn the walls along with lots of eye catching art for the kids and the food is AMAZING! I try not to use that word as it’s SO over used on social media but Zaks really is and the kids food is great! They often have promotions for kids eating free and the like but the menu for juniors is ordinarily priced at £6.25 for a main meal, a scoop of ice cream and a drink. You can add to the price by paying extra for a bigger and more exciting desert, junior cocktail or milkshake and we usually do this as the kids love the pancakes! The options are a burger (a mini version of any from the main menu), a hot diggidy dog dog, junior steak, ribs, mac and cheese, pasta and meat balls, chicken crispies or shrimp on a stick all served with a choice of fries, curlies, jacket potato or wedges! You can also upgrade to sweet potato fries which my husband rates but my kids don’t! Overall this is our go to restaurant in Norwich and we love it!

Pedros, Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich

Pedros is another Mexican joint and a stalwart of the dining face in Norwich. It’s been there for years and years, heck I even worked there in my teens as a waitress, and it’s just SO much fun! The kids love the food as much as they like wearing the Mexican hats and the prices aren’t bad either! It’s a stones throw from the Theatre Royal and 5 minutes walk from the city centre so very easy to get to but I recommend booking if visiting on the weekends as it gets extremely busy! It’s fast paced and a bit frantic so don’t expect a relaxing evening here but with kids sometimes that’s just what you need especially if they are a bit boisterous and loud. My only criticism is that on recent trips our waiting staff haven’t been terribly interested… They’ve done their job and it’s been fine but they could be a bit friendlier – wasn’t like that in my day I tell you! The most expensive kids main is £6.45 with a top price desert being £3.95 and while there are of course Mexican options like enchilada or tacos you could also just choose fish fingers, ribs or chicken nuggets if you have a picky eater!

Of course there are the regular chain haunts in Norwich like Pizza Express which are great for kids and we go there regularly (we prefer the St Benedicts Branch to the one in the Forum) but there’s something extra specially good when you find a brilliant independent restaurant like these who are all geared up for kiddos!

Hope that you’ve found some food for thought so that you can find some food for the family when you’re dining out with the kids in Norfolk!