With school holidays nearing, and more and more restaurants and cafes returning to business-as-usual, we’re turning our minds (and tastebuds) towards venues that put smiles on the dials of the youngest in our households.
But why take our word for it? We asked some in-the-know local kids who have eaten their way through Canberra about their favourite places to eat – here’s their recommendations.
“Nina’s lunch of choice is a vegemite and cheese sandwich. As such, nothing beats a picnic at National Arboretum Canberra or the National Zoo & Aquarium. We’re all about letting the little one run free while mum and dad can enjoy some peace and quiet, and best of all no one has to clean up the crumbs!” – Nina, 2 years old, as written by her Mum
“I love when we get Mee’s Sushi for lunch. I share the chicken schnitzel and the prawn rolls with my sister. We sometimes go to Streattoast in Deakin – I get a hot chocolate (made with Belgium Chocolate buds) and a toastie.” – Pepe, 5 years old
“For a special treat, we ordered from XO. Banh mi and dumplings are my favourite, but I had a bit of the baby bok choy and that wasn’t so bad. Mummy and daddy like the wines that come too. When we go out, we like to play at Rodneys while the grown-ups have breakfast and coffee.” – Georgia, 6 years old
“The hot dog and fries from Brodburger at Capital Brewing are the best. I like to hang out in the play area after I’m done.” – Jack, 7 years old
“Milky Lane in Braddon is great for their burgers, mac and cheese croquets and awesome milkshakes. I love getting a special treat from Ricardo’s at Jamison on the weekends too.” – Sabine, 7 years old
“I love going to IKEA. The kids play area is awesome, and after mum and dad are done shopping we get to have meatballs, mash and gravy for lunch and then ice cream. We always get a table and it’s warm inside in winter.” – Robbie, 8 years old
“We go to Salotto for special birthday dinners. I like the candles on the tables and drawing on the paper tablecloth. I leave messages for the waiter! And they have great Spaghetti Bolognese.” – Maeve, 9 years old
“My favourite place to go out for breakfast is Hansel and Gretel in Phillip. For a nice dinner, we go to Corvina Italian in Mawson.” – Sufjan, 10 years old
“The crispy squid from Griffith Vietnamese. Don’t bother asking for any of mine. I won’t share.” – Ted, 10 years old
“We love going out to dinner with our friends and their families. We often end up as a big group so the Gungahlin Lakes Club is perfect for us. There’s always something yummy on the kids menu that we like, plus it’s fun to leave the grownups and hang out in the games room or kids room where there’s lots of different games you can play, or a movie to watch.” – Matilda, 11 years old
“I really like Hero Sushi Train. It’s fun to choose from a heap of food on the conveyor belt, it’s filling and really nice Japanese food.” – Louis, 11 years old
“Bentham’s in Yarralumla for superb wood-fired pizzas and friendly service. It’s always nice to sit outside on a summer evening. They have gluten free bases available too which is a plus for everyone in our family.” – Eva, 11 years old
“My favourite thing to get when we’re ordering in is the vegetable steamed dumplings from CBD Dumpling House.” – Harriet, 12 years old
“My pick from Grease Monkey is the Meat Lovers Detroit style pizza loaded with beef brisket, cabanossi, pepperoni, bacon, ham, caramelized onion and Motor City cheese. If we’re after something different from the city, I’ll order Baby Su’s Pork Belly BAO-GER with waffle fries.” – Oscar, 13 years old
“Hungry Buddha in Belconnen (Nepalese and Indian) or Rama’s in Pearce (Fijian Indian) are my favourites. The butter chicken at Hungry Buddha gets a big thumbs up from me every time. The warm service and range of great curries at Rama’s is our family fave… I love the veggie and fish pakoras!” – Charli, 14 years old
“We always get ice cream from Frugii Dessert Laboratory in Braddon. The dark chocolate gelato is my favourite.” – Lauren, 14 years old
“Best meal in Canberra is the Halal Snack Pack from Yarralumla Turkish Halal Pide House.” – Harry, 15 years old
“The Whipper Snapper fish and chips from Snapper by the Lake at the Canberra Southern Cross Yacht Club. In summer on weekends you can watch the boats racing. They also serve ONA Coffee.” – Alyssa, 17 years old
“Kingsley’s chips and gravy are the best. We have them every time we are back in Canberra.” – Tia, 14 and Jem, 19 years old
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