Via Quadronno is famous for their mouth-wateringly amazing paninis. Also gasp-inducing? The prices. Two paninis, a latte and a croissant will set you back around $40. Note to pastry lovers: They have Payard’s croissants here! The perfect, buttery pastries are worth the exorbitant prices.
Describing this restaurant as tight-quarters is an understatement. Our suggestion is to order takeaway at the front counter and eat your delicious panini either on the bench out the front of the restaurant, or take a short walk to nearby Central Park for lunch with a view.
Sheltering from the rain with lunch at Via Quadronno.
Highchairs: No. Stroller storage: No – this is a tiny cafe. Bring a carrier if possible if you’re planning to eat inside. Easy access: Yes – one step. There are more stairs however into the main dining area in the rear. Kids’ menu: No. Baby-friendly rating: —–
Via Quadronno
25 East 73rd Street (at Madison st),
New York, NY 10021
Phone: (212) 650 9880
This sweet little cafe/restaurant is an indoor wonderland, filled with whimsical flowers, trees and fountains. During a long, dreary winter, it’s a haven to escape the bitter cold and pretend spring has already spring.
The food is good, solid French fare, and the omelettes in particular are amazing. The drawbacks to this otherwise great little place are the cramped interior and slow service. Expect to wait for a table for brunch on weekends, particularly if you have a group of people.
Omelette for everyone.
Highchairs: Yes. Stroller storage: No – bring a carrier or umbrella stoller. Easy access: No – stairs down into the main dining area. Change tables: No. Kids’ menu: No.
Le Petit Cafe
502 Court Street,
Brooklyn, NY 11231
Phone: (718) 596 7060
Prices: $$
Hours: Mon-Sun 6am–10:30pm Get directions.
Delicious cookies are not the only offering from this adorable cafe, but you’ll find it hard to leave without eating a few. Great for breakfast, brunch or afternoon tea, One Girl is the perfect place to meet friends for a catch up, especially during the week days when it’s quiet. Order a hot chocolate with a marshmallow and whoopie pie (their speciality), sit back and prepare to while away the afternoon with your babe.
Whoopie pie! Yay!
Highchairs: No, but you can park your stroller at the tables. Stroller storage: No. Easy access: Kind of – entrance has only one step, but also has two doorways in a row on an awkward angle, making it a bit tricky to get in if you’re on your own with a stroller. Change tables: No. Kids’ menu: No.
This upper west side branch of the famous bakery was blissfully quiet the weekend we dropped in. No queues! No crowds! A row of tables by the windows leave ample room for strollers to be parked while you enjoy a delicious cupcake or banana pudding. It’s worth noting that we came by with friends and three babies all under the age of 1.5, and managed to have a relaxed morning tea here. A miracle by any parent’s standard!
Spacious, quiet interior.Morning tea with friends
Highchairs: No, but you can park your stroller at the tables. Stroller storage: No. Easy access: Yes – there is a ramp entrance. Change tables: No. Kids’ menu: No. Baby-friendly rating: ♥♥—
Magnolia Bakery, UWS
200 Columbus Avenue (at 71st st),
New York, NY 10023
Phone: (212) 724 8101
Hours:
Mon-Thu, Sun 7:30am–10pm
Fri-Sat 7:30am–12am
The Farmacy (as the locals call it) is a beautifully restored 1920s pharmacy in Carroll Gardens, well-known for their amazing grilled cheese sandwiches and egg floats. They’re also a haven for neighbourhood families to bring their babies and kids of all ages to enjoy lunch, sundaes at the counter, or musical jam sessions with kids’ entertainers, the Jitterbugs, on Thursdays at 11am. Don’t let the lack of highchairs put you off. If your tot isn’t happy sitting in their stroller or on your lap, they’ll be in good company running around the store.
Brooklyn FarmacyFloor space only left during the weekly Jitterbugs show.
Highchairs: Yes – but only one. There is, however, plenty of room to keep your baby in their stroller at your table. Stroller storage: Yes – if it’s not too busy you can leave your stroller in the back room or by the front door. Easy access: Yes. Change tables: No (there is a large bathroom where you can change your baby on the floor if needed). Kids’ menu: Not a special menu, but most of the food is friendly for bigger kids.
Brooklyn Farmacy
513 Henry Street (at Sackett st),
Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Phone: (718) 522 6260
prices: $
Fall Hours: Sun-Thur 10am-10pm, Fri-Sat: 10am-11pm Get directions.
A total hipster hangout – with delish, reasonably-priced food? It’s true, it does exist. Quarters are a little tight indoors, but still workable with a stroller or highchair. The food is stellar – our budding gourmet loved the egg scramble with mushroom, gruyere and broccoli. You can also order easy add-ons like a cup of yoghurt or side of toast for babies on solids.
Giant side of yoghurt = happy baby.
Highchairs: Yes. Stroller storage: Yes – and you can park your stroller at the table if you prefer. Easy access: Yes (one step to get in). Change tables: No. Kids’ menu: No.
Building On Bond
112 Bond Street (at Pacific st),
Brooklyn, NY 11217
Phone: (347) 853 8687
Prices: $$
Hours:
Mon-Thu 12–4pm, 5–10pm
Fri 12–4pm, 5–11pm
Sat 11am–3pm, 5–11pm
Sun 11am–3pm, 5–10pm Get directions.
A neighbourhood brunch favourite, Watty & Meg is happy to accommodate Brooklyn’s littlest diners. Friendly staff create a fun vibe as well as providing good service. Add in solid food and a relaxed atmosphere, and you’re in for an enjoyable brunch for the whole family. The omelets in particular are very good.
The menu is the tastiest dish of all.
Highchairs: Yes. Stroller storage: Yes – but minimal, so bring a fold-up stroller if possible, or park your larger stroller at an outdoor table in warm weather. Easy access: Yes. Change tables: No. Kids’ menu: No.
Watty & Meg
248 Court Street (at Kane St),
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Phone: (718) 643 0007
Prices: $$
Hours:
Mon-Thu 12–4pm, 5–10pm
Fri 12–4pm, 5–11pm
Sat 11am–3pm, 5–11pm
Sun 11am–3pm, 5–10pm Get directions.
This casual, seasonal restaurant (only open when the weather is warm enough) is perfect for families and mother’s groups to meet up during the week or on weekends. Located on the riverfront, the space is huge, so plenty of room for giant strollers and large groups, particularly on weekdays. No need to worry about fussy babies here – the open-air environment absorbs the worst of the noise. Since the restaurant opens up onto the Riverside Park walkway, you can get up and stroll cranky babies whenever needed without leaving your group.
Highchairs: Yes. Stroller storage: Lots of space for strollers. Easy access: Yes. Change tables: No (there are lots of park benches nearby where babies can be changed however). Kids’ menu: Yes. Kid-friendly rating: ♥♥♥♥♥
PIER i CAFÉ
500 W 70th Street (in Riverside Park South)
New York, NY 10023
Phone: (212) 362 4450
Hours:
PIER i CAFÉ will open any day above 65 degrees, from May 1st to mid-October (weather permitting).
Coffee Bar
Monday – Friday: 8AM – 5PM
Saturday & Sunday: 8AM – 4PM
While kids and teenagers on the ground floor whirl around the self-serve candy bar, minutes away from a sugar coma, upstairs is a bright, pastel haven where you and your little ones can sit in giant life-sized cupcake booths (excellent privacy for nursing mothers) and chug down sweet candy-themed cocktails from the bar. Savoury food is limited to pizza and build-your-own deluxe peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (add-ins include things like rice krispie treats, so this isn’t your typical sandwich). Their speciality is, of course, desserts, so be prepared for a sugar-high pretty much as soon as you walk in the door.
Sugar rush!Cocktail + sugar = bliss.Cupcake booth.Too much sugar for everyone.
Highchairs: Yes. Stroller storage: No – but there is plenty of room for strollers to wheel around or sit at your table with you. Easy access: Yes – an elevator to the 2nd floor where the cafe is housed. Change tables: Yes. Kids’ menu: No – but most older kids will eat pretty much anything on the menu. Ice-cream – hello? Kid-friendly rating: ♥♥♥♥♥
Dylan’s Candy Bar
1011 3rd Avenue at 60th street,
New York, NY 10065
Phone: (646) 735 0078
Hours:
Mon-Thu 10am–9pm
Fri-Sat 10am–11pm
Sun 11am–9pm
A place this cute and kitschy screams child-friendly – until you read the sign on the door that reads “Absolutely no strollers or carriages allowed in the restaurant”. The decor, with oversized clocks and stained glass lamps, is a vision out of Wonderland – but this land is for big kids, not toddlers and babies. When asked if they have highchairs, the server responds with a no – adding they have booster chairs however, which they don’t recommend we use because they’re not safe.
Having a heart-to-heart with a friend’s toddler, who is perched on the “un-safe” booster seats.
The tables are small and squished together, making it difficult to hold infants on your lap. Add to that slow service and a potential long wait for a table (half an hour on weekdays, up to an hour on weekends), and you’ve got a place that is best left till the kids are a lot older.
The redeeming feature of Serendipity 3 is that their meals are tasty and large portioned, including their speciality Frrrozen Hot Chocolate, which is large enough for four people to share.
Frrrozen hot chocolate. Huge.Three ladies, three babies. Stealth baby in the baby carrier. Forbidden strollers ready to be deployed.
Highchairs: No. Stroller storage: No Easy access: No – several stairs down into the restaurant, plus two flights of steep stairs if your table is in the upstairs section. Change tables: No. Kids’ menu: No. Kid-friendly rating: –—-
Serendipity 3
225 East 60th Street
between 2nd and 3rd Avenues
New York, NY 10022
Phone: (212) 838 3531
Serendipity 3 accepts a limited amount of reservations for lunch and dinner only, not for desserts. To make a reservation for lunch or dinner please call (212) 838 3531.
Hours:
Sun-Thur 11:30am to midnight
Friday 11:30am to 1:00am
Saturday 11:30am to 2:00am
