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Header image courtesy of Explorer’s Club Restaurant
While many of us enjoy a boozy brunch from time to time, it is undeniable that a little family time is good for the soul. With this in mind, we have scoured the city to find the best family-friendly restaurants which offer the best play areas, kids’ menus, magic tricks, and more to entertain you and your little ones while you chow down.
Specially designed with children in mind, this bright and cheery café will have your little ones grinning from ear to ear the moment they walk in! The near 10,000-square-foot venue is brimming with kid-friendly facilities such as rope nets, ball pits, toys galore, and a small play kitchen, making it a wonderful spot for parents to unwind over a good meal while their children let loose and burn off some energy. As for the menu, it features kid-pleasing favourites like mini-Wagyu burgers, doughnuts, French fries, spaghetti, and pizza; as well as grilled sirloin steak with sauce, potatoes, and vegetables that will make mealtime fun even for the pickiest eaters!
Whizbo Café, 4/F, We Go Mall, 16 Po Tai Street, Ma On Shan | (+852) 2623 0396
If your kids are getting restless after a long day of furniture shopping, bring them over to Ikea Café for a much-needed recharge! Most Ikea stores in Hong Kong have their own restaurant, but the branch tucked away in Kowloon Bay’s Megabox is the top pick for young families. Besides kids’ meals and a delicious array of Swedish delights for wallet-friendly prices, you’ll also find here a forest-themed play area, storybooks, interactive games, and amenities like hot water and bottle warmers! Note that the place can get quite crowded on the weekends, so best get there early to nab a table or visit during off-peak hours.
Ikea Café, 4/F, Megabox, 38 Wang Chiu Road, Kowloon Bay | (+852) 3125 0888
Belgian beerhouse Frites offers a dedicated Frites café kids’ area every Saturday and Sunday in its Quarry Bay branch. Parents can sit back and relax with a beer and delicious food while little ones can stretch their imaginations as they role-play as customers, cashiers, dishwashers, and baristas in the mini pop-up cafés. Kids can also delve into a menu of pub grub with favourites like spaghetti Bolognese, bangers and mash, as well as smoothies and milkshakes. The venue also hosts children’s parties at the weekend, so this is a good one to bear in mind if a special little someone has a birthday coming up.
Frites, G/F, Oxford House, Taikoo Place, 979 King’s Road, Quarry Bay | (+852) 3950 9000
You’re never too old to play with your food, and that’s exactly what’s in store at this “Instagram-worthy” restaurant. In fact, at Yum Cha, you’re encouraged to squidge, poke, and smash your way through the impressive selection of animal-shaped treats and googly-eyed faces that feature on the menu. Fans of char siu bao will squeal with delight when the BBQ piggy buns arrive at the table, while big kids with a wicked sense of humour will jump at the chance to squeeze the gooey orange innards from the mouths of the hot custard buns.
With a large variety of noodles, rice, soup, and meat dishes on offer, there’s never a dull (or tasteless) moment at this quirky spot, and most dim sum orders will not set you back by much for three pieces. It’s a total hit with the kids—and the big kids!
Yum Cha, 2/F, Nan Fung Place, 173 Des Voeux Road, Central | (+852) 3541 9710
With locations in Central and the picturesque beachfront at The Pulse, Amalfitana is often filled to the brim with families during the weekend. This charming restaurant really has it all—authentic artisan pizzas and Italian dishes, the freshest Negronis and limoncello for the adults, and an entire beach and playground to play in for the little ones. Kids can choose from a range of bambino pizzas including baby Margherita, pepperoni, and Oliva, and, if they ask the team nicely, they can enjoy some colouring activities with crayons.
Whether you want to organise a playdate, host a party, or simply enjoy some quality family time, Origami Kids Café is the perfect place to do it. Designed to be a safe, fun, and interactive play-and-dine environment for kids aged up to seven years old, this innovative space incorporates educational play, tasty bites, and more.
Mums and dads can kick back with a coffee or range of Chinese fusion dishes in the cosy dining area while their kids enjoy the mini kitchen, reading area, and ball pit in the indoor play zone. There is also a range of workshops on offer where little ones are given the space, tools, materials, and methods to let their imaginations run wild.
And, if the weather is good, they can venture up to the 23,000-square-metre rooftop park of Kai Tak Cruise Terminal and connect with nature in the great outdoors. The entry fee for two-and-a-half-hour sessions costs $138 on weekdays and $198 during weekends and public holidays, while babies under six months—upon presentation of a birth certificate— and adults can enter for free, with a minimum food and beverage charge for accompanying adults.
Origami Kids Café, North End, Zone B, Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, 33 Shing Fung Road, Kowloon Bay | (+852) 6063 7470
Go-to Neapolitan pizzeria Motorino is already a popular spot for families, but there’s another reason for little diners to head there, as the Wan Chai branch now offers children’s pizza parties where mini chefs can create their own doughy masterpiece using the restaurant’s wide variety of traditional Italian toppings.
While the pies bake to charred perfection in the oven, young guests are kept entertained with Motorino’s colouring book, which teaches them about the culinary world, while sipping on free-flow soft drinks. Motorino also offers a sweet ending to the feast as house-made tiramisu cake is dished up to all party-goers afterwards.
And the best part? Motorino also offers adult pizza-making parties twice a month, which includes antipasti, free-flow wine and Prosecco, pizza, and a chef’s hat and apron. Sold!
Stanley Plaza is the ideal place to bring kids to if they want to blow off steam and enjoy good food. Scattered with numerous alfresco restaurants and cafés, there’s plenty to choose from in this spacious, pedestrian-only square. Among our favourite eateries are Classified and Beef & Liberty, which are dotted around the huge outdoor playground that features a fun pirate ship. Further along the waterfront are family favourites Pizza Express and The Pickled Pelican, which serves hearty pies with a stunning view of the ocean and plenty of open space for kids and teens to skate, play, and walk their dogs—perfect for a sunny day in Hong Kong.
Stanley Plaza, 23 Carmel Road, Stanley
Fans of Hong Kong Disneyland’s Mystic Manor will be amazed at the Explorer’s Club Restaurant, a place that Lord Henry Mystic, a well-known fictional traveller within the Disneyland universe, established to share his passion for food and culture, so the menu encompasses traditional dishes from Morocco, Italy, India, Egypt, Russia, and China. Embarking on a flavourful journey, diners will enter a world of diverse cultures and cuisines.
In the restaurant’s five themed-rooms, you can savour the exotic cuisines discovered by Mystic through various buffet stations. Its semi-buffet set allows you to enjoy all-you-can-eat starters, salads, desserts, and drinks, and one main course from the à la carte menu. On the buffet, expect Russian eggplant caviar, Egyptian salad, and Moroccan lemon cake, among other delicacies. For mains, some of the signature dishes are the Moroccan lamb, Indian butter chicken, and mushroom lasagna. In addition to the Explorer’s Club’s semi-buffet, little ones may order the kids’ meal, which consists of Disney-character pasta, Italian meatballs, vegetables, and the brand-new Banana Surprise dessert, a hazelnut chocolate, vanilla, and banana cake that can easily be mistaken for a real banana.
As an explorer-friendly restaurant, securing a dinner reservation there will grant you access to a special viewing area to see “Momentous,” the light show illuminating Hong Kong Disneyland’s Castle of Magical Dreams every night!
Explorer’s Club Restaurant, Mystic Point, Hong Kong Disneyland, Lantau Island
First published on 28 August 2018. Written by Sophie Pettit. Last updated by Beverly Ngai and Natalie Or.
Covering the hottest new eats, the best places to play, offbeat takes on local culture, and so much more, Localiiz is every Hongkonger’s destination for how to live a well-rounded life in our vibrant city. Why the strange spelling? Well, Localiiz is designed to be your “local eyes”—and for that, you need two i’s.
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