What items would you like to see on a child friendly cafe menu?

[EatingCalamari]

Asking for a friend who is revamping the menu for her child friendly cafe.

What items would you like to see on offer for your children?

TIA

Good quality Sausages and baked beans. No chips.
A cafe near us does that and it’s the most popular dish for wee ones.
But also, half size adult menu choices.

Pitta bread/slices carrot and veg and dip?
Macaroni cheese / pasta & sauce
Jacket potato with choice of toppings
Home made stuff instead of too much processed / pre prepared - but depends on your set up.
Like a pp said- smaller portion of adult meal
Some gf / no dairy options possibly - it seems more and more children have identified allergies/intolerances these days.
Some kids will be adventurous with food, and some will not though - I have one of each!

Food:
Jacket potato and baked beans
Tomato spaghetti
Cheese toastie
Cold pasta salad
Regular salad
Fries or wedges

Drinks:
Babycinno
Children sized hot chocolate
Fruit juice
Milkshake

Snacks:
Fruit salad
Ice cream
Chocolate/school cake
Crisps
Waffle/crepe

Half portions of the adult menu, good for elderly people who struggle with larger portions too

Also would the option of “picky bits” (Sorry) be popular?

A selection of 4 or 5 items(from a longer list) like sliced fruit, veg, cooked chicken, boiled eggs,cheese, plain pasta, ham etc that you could have for a set price be popular for toddlers?

Absolutely plain cheese sandwiches - no pickle, mayo, tomato etc, on light thin bread (brown OK but not granary). And yes, slices of cheese better than grated because they don’t fall out all over the place.

My 2 year old would love that

Mac and cheese
Cheese muffins with a portion of soup
Toasties
Veggie sticks for sides
Pancakes with a choice of toppings: either sweet/savoury

If you had the option of plain pasta with some parmesan, my kids would want to be there every day. I literally cannot get my head around it. And they aren't even picky (eg eat sushi and curries and stuff too)

I would just like to see child size portions of the same meal.

Lots of places round here just do "big plate" and "small plate". I like it.

My DC loved this sort of food when they were toddlers.

I agree. Mine didn't like 'kids' food' as he wasn't raised on it. Cafe's meant sharing or buying from the adult menu.

Yes, a decent children's menu is a lifesaver for my grandmother. She can't manage much or have spices.

Pancakes & waffles
Pitta & hummous
Mini pizza
Toast with various toppings - cheese toastie, scrambled egg, beans
Snacks like babybel, mini cheddars, pom bears, boxes of raisins
Babycino, mini hot choc with cream, decent apple juice cartons (fruit shoots aren't great)
Ice cream with various toppings - sprinkles, flake, sauce, marshmallows etc
I don't think that many would buy veg sticks & salad but might be wrong. I think going to a cafe is usually a treat.

My favourite café to take DDs to has the following:

Half a jacket potato with cheese, beans or tuna

Toasted bagels with butter plus jam, peanut butter or marmite

They do a great kid's platter which is basically sliced pitta, hummus and sticks of carrot, cucumber and peppers

Beans on toast

Scrambled egg on toast

Pasta with pesto

Gingerbread men alongside the cakes on offer

Babyccinos on offer alongside the hot drinks for adults. Just steamed milk is fine.

I like having cartons of juice available to try and reduce spillages but also tap water and children's cups available to help ourselves to.

Also paper napkins somewhere I can pick a few up to wipe up spillages without having to ask a member of staff

Best toddler meal I saw... it was called "Toddler Tapas". It was a list of items, like cheese, ham, bread sticks, toast, tomatoes, grapes, egg, pepper carrots etc and you just selected the ones you wanted.

The option to chose a "main" and side... so choosing pasta with your chicken nuggets for example, or vegetables not potatoes.

Not using cheap bread for the kids while adults gor home-baked stuff.

@EatingCalamari it goes EVERYWHERE. And if you're unlucky, your two year old who was excited for their cheese sandwich will cry that "the cheese is broken" and not even eat it anyway... though that might just be us ...

Somewhere I went did one of those "kids lunchbox" options but with a huuuuge range of things. Usual sandwich, crisps, biscuits, piece of fruit but also raisins, cheese block, sausage rolls, yoghurt, custard, half size toastie or pizza. Lots of it was not perishable or featured on the adult menu so I don't think it would have been so expensive to stock but because they could pick exactly what they wanted, they were SO happy eating (and I ended up ordering a second coffee 🫣)

Another favourite place does any half size adult sandwich with kids "healthy crisps", raisins, squash and a freddo for £3.50. Is it the healthiest meal they'll ever eat? No, but they love it (especially choosing their sandwich off the adult menu) and we have a balanced diet generally - also, because it's a reasonable price, we go fairly regularly (usually after a bike ride! Fairly cheap day out 😉)

Plain pasta with a little butter on, this would be heaven sent. This feels like a safe ingredient and normally leads on to eat much more things

Yep,this sounds good. We go to a place that does a little afternoon tea. You can choose sandwiches (mine always go for peanut butter), pitta with various dips, fruit veggies and mini cakes. You get juice or water in a teapot. My kids like to have tea but I know that's controversial around here

Yes to mezze type food. My dc’s favourite lunch is a mix plate with things like fruit, veg sticks, cheese, ham, pitta, yogurt. Also tomato pasta and smaller portions of adult meals

Houmous with dough balls and veggie sticks
Spaghetti bolognaise or tomato pasta with garlic bread
Pizza
Nuggets or fish fingers with chips
Sandwiches - plain ham or cheese
Omelette
Toast

Pretty much I'd like to see half size adult meals. Perhaps simpler and more child friendly by swapping bitter salads for tomato and cucumber, or coleslaw for a pot of peas. Fewer spices (mine loved spice but he could have just added hot sauce).

A 'smaller portion' or 'lite bite' is good for those adults who no longer eat much, or even who just want something smaller as they know they will be having a fuller dinner later, rather than saying it is only for kids, is helpful.

Very un-Mumsnet-y' I know, but I will put my hand up to saying that nuggets and chips or fish bites or sausages were exactly what my dc wanted when going out to a cafe. It was a special treat. In the same way I might choose to have a big creamy chocolatey sundae if I go out for a meal, as it is something I wouldn't get at home. Isn't that part of the 'thing' of eating out ?

Plenty of healthy side dishes (green beans, broccoli, peas, carrots, fruit) that can be mixed and matched with mains like fish gingers, burgers, pastas, sandwiches, nuggets, j potatoes etc.

Could also offer a chicken butter curry or chickpea veggie curry with rice and pitta.

Plenty of fruit, yogurts, milkshakes and cakes for pudding.

Fish fingers* - not gingers, sorry