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

Turkey dinosaurs, hot dogs, pizza, angel delight, full sugar pop, chips.

chicken in its original form (obviously dead with no feathers!), not that over processed chicken flavoured fluff you get in nuggets.

There's a garden centre cafe near my mum's that does children's portions of soup of the day for free. I always thought that was really decent - you know it's freshly prepped, and it takes out the stress of worrying you are going to have to pay for something the kid won't eat. And usually my kids DID eat soup there, it was usually nice.

Hummus wraps, peppers etc.
Fruit platters
Beans on toast.

Pesto pasta.

Stuff I know they'll eat.

Smaller versions of adult portions but also available for adults.

My kids love it when their food looks cool, like pancakes with smiley faces or sandwiches cut into fun shapes like stars or animals. It makes them super excited to eat.

Also, it’s smart to hide veggies in food where kids can't pick them out. Like, you can mix some greens into smoothies with fruits, and they won't even notice. Small bites are best because kids don't eat a lot at once.

I think having a blanket no to things like fruit shoots and chips would be a mistake.
Your friend has a cafe and wants to make money.
If a parent chooses to let them have those things it's their decision. Not offering them would be a mistake I think.

Also like the small adult portions and sandwiches, pasta etc.

As a pp said it's usually a treat, so sausages, fishmongers etc for the bill.

Mine would choose jacket potatoes, pasta or sandwiches. Some cut up apple etc would be nice as well. Maybe a fruit bowl where the child could choose one and then the staff or parent could cut/peel it

I'd like bread other than squashy sliced to be an option though. DS hated the texture and still does. He can do wraps or sourdough.

That would be really good 😊

Lots of children enjoy nuggets and fish fingers so no need to take them off the menu. Just offer a good variety alongside.

i like it when places over more of a pick and mix style approach - so pick a main and two sides to go with it rather than assuming it will be chips and peas/beans with everything.

where possible offer smaller portions of adult meals but I wouldn’t do that as just children’s meals but an across the board offering as many adults can’t eat a full portion but would be embarrassed to order of children’s menu

Hummus or falafel or chicken wraps can easily be made in small servings.

I get annoyed when kids menus are all fish fingers, chicken nuggets and sausages. I went to a pub restaurant once and their kids menu was basically anything off the main menu in child size, I thought that was brilliant.

Things suitable for fussy eaters - plain things like crackers and toast

Not just child size portions but pensioner portions too.

Grated cheese - some isn't suitable for a coeliac diet because the cheese is dusted with flour to prevent it clumping together.

What type of cafe?

If the adult menu is brunch type stuff, then a mix and match menu of eggs, toast, bacon, sausages, beans etc. Plus French toast and pancakes, both with sauce on the side.

If it's more dinner style, then do include some easy nuggets and chips style meals - they're easy, most kids will eat them happily and so parents won't be faced with a battle when they're supposed to having a good time. Also veg sides, crudités while they wait for their main.

In any case, half portions of the adult meals.

Definitely stock fruit shoots - mine are only allowed them when we're out, so they're a bit of novelty that gets us through the wait for the food. Plus the bottle means no spillages.

Oh also the option of choosing to have the food cool down a bit before it arrives so my kids aren't screaming that I won't let them burn themselves and they can start stuffing their faces immediately 🤣

Chicken nuggets.

Some fussy kids won’t eat anything else - and no, there is no amount of explaining, cajoling or anything else that will get them to eat anything else. I’ve tried everything. When it boils down to it I would rather they ate something.

I second the comment about NOT just the usual boring fish gingers nuggets. So I'd like to see:

Beans on toast
Omelette with salad or beans
Mash and beans
Sausage and mash
Fruit - lots of options not just bananas/apples. Give customers wide range of fruit to choose from

NO fruit shoots and more smoothies

Half size portions of adult meals, my kids have always wanted this and it’s rare to find.
Pasta salad variations, vegetables that have been prepared with some care. No fruit shoots, awful things. More milk and decent yoghurt and cake for them.

Going to a cafe isn't a treat here it's part of our weekly routine so definitely nothing fried or beige or full of sugar and crap. I like the idea of smaller portions of adult meals as well as flexibility of combinations such as a small sandwich plus some vegetable sticks and hummous or mezze board.

Homemade spag bol
Mild curry
Build your own wrap type thing for my fussy children to try new things

My daughter loves pasta in tomato sauce but I always find it really annoying when I have to pay extra for grated cheese. I feel like it should be included.

A mini afternoon tea then

If you're not going to offer chips and nuggets/fish fingers/sausages type stuff at all then there's real potential to limit your market.

Yes exactly this.

Our DC ate the same food that we did and did not eath chicken nuggets/fish finger type foods. Nor were they keen on the really bland tomato pasta usually offered to children.

We just wanted to be able to buy half portions of normal food, as is common in many other countries.