Healthy places to take your family

[LauraStyles]

Hello everyone!

I'm new here so I might be a bit late to the party here...

I'm looking to find some good, reasonably-priced restaurants for family days out. We live in Brentwood but often go into London at the weekends.
I'm finding it increasingly difficult to find places to eat.

I don't want them on lettuce leaves, but I also don't like to feed my kids fast food- I don't eat it myself and I don't think eating rubbish should be associated with having a 'treat'.

It seems easy to get decent healthy grub for adults, but for children it's always something like stodgy pasta with cheese or pizza.

Any recommendations would be fab. Got 2 LOs plus a hungry husband, so nothing too fancy!

We like Harvester, family friendly and have a salad bar.

There are lots of good noodle and sushi bars in central London (esp in Soho) - would that work for you and your dcs?

Google Time Out cheap eats for the area of London you're visiting. We try to go to independent restaurants rather than chains because we like variety, lots of places will offer smaller versions of adult food.

What do you class as healthy? Give us some examples of the kind of food your dcs would eat?

We like the kids' menu at Leon

How about Vapiano?

Giraffe do some healthy kids options.

I forgot I posted this thread all that time ago. Thanks for all the tips - still helpful now. I don't really like Leon as stuff appears healthy but then has been quite high cal, fat and salt when I've checked nutrition info.
Same with other chains similar.
Independents are always much better but a bit of a risk without recommendations I find.

Anyway, sorry for bumping the thread, I just thought I'd say thank you as didn't want to be ignorant.

I have started one a bit similar in the 5:2 fasting section. so I will post my own finds in there too.

:)

I second the suggestion of Leon, also Hummus Bros or Cinnamon in Soho. Sally Clarke' s is usually a good bet, too...

Thanks Mrs Premise! Have you tried Chop'd before by any chance? I've just done some scouting around for Leon locations and found Chop'd on Google Maps. They've got one in King's Cross St Pancras so could be good lunch option after our British Library trip. It looks pretty healthy - lots of fresh salads etc. judging by TripAdvisor reviews you get big portions as well.

Lots of parks for picnics ...

Not really the weather for picnics yet, but as soon as it is trust me I'll be there :)

Our favourite one we always go to is Sofra in Drury Lane (there are three others) that does Turkish cuisine and the set menu is from only £8.95. It is delicious and healthy too. Makes me hungry just reading the menu SOFRA

We quite like Carluccio's and our local one is good with children - there are loads of Carluccio's in London. There is a children's menu too where they can make their own pizza but the rest is a bit pasta-y iyswim.

The restaurant at Tate Modern is very good but pricey although I think kids can eat free if an adult buys a meal. The cafe is very good and much cheaper. The view of St Pauls and the wobbly bridge is interesting.

You can't go wrong with Pret a Manger.

Thanks JamNan!

I've never heard of Sofra so keen to try that!

Also great to know about Tate Modern. We've been there lots but never eaten there. The views are a bonus, too. It makes it more London-y and special!

I really dislike Pret as it's owned by McDonald's and I'm not convinced that it's healthy at all. Also pretty expensive for what you get (imho) Each to their own though :)

I didn't know Pret was owned by MacDonalds. I must live in a bubble. I will boycott it from now on!

I forgot to say that the icecream and desserts at Sofra are to die for.

I think Subways are the healthiest of the fast-food places. Essentially it's just a generous sandwich and the fillings are always nice and fresh. Good value.

Why have I never heard of Hummus Bros? It looks delicious, thanks mrspremise.

Yeah I imagine they try to keep it on the down low as they have a totally different image to McD's!
Ah I do try to keep it healthy -- the desserts are all v low cal, right? ;)

I haven't tried Hummus Bros either! Going to have a look and see where the stores are.

CogitoErgoSometimes - As I'm meat-free I'm not keen on Subway as they don't keep meat products separate from veggie stuff. I agree they're very cheap and cheerful if you're not bothered about that kind of thing though

We went into London last Friday with DS(8) and DD (7) who are big MaccyD fans but I couldn't bear to take them there again third time that week so I found this link: kid friendly restaurants
and headed for Bodeans - free before 3pm for kids. It was v busy though so we ended up in Yo Sushi not on the list. Not particularly cheap, but they tried a bit of all the different cooked dishes we ordered, ate the rice and the salmon rolls. Result!

AnnieWinehouse - I would have never thought of taking kids to Yo! Sushi. Did you happen to notice if they has many veggie options?

If we need quick, healthy (chain) food we like the Wasabi chain.

www.wasabi.uk.com/p3/Our-branches

LauraStyles, sorry I missed the bit about you being meat-free. I didn't notice to be honest, everything we had was chicken/fish. Apart from a fruit salad, which wouldn't fill anyone up!

No such thing as wrong weather for a picnic. Especially for a family with such exacting demands.

Selfridges food hall?

Mmmmm Sofra!
How about wagamama?

My DS loves Wagamamma and Yo Sushi.

Strangely his favorite place is Belgo. He loves mussels and chips.