Best places to eat with an 11 year old, somewhere fun and interesting for our forthcoming weekend away.

[GentleJones]

Off to London soon for a weekend away.

We’re usually so rushed when we visit that we normally grab a bite to eat at Byron Burgers or similar, although we were organised last time and managed to book a slot in the Walkie Talkie tower, which was fab!

Can you recommend anywhere?

Oooo
Place marking!
I’m taking my 10 yr old to London in April.
Will
Probably do London eye... would love to know if some fun places we can visit.
What’s the walkie talkie tower?

Wetwashing, we had a fab time there and it’s free to get in. We booked a meal and had a brill few hours. I’ll try and get a link.

They issue dates a few weeks ahead and you can book a time slot and just spend an hour there. You have to be quick though, that’s why I had to book a restaurant but it all worked out well.

skygarden.london

It’s know as Sky Garden which is situated at the top of The Walkie Talkie Tower.

Ds LOVED it.

In no particular order, these have been my DCs' favourite London meals:
Inamo in Soho - the menu is projected onto your table by space-age pods. Use the touchpad to place your order, choose a tablecloth, and even play a game of Battleships. You can also use 'chef cam' to watch your food being prepared on the screen on the table. It's Asian cuisine (think Wagamama) so expect lots of noodles and rice. There's a children's menu with some simple dishes like BBQ vegetable noodles, spring roll and Korean chicken wings.
Also in Soho is HipChips, a restaurant dedicated entirely to the humble crisp. Platters of crisps served with a large choice of inventive dips, both savoury and sweet! www.hipchips.com/crisps-dips
My Old Dutch - various locations serving jaw-dropping pancakes. A good range of savoury (I like the ratatouille and creamed spinach but my DCs like the Italian, the Chilli con Carne and the Hot Dutch). You can also make your own. An even better range of sweet pancakes and a 'specials menu' with a pancake called Star Trek on Nutella!
Cereal Killer Cafe, Brick Lane and Camden - an amazing collection of cereals from all over the world. I let my kids enjoy a massive bowl of lots of different types for a fun lunch one day. Not a good option if you care too much about healthy eating! And The hot chocolates really do have to be seen to be believed.

High speed lift too

Rice, Inamo sounds AMAZING! Some fab suggestions there. Like the sound of the Cereal Killer Cafe and I’m sure Ds would love it!

Thank you!

Ooh Luna, I’m liking the sound of that. Afternoon tea for Kids, will check it out, thank you.

If you catch the boat to Greenwich , explore there and then hop back on boat to the 02, you can catch the cable cars to Beckton. Where you will find Yi Ban which is an excellent dim sum restaurant

Durian, we have been to Greenwich although we were pushed for time and didn’t do half of what we should have done.

Might have to plan a return visit and have ourselves a little Dim Sum on our return.

My 11yo loved Wagamama, Ask, Pizza Express

SkyGarden is on our list too.

There are a few around now but Vapiano is great Italian food and they cook it in front of you, you get a card at the front (like an Oyster card) and tap at each food station, you pay at the end. (The one I like it behind the big Topshop at Oxford Circus).

Even as an adult the Rainforest Cafe is fab, book a table and avoid peak times as it can get busy but they do fabulous burgers!

The Diner at Covent Garden (or the The Strand or Spitalfields) is a really scrumptious American diner, one of my favs!

Diner looks really good, hopefully plan to head over to Covent Garden, it’s somewhere we haven’t been to yet.

Anyone else

We generally eat in Wetherspoons pubs.

You have to book a slot at the Sky Garden, but it's free entry.

I'd recommend Fortnum and Mason. There's an Ice Cream Parlour called The Parlour that does a thing where you get a savoury dish, two scones and a piece of cake/ice cream for about £20. No need to book. It's a very pretty place and Fortnums is fab.

One Aldwych does a Charlie and The Chocolate Factory afternoon tea which has things like chocolate milk and candy floss in it.

www.onealdwych.com/food-drink/afternoon-tea

Sorry to disagree with whoever liked it, rainforest cafe do just about the worst burgers in London, if you want a burger go to patty & bun, 5guys or honest burger. Avoid rainforest cafe at all costs, it’s horrible.

Love the sound of Inamo.

I did the charlie and the chocolate factory at one aldwych and it was fab. The blueberry brioche were amazing!

My kids love pizza and there are some great ones - pizza pilgrims in Soho, voodoo rays in Camden, pizza metro in Notting hill, rossopomodoro in Covent garden.

We also love black and blue and roast in borough market. Both very meaty and quite expensive but very good!

Inamo is brilliant fun (though ours prefer the StJames branch). If you have time to plan, they can even personalise the projection on your table if you book.

Fortnums ice cream parlour is a hit with both DC and MIL! They do more than just ice cream, and we’ve had nice savoury food there too.