Easy meals out with kids in Oakland
8 places in Oakland for a meal out with kids: a food hall with a sandbox and toys, robot servers rolling bowls of pho across the room, sushi on a conveyor belt, a sprawling open-air beer garden, a family beer garden where the cooks make kids fancy-shaped pancakes, a restaurant built around mac and cheese, a neighborhood burger place with a kids menu and a patio, and a sundae counter for the end of the meal.
Food hall with enclosed outdoor seating that includes a sandbox and toys, plus live music.
Robot servers roll bowls of pho across a colorful dining room - kids are transfixed before the first bite. Fast, casual, and the food (noodle soup!) is toddler-compatible by design.
Sushi boat restaurant that entertains both parents and kids with its conveyor-style service.
A converted auto dealership turned sprawling open-air beer garden in Uptown: wood-fired pizza, communal tables, and enough space that a loud kid disappears into the ambient roar. Daytime and early evening are prime family hours.
A family-friendly beer garden with a patio where the cooks will make kids fancy-shaped pancakes.
A whole restaurant built on the one food nearly every kid eats: fancy mac and cheese in a dozen varieties, plus a kids menu and a crowd-pleasing vibe on 40th Street.
Glenview's neighborhood burger joint with killer onion rings, a kids menu, and a patio - the low-key family dinner spot where everyone from grandma to the toddler finds something.
The 130-year-old Piedmont Avenue institution where every meal ends in a sundae the size of a toddler's head. Standard diner food, booths that fit a family, and staff who have seen every possible ice cream meltdown.
Rainy day