Best Baltimore Restaurants for Foodie Families

When a Baltimore family needs to go out to eat, here are some great restaurant choices for foodies and locovores. Whether you're ready to introduce your child to something beyond chicken tenders and fries, or just want a chance for a decent meal yourself, these Baltimore restaurants are all friendly to families with small children, and serve good food for grown-ups too.

Best Baltimore Locovore Family Restaurant

Woodberry Kitchen

2010 Clipper Park Road, No. 126, Baltimore, Maryland 21211, 410.464.8000

Woodberry Kitchen is the darling of the locovore foodie movement in Baltimore, and chef Spike Gjerde has a mission to make good local food accessible to kids as well as adults. The kids' menu offers the usual burgers, but they're organic beef with a cone of better-than-average French fries. Also available are grilled cheese, chicken on a stick, pizza baked in the huge brick oven, and for a big eater, a mini ribeye steak. Special children's drinks at the restaurant include root beer floats and homemade fruit soda pop. The restaurant space, in a renovated mill building on the near north side of Baltimore, offers eye catching machinery and brickwork and a great patio to walk fussy babies around on. Woodberry is worth a trip for the family.

Best Sunday Brunch for Families in Baltimore

Gertrude's, 10 Art Museum Drive Baltimore, Maryland 21218, 410.889.3399

Gertrude's at the Baltimore Museum of Art is the ideal location for a family Sunday brunch in the summer. The restaurant offers kid-sized portions of pancakes, waffles, PBJ, and chicken fingers with enough diversity and interest in the adult menu to keep the foodie relatives from California happy. Ask for patio seating, and take restless kids for a walk along the water, or into the BMA sculpture garden while waiting for food.

Best Baltimore French Family Restaurant

Petit Louis, 4800 Roland Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland 21210 , 410.366.9393

So you want to take the kids to Paris, but can't cough up the plane fare? Petit Louis Bistro is a quick trip to Paris in North Baltimore, and a great way to introduce children to French food. While they did not offer a children's menu during my last visit there, a number of families with kids of various ages were enjoying an evening out. There are several classic French foods which children may enjoy tasting. Soup a l'oignon gratinee is smothered in gooey cheese, always a child pleaser. Convince your kid that the Pate Maison is a variant on lunchmeat, and enjoy the sides of toast points and pickles. For the fussier eater in the family, a simple roast chicken may go over well. The Croque Monsieur is stuffed with ham and cheese, and large enough to split. The Quiche Lorraine quickly disappeared from everyone's plate, and the shoestring pomme frites are crisp, hot and delicious. Petit Louis is bustling, crowded and noisy so a little extra child noise in the restaurant is easily masked. This outpost of Baltimore chef Cindy Wolf's empire is worth a visit for the foodie family.

Best Indian Food for Children in Baltimore

Café Spice, 321 York Rd Ste 100, Towson, Maryland 21204, 410.583.7770

For a great introduction to Indian food for kids, Café Spice offers a wonderful weekend brunch buffet. Just north of Baltimore in Towson, the restaurant is nestled in the basement of an office building. Sandalwood incense, carved wood paneling and a tiny fountain with Krishna statue all add a touch of the exotic. The buffet at the restaurant varies from week to week but always offers a delicious and kid-friendly Chicken Tikka Masala, several vegetarian specialties, and an exotic fish, lamb or goat curry. Mango lassis go down quickly for most children. It's a family-run place, warm and friendly, and the waitress always gives out little treats to the kids as they leave.

Best Irish Pub for Kids in Baltimore

An Poitin Stil, 2323 York Road, Timonium, Maryland 21093, 410.560.7900

Before a trip to An Poitin Stil, watch the bar scene with Gaston in "Beauty and the Beast." The line, "I use antlers in all of my decorating," was taken to heart in planning this restaurant, worth a visit just for the kitsch. An interesting mix of Irish artifacts and a castle-like interior give kids a lot to look at. Family favorites at the restaurant include the tasty shepherd's pie and fish and chips. Teens and tweens may like the Bangers and Mash, sausage and mashed potatoes. Ask for the harp-shaped table tucked in an elevated nook, great for breastfeeding smaller babies or for older kids who want to pretend they have their own private room.