Kid-Friendly Restaurants in Tyler, Texas

February 17th, 2022 by

Going out to eat with the family can help create special bonds and memories while letting the kids experience diverse cuisine. Whether your youngster is craving fried fish, hamburgers, or Texas barbecue, you’ll find something for everyone at these kid-friendly restaurants in Tyler, Texas.

Happy’s Fish House

Fish and Chips With Tarter Sauce
Codmother Fish and Chips – San Francisco by m01229 Licensed with CC BY-SA 2.0

Kids and adults alike enjoy eating fish and chips, and Happy’s Fish House is the place to go to get your fill of fresh seafood. This kid-friendly restaurant serves everything from fried oysters to bowls of gumbo and etouffee.

When you bring the whole family, order one of the many Happy’s Family Packs in varieties such as the seafood boil pack, the fish and chicken pack, the fish and shrimp pack, or the combo sampler pack. If you’re visiting for lunch, specials come with coleslaw, hush puppies, and two sides like green beans, cheese grits, or corn on the cob. Kids will love the assortment of desserts, including a chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream or the Key lime pie with whipped cream and strawberries.

Location: 2202 E. 5th St.

Telephone: 903-944-7921

Stanley’s Famous Pit BBQ

If you and your family enjoy smoky barbecued foods slathered in savory/sweet sauce, you’ll enjoy eating at Stanley’s Famous Pit BBQ. This fun and lively family-friendly restaurant has been serving customers tasty food for over 60 years and is one of East Texas’s oldest operating mom and pop barbecue joints.

Meat lovers will enjoy mouthwatering double-rubbed baby back ribs served with freshly made bread. Order a side of homemade coleslaw or cowboy beans to make your rib meal complete. You can get sandwiches made with smoked brisket, pulled pork, chicken, or turkey, or a variety of smoked and savory tacos topped with salsa verde.

Kids can order from their own menu with offerings such as a smoked turkey breast or chopped brisket sandwich or a cheesy quesadilla. To finish your meal, share a piece of peach cobbler topped with sugar and cinnamon. On select evenings, you can tap your feet to live music while eating your meal.

If you’d like to burn off a few calories after eating at Stanley’s Famous Pit BBQ, check out these fun activities to participate in at Faulkner Park.

Location: 525 S. Beckham Ave.

Telephone: 903-593-0311

Clear Springs Restaurant

With a distinctly Western feel to it, Clear Springs Restaurant serves up American fare that everyone in the family will enjoy. This rustic restaurant occupies a historic dance hall and store and features nostalgic Americana signs and works of art.

Clear Springs Restaurant is best known for their world-famous onion rings, and you’ll want to order these for everyone to enjoy. Other appetizers include fried pickles, Texas chicken bites and shrimp wontons that the kids will devour. With fresh seafood and Mississippi-raised catfish on the menu, you can order fish plates like the pan-seared redfish, blackened catfish fillets, or the shrimp brochette skewers.

You can also order chicken-fried steak, lemon chicken, a 14-ounce ribeye steak, or a 12-ounce charbroiled pork chop. The youngsters can order off of the kid’s menu with items such as fried catfish served with fries and hush puppies or a kid’s burger served with fries. Complete your meal with tasty sweet treats like double chocolate cake or homemade peach cobbler.

You can find other locations of Clear Springs Restaurant in Midland, Nacogdoches, and New Braunfels.

Location: 6519 S. Broadway Ave.

Telephone: 903-561-0700

Mercado’s Cafe

When you and the kids want zesty Tex-Mex cuisine set in a casual atmosphere, head over to Mercado’s Cafe. Start your meal with fun appetizers like Mexican street corn tacos, guacamole, or a Baja shrimp quesadilla. Tex-Mex specialties include cheesy enchiladas with meat and sides, spicy chili rellenos with a variety of fillings, or puffy tacos with seasoned beef or chicken.

Who doesn’t love sizzling hot fajitas? At Mercado’s Cafe, you can order fajitas with meat, chicken, shrimp, or vegetables. The fajitas come with toppings and two sides, such as tortilla soup, beans, rice, or vegetables. Street tacos are served in a variety of primo meats, including barbacoa, smoked chicken, carnitas, shrimp, or al pastor. The little ones can choose items like the Mexican plate, hamburger, or chicken strips. All kids plates come with fries and free ice cream. If you dine at Mercado’s Cafe on Mondays, kids 10 and under get to eat for free from their own menu.

Stop by Mercado’s Cafe to fuel up after a day of family activities in Tyler.

Location: 2214 W. SW Loop 323

Telephone: 903-534-1754

Lola’s Handcrafted Kitchen

When you want the best sandwiches made on homemade bread and in-house deli meats, head over to Lola’s Handcrafted Kitchen. As often as possible, the chefs at Lola’s Handcrafted Kitchen use locally sourced ingredients to help support East Texas farmers, ranchers, and anglers. As soon as you walk into Lola’s Handcrafted Kitchen, you’ll enjoy the fun, laid-back retro vibe, and it’s easy spending time together for a family meal.

Start off sharing appetizers such as sweet and spicy shrimp or the signature kicked-up chips with blue cheese crumbles or cheddar cheese and bacon. You can enjoy a variety of soups, salads, sandwiches, and wraps filled with all of your favorite ingredients.

Go for old-school comfort food when you take advantage of Lola’s blue-plate specials. You’ll find classic dishes such as meatloaf served with vegetables, chicken parmesan paired with a salad or your choice of side, and barbecued pulled pork served with sweet red cabbage and spicy fresh jalapeno peppers. Kids can order from their own menu that includes sandwiches served with chips and a beverage.

Location: 5377 S. Broadway Ave.

Telephone: 903-630-5652

Our team at Classic Toyota hopes your kids are hungry and enjoy these family-friendly restaurants. These are perfect restaurants to visit while waiting for our team to finish servicing your Toyota. Which place did your kids like eating at the most? What was their favorite dish and why? Is there a cool kid-friendly restaurant in the Tyler area that we missed? If you have a recommendation for other places to eat with the kids, feel free to let us know and we’ll add it to our list.

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