Thanks those of you following on the 510Families Facebook page, we have curated a list of 10 kid-friendly restaurants with patios in Oakland. (See our list of Berkeley restaurants with the same criteria.) These are listed in no particular order.
- Bocanova in Jack London Square for brunch. Offers a view of the water and a nearby play structure for post-dining activity.
- Pasta Pomodoro in Rockridge for dinner. Uber casual and full of kid-centric pasta options. Kids eat free on Tuesdays as of this writing.
- Cupkate’s truck. Did you eat all your vegetables? Then track this mobile cupcake vendor down! Wednesday: Snow Park, Oakland, 11:30-2; Thursday: 12th & Broadway, Oakland, 11:30-2
- Homeroom. Fun school-themed restaurant with small outside seating section offers delicious comfort food meals. The side dish of peas is my fave. Located on a busy street (40th), sitting outside at Homeroom is not for kids who need to get out of their seats during the meal.
- Barney’s Burgers. Both Piedmont and College Avenue location offer outdoor seating that is more pleasant than the patio at the Shattuck location due to quieter garden-style backyards.
- Pizziaolo in Temescal. Best known for wood-fired pizza, and loved for date night, Pizzaiolo welcomes kids and has a backyard seating area that is quite lovely. Try it out for morning coffee on a weekday – the place is packed with laptopping folks and strollers.
- Crepevine on College. Breakfast for dinner! Or for breakfast. Crepevine’s enclosed patio is perfect for squirmy kids with syrup on their fingers. I was traumatized by an early public breastfeeding experience at this location, but I’ve worked through it.
- Restaurante Doña Tomas. Another date night favorite, Dona Tomas has delicious margaritas and a large backyard. Wait, we’re talking about kids. Better for weekend brunch if you’re with the family.
- Arizmendi Bakery. Pick up a pizza, eat some of it outside and take the rest home!
- All the food trucks. Friday nights you’ll find a festive food truck gathering at the Oakland Museum (Off the Grid) and it looks like Bites on Broadway will be returning at some point.
photos: Homeroom, courtesy Google Maps; Pasta Pomodoro, Whitney Moss
What did we miss?
Not a weekend thing, but there are now also food trucks Wednesdays in El Cerrito (Fairmont @ San Pablo) and the old North Berkeley one has now been moved to Mondays south of campus (Haste & Telegraph). Cheers!
Great list! Oh I have to add Brotzeit Lokal, right on the Oakland estuary. Fantastic kid-friendly food (including house made artisan sausages) and great views. Plenty of craft beers for the grownups.
Forge Pizza also in Jack London Square has an excellent patio area.
Ooh, thanks for the tip, Tonya!
Great idea on Forge! Taking the kiddo there tonight!