Family-friendly restaurants and cafés

Hospitable Parisian hot spots, where kids are welcome and well catered for

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Enjoy a stress-free family feast - with Time Out's guide to Paris's child-friendly restaurants and cafés...

  • Crêperies
  • Le Marais
  • price 1 of 4
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • Recommended
Breizh Café
Breizh Café
With its modern interior of pale wood and choice of 15 artisanal ciders, this outpost of a restaurant in Cancale, Brittany, is a world away from the average crêperie. Perhaps because it’s owned by a Breton who once lived in Japan. For the complete faux-seaside experience, you might start with a plate of creuse oysters from Cancale before indulging in an inventive buckwheat galette such as the Cancalaise, made with potato, smoked herring from Brittany and herring roe or the Charentaise with goats cheese, honey and salad. All ingredients are of high quality – such as Valrhona chocolate with 70% cocoa solids, Guéméné andouille sausage and seaweed and yuzu Bordier butter. One to keep in mind for Sundays, when many other restaurants in the Marais are shut. Make sure to call ahead to book. This restaurant serves one of Time Out's 50 best dishes in Paris. Click here to see the full list.
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  • Ice-cream parlours
  • Ile Saint-Louis
  • price 2 of 4
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • Recommended
Continually hailed as the best ice cream in Paris, you can recognise the Berthillon ice-cream parlour and tearoom from the queues of people outside, except (somewhat strangely) in summer when the shop is closed! The flavours change throughout the seasons, but if it’s available don’t miss the strawberry sorbet, or the bitter chocolate sorbet made without and dairy products. In winter Berthillon offers delicious hot chocolate, made from melted chocolate and cream, and – perhaps even naughtier – a chocolate ‘affogato’ (a ball of vanilla ice-cream, served in a white porcelain mug with hot chocolate poured on top and topped with praline cream). Don't be put off by the queues - they're rarely for the tearoom itself.
  • 7e arrondissement
  • price 1 of 4
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • Recommended
Le Café du Marché
Le Café du Marché
This well-loved address is frequented by trendy locals, shoppers hunting down a particular type of cheese and tourists who've managed to make it this far from the Eiffel Tower. Le Café du Marché really is a hub of neighbourhood activity. Its pichets of decent house plonk always go down a treat, and mention must be made of the food - such as the huge house salad featuring lashings of foie gras and parma ham.
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  • Russian
  • Chaussée-d'Antin
  • price 2 of 4
  • 3 out of 5 stars
  • Recommended
A spin-off of its big Russian brother, which has long been a fixture of the Moscow dining scene, this salon de thé has gone from strength to strength since setting up shop in 2010. Situated on the ground floor of the department store Printemps, it offers an excellent choice of sweet bite-sized treats concocted by the chef Emmanuel Ryon (a big name in the world of patisseries).It may be a good deal smaller than the original, but le Café Pouchkine will delight those gourmets who are nostalgic for the pastries of the good old days of the Tsar. The décor is in the quaint fairytale register, and the pastries reflect both French and Russian influences. We strongly recommend the Medovick, a traditional Russian dessert (honeyed biscuit served with caramel and crème fraiche), and the Paris-Moscou, a spin on the Paris-Brest praline pastry. Wash it all down with a superlative hot chocolate.
  • Diners
  • Le Marais
  • price 1 of 4
  • 3 out of 5 stars
  • Recommended
Bobo, yes, but still lovely. Insulated from the honking horns of the city, this place is a true oasis in central Paris. This small, organic canteen is warm and welcoming, a tavern for weary urban travellers in the heart of the Enfants Rouges market. Though somewhat difficult to find, it is far from secret – especially in summer when the colourful chairs come out to allow customers to enjoy the aromas of the market. Brunch is served on Saturdays and Sundays, and the ‘traditional’ menu (€20) is hearty and original. In addition to hot drinks and organic apple juice, take your pick from scrambled eggs, salad, assorted cheeses and cold cuts, fruit salad, cottage cheese, scones and jam. A plate full of variety and good products, it competes with the ‘fish menu’, which, for an extra €2, replaces the sausage and cheese with smoked salmon, herring, mackerel and taramasalata.
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  • Jewish
  • Le Marais
  • price 1 of 4
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • Recommended
By noon on a Sunday there is a queue outside every falafel shop along rue des Rosiers. The long-established L'As du Fallafel, a little further up the street, still reigns supreme, whereas Hanna remains something of a locals' secret, quietly serving up falafel and shawarma sandwiches to rival any in the world. A pitta sandwich bursting with crunchy chickpea-and-herb balls, tahini sauce and vegetables costs €4 if you order from the takeaway window, €8 if you sit at one of the tables in the buzzy dining room overlooking the street. Either way, you really can't lose. This restaurant serves one of Time Out's 50 best dishes in Paris. Click here to see the full list.
  • Diners
  • Jussieu
  • price 1 of 4
  • 3 out of 5 stars
  • Recommended
Even in Paris, the city of haute cuisine and knock-your-socks-off Brasserie fare, there comes a time when nothing but bacon, fried eggs, juicy burgers and fluffy pancakes drizzled in maple syrup will do. For those moments, Breakfast in America (known lovingly amongst regulars as B.I.A) offers bona fide American diner surroundings, all-day breakfasts and artery clogging delights like sticky pecan pie, washed down with bottomless mugs o’ Joe.  Needless to say it’s a hit with the brunch crowd who come in droves so large they queue up outside, rain or shine. Fortunately turn over is quite fast, so you rarely have to wait more than half-an-hour. The €15.95 brunch menu gets you comfort staples like sausages and eggs (over-easy, sunny-side up or scrambled) with toast and fries or a generous Connecticut ham and cheese omelet and a squidgy chocolate muffin. B.I.A won’t take reservations, but there’s a second branch in the Marais, so if Latin Quarter students have hogged all the tables, you can try your luck on the Right Bank.
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  • Faubourg Montmartre
  • price 1 of 4
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • Recommended
A popular weekday lunch spot, Label Ferme is full of good things. Old crates on the walls hold salamis, jars of jam, fruit juices and fresh vegetables, and at the sandwich counter there are delicious trays of meats, cheeses and more for you to choose for your salad or sandwich (around €7 to €10 with a drink). There are a few tables, but it’s really about a quick takeaway lunch or buying cooking supplies. Further decoration comes from photos of the farmers behind the products, as Label Ferme’s philosophy is to make ‘fast’ food from quality ingredients. The owners have scoured the Savoie region and beyond to source homemade produce and promote sustainable agriculture practices. It’s not all organic or (eco)certified, but the origin of each product matters.
  • 1er arrondissement
  • price 2 of 4
  • 3 out of 5 stars
  • Recommended
Angelina is home to Paris's most lip-smackingly scrumptious desserts - all served in the faded grandeur of a belle époque salon just steps from the Louvre. The hot chocolate is pure decadence; try the speciality 'African', a velvety potion so thick that you need a spoon to consume it. Epicurean delights include the Mont Blanc dessert, a ball of meringue covered in whipped cream and sweet chestnut, and, for those with a waistline to watch, a brand new sugar- and butter-free brioche aux fruits rouges. The place heaves at weekends, so be prepared to queue.
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