Parenting and pubs go together like parmas and chips at these child-friendly establishments
Forget about calling a babysitter, because we've rounded up the best spots that guarantee good times for punters of all ages. These pubs have warm, safe atmospheres, tasty menus for you and the little ones, and all the high chairs you'd ever need. Feast on hearty parmas, juicy burgers and belly-warming roasts while your little ones enjoy tot-sized versions of pub classics. Everything's sorted, so all you have to do is rock up, family in tow, and settle in for the arvo.
Next time you pop into the Auburn, you might barely even recognise the place. The local Hawthorn community has been gifted with a multi-million-dollar expansion to their favourite watering hole, with a new atrium-style dining hub within the adjacent Regan Motors site, kids' playground and extensive beer garden additions. Treat yourself to dinner and drinks and let the kids run amok, and there's also a dedicated kids menu to keep them happy. Don't forget a mini ice cream sandwich for dessert!
It’s all about the bright, beautiful atrium at this Prahran favourite. Prams flank the space as parents enjoy one of the tastier parmas in town, while kids can indulge in their fave pub dishes like fish and chips, burgers and there's even a mini chicken salad. On Tuesdays, it's 'Parmas and Pups' night so can bring your furry friend along with kids and grab a parma for just $20! Oh and from 4pm to 6pm every weekday, the Flying Duck has 'Duck Daycare', a two-hour slot where kids eat entirely for free.
In 2014, we awarded this Brunswick institution the Family-Friendly Award at our Pub Awards. Three years on, nothing has changed: this community pub welcomes punters of all ages, even offering a special kids menu, featuring chicken tenders and chippies, fish and chips, pizza, pasta and a chocolate sauce-topped vanilla ice cream for dessert. So whether you’re coming for Monday’s $29.99 'roo and wine' deal or Tuesday's two-for-one pizzas, you can be sure there'll be plenty for the littles ones to enjoy.
Watch little ones’ eyes light up at the site of the Croxton Park Hotel’s sprawling indoor playground; the biggest, we reckon, in the inner northern suburbs. What’s more, this Thornbury pub offers kids a free soft drink and dessert with their meal, which could be a hearty bowl of spag bol, a mini cheeseburger with chips or any of the other kids' options on offer. For extra brownie points on the nostalgia front, you can treat your kids to an old-school "frog in a pond" Freddo and fruit jelly dessert.
Even on a Tuesday, this vivacious pub is packed – and loud. Bluegrass tracks mix with the babble of big groups working on a hump day hangover with bottles of local Riesling. At the long bar you might see solo diners bashing out work on their laptop and picking at a ploughman’s board loaded with stripy capicola, big chunks of cheddar and a whole quarter onion, pickled. But there are also under-fives chewing a sausage pizza in their pyjamas. It’s nice here, but not so formal you’ll have to gag the kids or leave them at home. They even do mini versions of fish and chips and parmas.
Melbourne is a city that really knows how to do pubs. From beer halls with more than 50 craft beer taps to cozy locals with a great fireplace, there's a pub for every occasion.
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