Kid friendly menu for a cafe - suggestions?
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Topic: Kid friendly menu for a cafe - suggestions?
Posted By: Nathan102371
Subject: Kid friendly menu for a cafe - suggestions?
Date Posted: 28 December 2012 at 3:11pm
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I run a cafe in Mt Eden, which is actually listed on the child friendly directory here :) We are getting a fair few mums in, so we're looking at developing a menu for the littlies. I have no kids, so am completely hopeless in this area. As experts in this field, what do you look for in a good kids menu, at a cafe? |
Replies:
Posted By: AandCsmum
Date Posted: 28 December 2012 at 3:54pm
Child priced & child sized  For me I don't want a drink with a "meal deal" I'd go to macdonalds for that. Mini savoury or sweet muffins. Kids always love nuggets & chips. ------------- Kel http://lilypie.com"> 
A = 01.02.04 & C = 16.01.09 & G = 30.03.12 |
Posted By: AandCsmum
Date Posted: 28 December 2012 at 3:55pm
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Gingerbread men....my kids love them. But don't do those really big ones, the kids never really eat them but love the novelty. ------------- Kel http://lilypie.com">
A = 01.02.04 & C = 16.01.09 & G = 30.03.12 |
Posted By: Hopes
Date Posted: 28 December 2012 at 3:56pm
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Food that's 'special' enough to ensure the kids eat it (no fun paying for things they don't eat) but healthy enough to feel they've had a good meal (I figure if I'm going to pay someone else to make food for them, it should be healthy, I do junk very well (and slightly too much) myself). Popcorn chicken, ham sandwiches and mini muffins go down well here. Something else that I imagine would be a hit would be a 'tasting plate', with tiny portions of a couple of different things (my son loves stuff like that). -------------   
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Posted By: Pepi-bebe
Date Posted: 28 December 2012 at 4:59pm
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A tasting plate is a great idea. Plus have a look on Pinterest for ideas to make the food look awesome eg sandwiches cut into circles with a cookie cutter then use raisins on top for a face and other fruit or vegies to make hair etc. this link shows you some ideas, some good ones when you scroll down. If you search on 'kids lunch ideas' or similar on Pinterest you'll find hundreds of ideas. I think most parents would be happy with the healthy options and kids would be enthralled. You could prep parts then just put it together quite quickly when ordered I assume. http://m.pinterest.com/pinkngreenmama/cute-lunch-ideas/ -------------   Oct 11 & Mar 12
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Posted By: Keleho
Date Posted: 28 December 2012 at 5:02pm
| Anything mini - mini meatballs, mini sausages, mini burgers, mini muffins. Fruit and vege sticks with some sort of dipping sauce/hummus etc. Homemade baked beans or spaghetti goes down well here but could be messy in a cafe setting. Mini toasted sammies. Hot chips ALWAYS go down well although not the healthiest thing. Dont forget sauce! |
Posted By: 5Kiddies
Date Posted: 28 December 2012 at 10:21pm
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Stuff that is gluten free ... hard to find that in a cafe, esp for a littlie |
Posted By: pumpkino
Date Posted: 29 December 2012 at 12:08pm
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I personally prefer healthy-ish stuff - a few chips are OK but on the side of something better like a toasted sandwich rather than chicken nuggets or pizza. Pasta is great - NOT spaghetti (please!) but stuff like penne, spirals or ravioli. With a tomato-based sauce and a few vegetables - perfect. Milkshakes are a hit with mine, also breads and dips/spreads. Most of the stuff you serve adults should be fine for kids, especially anything that can be eaten with hands without too much mess (for toddlers who haven't mastered cutlery yet). Just smaller portions. My 2 year old always wants whatever I have, so a mini version would be perfect! But most importantly, as AandCsMum says, child priced!! Also it's great to have highchairs available at a cafe and a box of books and toys. ------------- http://www.myfitnesspal.com/weight-loss-ticker"> 
Created by MyFitnessPal.com |
Posted By: Stoked
Date Posted: 30 December 2012 at 12:14pm
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I find the size of the meal quite important. Most kid meals are rather large for a toddler and I begrudge spending $10 when I know my toddler will only eat half of it. Thank you for providing a kid-friendly cafe, we still enjoy eating out and it is so much nicer when our children can enjoy it too .------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">  http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: Mjc121
Date Posted: 30 December 2012 at 2:00pm
| Pasta! Almost all kids like it, and I agree no drinks. Toasties and cheese oils are also a hit! Cheese rolls are a bit of a southland thing - can of reduced cream, packet of onion soup, heap of grated cheese spread over bread rolled up freezes well, almost all southland chafes sell them! |
Posted By: TeacherLady
Date Posted: 30 December 2012 at 4:50pm
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I also think that vegetarian/vegan options are becoming more of a must. I definitely look for that in a cafe. Aside from the food- make sure it's a funky and child friendly environment! ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: Keleho
Date Posted: 30 December 2012 at 9:03pm
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If you had some sort of 'fun' serving plate, that would also go down well with my DD (2.5y)
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Posted By: Tissy
Date Posted: 01 January 2013 at 1:40pm
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the two wee kiddys that i'm nannying absolutely will by no means eat salad. if they get food that comes on a plate with salad on it they then kick up a stink about the salad on the plate and wont eat anything else off the plate. so my suggestion would be no salad, or if there is salad make it its own option, not as a side to a plate/meal I also agree with no drinks, if any drinks is to be offered I think (JMO) that it should only be water for the kiddy's as juice and fizzy just isnt healthy for them ------------- http://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/ABCD1234" rel="nofollow - My Ovulation Chart |
Posted By: Hopes
Date Posted: 01 January 2013 at 8:19pm
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Yea, salad doesn't go down well here either. Interestingly, cucumbers and carrots cut into 'flowers' are a special treat. Kids. -------------
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Posted By: nate
Date Posted: 05 January 2013 at 11:06pm
| Thanks everyone for your suggestions, gives me plenty of material to work with. |
Posted By: dino1
Date Posted: 06 January 2013 at 3:01pm
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My girl loves a platter with carrot, dip, crackers, fruit slices etc and a little treat. Also child size and child price. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">  
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Posted By: pencils
Date Posted: 06 January 2013 at 7:13pm
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Great that you're doing a child-friendly menu. Box of books and toys is a good idea. Also, if you can do a change table in your toilets (one of those pull down plastic things is fine) it will make life easier for your mum customers. Plus, if there is room for mums to easily push their buggies to the tables and counter that's helpful too. My two year old loves to eat things like - savoury mini-muffins - meatballs - toasted sandwiches cut into quarters or cute animal shapes - fruit salad Hope this helps. Best of luck with your cafe. |
Posted By: Mum2ET
Date Posted: 12 January 2013 at 7:41pm
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we recently went to a cafe that offered a kids platter which seemed to change every week or so. The platter contained 2 x ham sandwiches (cut into dinosaur shape), cheese sticks with a dip, slices of oranges and apples, 2 x vege kebarb with cucumeber and cherry tomatoes and a mini cupcake. Kids loved it and the platter was big enough for both of mine to share. An earlier week the platter had 2 x dinosaur ham sandwiches, fruit kebarbs, cheese sticks & dip, small scoop of ice cream and 2 x mini chocolate brownies. ------------- Mum to Ella (5) and Tom (2) |
Posted By: nate
Date Posted: 14 January 2013 at 2:23pm
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Had a much higher than usual number of families with young children through on the weekend. Had a good chat with a mum about options that she thought were good - ended up settling on honey sandwiches for her two youngest ones (nutella was the original choice) and ham n cheese sandwhiches (toasted) for her two older ones. All had fluffies to drink. I did bribe her tribe with free chocolate fish each, after asking the parents of course!
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Posted By: Kristina103761
Date Posted: 17 January 2013 at 10:52pm
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I think mostly healthy with a little bit of a treat is always good and I like the idea of a tasting plate and making food look fun and special as someone else suggested. Shaped cut sandwiches or "face" sandwiches using things like cheese, ham, tomatoes to decorate it... cottage cheese, cream cheese etc etc. I don't mind little "kids packs" so long as they are affordable. Some fruit, sandwich, yoghurt, cookie/cake and a little drink or a fluffy for $5 or $6 would still give you a profit? Biscuits/cakes made into animals or butterflies etc etc. If you are going to do nuggets and chips etc. - it'd be nice if they were made with real ingredients and healthy as possible :) |
Posted By: PipDais
Date Posted: 24 January 2013 at 10:58am
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I'm always surprised by the amount of salt added to food for children so I wouldn't add salt to child menus including chips. Let parents decide if their kids can eat salt. My daughter (22 months) loves fish pie, cottage pie and pasta. She also enjoys little sandwiches (no salad) with cheese, tuna mayo, soft cheese etc). Savoury muffins are always a winner (courgette goes down well). Mini fish and chips with baked beans? Scrambled egg or beans on toast? Boiled eggs and soldiers? Child food should be child priced - completely agree with that - especially when a lot ends up on the floor. A lot of 'child friendly' cafes in Wellington don't have enough high chairs so get lots of them - it REALLY annoys me when there is one high chair! ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: Hibiscus
Date Posted: 01 February 2013 at 6:11pm
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An option that excludes icing, sprinkles, honey, jam and any other sweets. For us a meal excludes all of those things. I will let my children have such things as a treat, but they need and want to fill up on proper food for their main meal. However if the sweeties come on the same plate as the healthy options, all is lost. I rather order my children a dessert course once they have finished their lunch. Sometimes we only go to a cafe for a treat not for eating and then sweets are fine, but more often we actually go to a cafe out of the necessecity to eat and than it has to be real food. ------------- Mum to 3 girls: identical twins and with a 3 year gap another girl. |
Posted By: Hibiscus
Date Posted: 01 February 2013 at 6:17pm
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I bought mince on toast for my kids in a cafe the other day (from the adults menue as there was none for kids) and while it could have been fab it was way too salty for children. I agree with anything mini for a low price as there is always the risk a child won't touch it, and it enables the parents to just go and get another option. ------------- Mum to 3 girls: identical twins and with a 3 year gap another girl. |
Posted By: Hibiscus
Date Posted: 01 February 2013 at 6:24pm
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I went to an old school toddler birthday party and was utterly appauled by the food that was on offer: chips, iced biscuits, lollies, sausage rolls, heavily iced cupcakes with lots of lollies stuck to it. The drink was fizzy drink and for a game they had pass the parcel with hard (the choking kind) lollies in each layer. I have to correct myself: I was't so much appauled by what was on offer but more by what was lacking of: water to drink, fresh cut up fruit and vege, crackers, perhaps pretzels or so. so simple. ------------- Mum to 3 girls: identical twins and with a 3 year gap another girl. |