Dining out can be an enjoyable experience for families, and it also gives parents a welcome break from daily cooking and cleanup. Whether you want to go out for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, Huffines Kia McKinney wants to help families with children find some great local restaurants. Here are five kid-friendly restaurants in the McKinney, Texas, area.
Spoons Cafe
Image via Flickr by vauvau
Spoons Cafe serves tasty American and Tex-Mex meals. Located right in downtown McKinney, Spoons Cafe is a great place for families to eat breakfast before exploring the local shops. The cafe has a casual, rustic atmosphere with fun memorabilia on the walls and prompt, friendly service. You have a choice of indoor seating or outside dining on the patio. The restaurant regularly features live music.
Spoons Cafe is open from 8:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. Sunday through Friday, and from 8:30 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Saturdays. The cafe serves breakfast all day. In addition to breakfast, the restaurant has a large variety of appetizers, soups, salads, and sandwiches. Choices also include burgers and hot dogs, several dinner classics, and some classic comfort food, like Spoons’ Meatloaf. Be sure to try the delicious thin-sliced, crispy steak fries.
Prices are midrange, with breakfasts ranging from $8 to $12, sandwiches in the $9-$12 price range, and burgers and dinners in the $12-$14 range. Most items on the kids’ menu are $4.95, including items like breakfast meals, grilled cheese, or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Eggsquisite Cafe
Eggsquisite Cafe’s friendly owner greets customers and mingles while they eat their meals. This high level of customer service matches the cafe’s great quality food and large portion sizes. This family-owned and -operated breakfast hot spot features delicious homestyle cooking. It’s a kid-friendly restaurant the whole family will enjoy.
The prices are reasonable, and kids’ breakfast meals are $5 to $5.50, with choices including an egg meal, pancakes, or French toast. Kids’ lunches cost the same, and all kids’ meals include a drink. Adults appreciate the wide variety of choices on the menu, and breakfasts feature egg dishes, skillets, omelets, steak and eggs, waffles, French toast, and several healthy choice meals. The biscuit and gravy omelet, at $10, is highly recommended. The huge lunch menu includes a variety of sandwiches, wraps, paninis, burgers, gourmet salads, and more. Most adult meals on the menu range between $9-$12.
Eggsquisite Cafe is open daily from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Hugs Cafe
Hugs Cafe serves up more than just food for the community of McKinney. This charming cafe is not your standard diner, and over 80% of its employees are adults with special needs. The nonprofit restaurant’s mission is identified by the acronym HUGS — its goal is to provide hope, understanding, grace, and success to its staff by providing them with meaningful employment that helps them develop and share their talents.
This delightful bistro is very family-friendly. The staff is extremely sociable, and customers enjoy the cheerful customer service. The menu features a variety of lunch items, including soups, salads, sandwiches, and daily lunch specials, like a Reuben sandwich on Tuesdays. There are also a few dessert items on the menu, including cookies and oatmeal jam bars.
The cafe offers a children’s meal for $6 that includes a choice of a half sandwich, chips, a Hugs cookie, and a soda. Adult meals are $9 for a half sandwich and $12 for a whole sandwich, which comes with a cup of soup and one side. The specials, including items like pork tacos and grilled cheese, are $12.
Hugs Cafe is open Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Hugs Cafe is closed on Mondays when they offer cooking classes through a Hugs Prep program, along with food handler’s certification training.
The Yard
The Yard is an ideal place to take the whole family for lunch or dinner. The casual backyard dining style has tables under a canopy of oak trees with plenty of play space for the kids. Indoor seating is also available. The menu features Mexican and American cooking, including delicious burgers.
The Yard is not only kid-friendly, but it’s also dog-friendly and even pet monkey friendly, according to the website. So bring the whole family out, dogs and monkeys included, for tacos, delicious burgers, and chicken fried steak. Parents can enjoy a cold beer or frozen margaritas. Go early because there’s sometimes a short wait for tables at this popular hangout, but the food and ambiance are definitely worth it.
The Yard opens at 11 a.m. Tuesday through Sunday and is closed on Mondays. The menu includes a variety of appetizers, salads, burgers, sandwiches, and tacos. Adult meals generally range from $14 to $16. For kids, there are five different menu choices for $6.95, which come with fries or apple slices and a drink. Kids’ meals include a burger, chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese, a quesadilla, or a grilled cheese sandwich. You can also get Key lime pie or chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches for dessert.
Hutchins Barbeque
Since 1978, Hutchins Barbeque has been serving the McKinney area delicious barbecue ribs, brisket, and more. This family-owned restaurant is now a local fixture. Hutchins recently brought in a new pitmaster, Texas barbecue expert John Mueller. The rustic-style restaurant is very kid-friendly, and everybody will leave full and satisfied after the hearty barbecue meal.
Kids love the macaroni and cheese, and most adults do too. Also try the Texas Twinkies, which are jalapenos stuffed with brisket and cream cheese, then wrapped in bacon. Hutchins Barbeque has an all-you-can-eat barbecue buffet featuring ribs, brisket, and fried catfish priced under $15. Dinner plates, including brisket, ribs, and combos, range from $13.49-$14.99.
Peach cobbler and banana pudding are complimentary for dine-in customers. The restaurant is open Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Huffines Kia McKinney is happy to share this list of kid-friendly restaurants in McKinney with the community. Did we mention your family’s favorite dining-out establishment? If not, let us know so we can include it on a future list.