Brick Lane’s family-friendly restaurants are the perfect setting to create lasting memories and explore new tastes, with mild dishes, high chairs, and options for picky eaters.
In our fast-paced modern lives, finding quality time to connect with our families has become increasingly challenging. Between work commitments, school activities, and household responsibilities, sitting down for a meal together often takes a backseat.
Eating in restaurants offers a valuable opportunity for children to learn about the different cuisines and cultures in the melting pot of our capital city. “Curry is Britain’s national dish, so it’s nice for kids to taste it,” Guljar Khan, owner of Graam Bangla and Masala, says.
South Asian culture is family-oriented and Brick Lane’s Indian and Bengali restaurants are the perfect place to bring the family together over an authentic meal.
All of Brick Lane’s family-friendly restaurants have high chairs available for babies and toddlers. While most restaurants don’t have a specific children’s menu, they recommend ordering milder dishes such as chicken tikka masala, butter chicken and chicken korma.
“At Graam Bangla, we have a special Bangladeshi korma for kids to enjoy,” Khan says. “It is cooked differently to Indian korma, smothered in cream and sugar so it’s nice and sweet.”
While eating out is a great opportunity for children to broaden their palates, practice table manners and develop social skills, Brick Lane’s restaurants are also ready to accommodate children who are picky eaters.
The Standard Balti House, City Spice and Brick Lane Tandoori all offer chicken nuggets and chips, and Brick Lane Tandoori also has omelettes on their kids menu.
“If the kids are very fussy I’ll even go out and get a pizza from next door,” Nuraj Jaman, manager of The Standard Balti House, says. “If they’re crying I’ll get them an ice cream.”
If you’d like to soothe your child with something more traditional, you can take them for a trip to Rajmahal Sweets after dinner. The shop sells authentic treats such as jalebi, crispy deep-fried spirals of dough covered in sugar syrup.
While eating out in restaurants as a family encourages collaboration and compromise, not every meal with young children goes smoothly. “I’ve got kids myself, so I know the struggle,” Jaman says. “We do everything we can for families to have a good time.”
