RFK Rankings · Detroit
Best Restaurants for Family-Friendly in Detroit (2026)
Family-friendly dining · Detroit · 6 rooms ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published April 9, 2024 · Updated June 9, 2026 · Reviewed by Fredrik Filipsson, Editor-in-Chief · How we rank · Corrections
Detroit feeds families on square pizza, coney dogs and Hamtramck pierogi, and most of its best rooms were built for big, loud, unfussy tables. These six, ranked, are the places where the food is genuinely good, a high chair turns up without a fuss, and nobody minds a restless six-year-old.
1.Buddy's Pizza
The blue-steel-pan pizza that invented the Detroit square in 1946; bring the whole table for a fast, easy slice.
Buddy's Pizza baked the first Detroit-style square pie at 17125 Conant Street in Conant Gardens in 1946, in the same blue steel pans the kitchen still uses. The original eight-square cheese pizza runs about $17, an antipasto salad rounds out the table, and the crisp-edged corners are the part children fight over.
The booths are roomy, the pace is quick and the room is loud enough that a noisy toddler vanishes into it. High chairs are easy, the pizza arrives fast, and the half-and-half lets a picky eater stick to plain cheese while the adults add brick pepperoni.
2.Supino Pizzeria
Eastern Market's thin-crust favourite from Dave Mancini; come Saturday after the market for a relaxed family lunch.
Dave Mancini opened Supino Pizzeria at 2457 Russell Street in Eastern Market, a few doors from the Saturday sheds. The thin-crust pies run about $16 to $22, the Bismark with egg and prosciutto is the signature, and a plain Margherita keeps the children happy.
Tie a meal to the Saturday market and the kids have somewhere to walk off lunch among the produce stalls. The room is small and casual, so come at an off-hour with a stroller, or grab a table in the larger space next door.
3.Andiamo
A riverfront Italian room with house pasta and a real kids' menu; book the RenCen table for a family dinner.
Andiamo has cooked made-from-scratch Italian at 400 Renaissance Center on the Detroit riverfront since 1989. The hand-rolled pasta runs about $22 to $30, the gnocchi is the dish to order, and the children's menu carries spaghetti, chicken fingers and pizza around $9.
The river-view windows give restless children something to watch, and the white-tablecloth room is forgiving early in the evening. Book a window table before seven, order the kids their pasta first, and let the adults take their time over a second course.
4.Polonia
Hamtramck's century-old Polish kitchen for pierogi and kielbasa; bring the kids for a cheap, generous family meal.
Polonia has served homemade Polish food at 2934 Yemans Street in Hamtramck for close to a century, family-run and remodelled in 1986 by Janusz Zurowski. The pierogi platter runs about $14, the fresh kielbasa and dill-pickle soup are made in-house, and a plate of potato pierogi is an easy sell to a child.
The room is plain, warm and cash-friendly, the kind of place where a family of five eats well for the price of two downtown plates. Portions are large, so order a couple of mains to share and let everyone pick at the pierogi.
5.Rainforest Cafe
A jungle-themed room with thunderstorms and animatronics kids adore; drive to Great Lakes Crossing for a noisy night.
Rainforest Cafe sits inside Great Lakes Crossing at 4318 Baldwin Road in Auburn Hills, a short run up I-75 from downtown. The room stages a recurring thunderstorm, fills with animatronic elephants and gorillas, and runs aquariums along the walls; the children's menu of chicken nuggets, pizza and mac and cheese sits around $9.
It is the rare restaurant where the theatre, not the food, is the point, and for younger children that is exactly right. The volume covers any tantrum, the storms reset every twenty minutes, and the gift shop is the bribe on the way out.
6.Wahlburgers
A casual burger bar with milkshakes and a simple kids' plate; walk in to Greektown for an easy lunch.
Wahlburgers in Greektown runs an easy burger menu built around the Our Burger and a tater-tot side, with mains around $13. The kids' menu keeps it to grilled cheese, chicken tenders and a smaller burger, and the frappe milkshakes are the reward at the end.
The room is bright, casual and quick, a reliable stop between the Greektown casino and a Tigers or Red Wings game. Walk in off-peak with children, order the tots to share, and the kitchen turns a family lunch around fast.
Not for everyone
Great rooms, wrong for kids
The Apparatus Room. The Detroit Foundation Hotel's polished downtown dining room is a coursed, grown-up evening, not a family one. Save it for a date night and bring the children to Buddy's or Supino instead.
Selden Standard. The Midtown tasting-forward room is small, quiet and built for adults lingering over a wine list. It is the wrong room for a high chair; book a sitter and go as a couple.
Prime + Proper. Downtown's clubby steakhouse is dim, dressed-up and expensive, a special-occasion adult dinner. The dry-aged beef is excellent, but take the kids to Andiamo for the riverfront pasta.
How to eat out with kids in Detroit
Detroit's family rooms spread out: Eastern Market and Greektown downtown, Hamtramck just north for the Polish kitchens, and the suburban malls up I-75 for the themed chains. A car helps everywhere outside the downtown core, and parking is easy at Eastern Market on a Saturday once the market crowd thins.
The easiest family meals here are early and casual. Walk in before six at Buddy's, Supino and Wahlburgers to beat the wait, and tie Supino to the Saturday market so the kids have somewhere to roam. For a meal that doubles as an outing, the Rainforest Cafe at Great Lakes Crossing keeps younger children rapt through the storms.
Frequently asked
What are the best family restaurants in Detroit?
Buddy's Pizza leads, the Conant Gardens institution that invented Detroit-style square pizza in 1946 and still bakes it in blue steel pans. Supino Pizzeria in Eastern Market and Andiamo's riverfront Italian room at the Renaissance Center round out the top three, all with a real kids' option and easy high chairs.
Where can families get Detroit-style pizza with kids?
Buddy's Pizza in Conant Gardens is the original, a roomy, loud booth restaurant where the crisp-cornered square pie arrives fast and a child can stick to plain cheese. Supino Pizzeria in Eastern Market is the thin-crust alternative, best on a Saturday when the market gives the kids somewhere to walk.
Are Detroit restaurants good for kids?
Yes. Detroit's best family rooms are casual, generous and loud, from Buddy's square pizza to Polonia's pierogi in Hamtramck. High chairs and strollers are easy at the pizzerias and the Renaissance Center Italian room, and the suburban Rainforest Cafe turns dinner into a show for younger children.
Which Detroit restaurant is best for picky eaters?
Buddy's Pizza is the safest bet, where a half-and-half pie lets a child order plain cheese while the adults add brick pepperoni. Wahlburgers in Greektown keeps its kids' menu to grilled cheese and chicken tenders, and Andiamo's children's pasta and pizza cover the fussiest table.
Do Detroit family restaurants take reservations?
Some do and some do not. Andiamo at the Renaissance Center and the Rainforest Cafe take bookings, so reserve the family table ahead. Buddy's, Supino, Polonia and Wahlburgers are walk-in, so arrive before six with children to skip the line and the wait for a high chair.
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