Best Restaurants for Family-Friendly in Portland Me (2026)
Family-friendly · Portland Me · 6 rooms ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published April 20, 2026 · Updated June 9, 2026
Portland, Maine eats on the water, and the family version is the casual end of it: a pizza on a wharf deck, a meal on a converted car ferry, a diner at the head of a pier. The lobster is here too, in a roll a child can hold rather than a white-tablecloth ritual. These six are ranked for how well they feed a family on the Old Port waterfront and how little anyone has to sit still.
1.Flatbread Company
Wood-fired pizza · Old Port waterfront · pizzas about 15 to 25 dollars
Flatbread Company at 72 Commercial Street puts a clay wood-fired oven in plain view, which is half the entertainment for a child, and a large waterfront deck with harbor views, which is the other half. The organic flatbread pizzas run about 15 to 25 dollars, build-your-own options included, and the open kitchen means kids watch the flames while the dough goes in.
It has run on the Old Port waterfront since 2000, casual and order-and-relax, open daily from late morning. Take a deck table on a clear day, let the children watch the oven, and split a couple of flatbreads over the harbor.
Bring the kids for wood-fired pizza with a harbor-deck view. | Skip it if you want quiet; the open room and the deck run loud and busy.
2.DiMillo's On the Water
Seafood and Italian · Old Port, Long Wharf · entrees about 20 to 45 dollars
DiMillo's On the Water is a genuine floating restaurant, a 206-foot former car ferry moored at Long Wharf, and the boat itself is the draw for a child long before the food arrives. The kitchen runs Maine lobster, seafood and Italian, entrees about 20 to 45 dollars, in a 600-plus-seat room that almost always has space, with free parking and water on every side.
It has been a Portland institution since 1982, broad enough in menu to please a picky table, with pasta and simpler plates for the children. Book a window seat, point out the harbor traffic, and let the novelty of eating on a ship carry the meal.
The kids' showstopper for a meal on a real ferry over the harbor. | Skip it if you want an intimate room; this is a big, bustling ship.
3.Becky's Diner
American diner · Waterfront, Commercial Street · plates about 10 to 18 dollars
Becky's Diner at 390 Commercial Street, at the head of Hobson's Wharf, is the quintessential Portland diner, open from five in the morning to nine at night and famous enough to have landed on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. The all-day breakfast, the lobster omelette and the fresh local seafood run about 10 to 18 dollars, diner pricing that suits a family.
It is fast, casual and unpretentious, exactly the room for a hungry child at any hour, a local institution since 1991. There is no formality and no long wait for the food: a booth, a stack of pancakes, and you are set.
The easy any-meal stop when you need fast, casual food at any hour. | Skip it if you want a leisurely dinner; this is a brisk, busy diner.
4.Bissell Brothers
Brewery taproom and kitchen · Thompson's Point · mains about 12 to 20 dollars
Bissell Brothers at Thompson's Point is the family-friendly end of Portland's brewery scene, a taproom and kitchen with a kids' menu, soft drinks and plenty of space, mains about 12 to 20 dollars, burgers and fried chicken sandwiches and pretzels among them. It handles toddlers and large family groups easily, with vegan and gluten-free options on hand.
Thompson's Point is a short drive from downtown and a destination in itself, with events and water views. Note the separate outdoor Garden is 21-and-over, but the main taproom welcomes children; take a big table there and let a family group settle in.
Good for a big family group when you need space and a kids' menu. | Skip it if you head for the outdoor Garden; that section is 21-and-over.
5.The Friendly Toast
All-day brunch · Old Port, Fore Street · mains about 12 to 20 dollars
The Friendly Toast at 211 Fore Street is the most kid-equipped room on this list, an all-day, made-from-scratch brunch spot that hands out coloring books and special water cups and keeps high chairs ready. The retro, eclectic decor gives a child plenty to look at, and the all-day breakfast is exactly the food young eaters reach for, mains about 12 to 20 dollars.
It is lively and casual, open daily from eight with extended weekend hours. This is the room for a family with toddlers in tow: pancakes and a coloring book buy the parents a full, unhurried breakfast.
Built for families with toddlers when you want all-day breakfast and high chairs. | Skip it if you want a dinner room; the kitchen is brunch and breakfast led.
6.Highroller Lobster Co.
Lobster and burgers · Old Port, Exchange Street · plates market price to about 20 dollars
Highroller Lobster Co. at 104 Exchange Street is the playful, casual face of Maine lobster, a bright retro-diner room turning out creative lobster rolls and award-winning burgers, plates from a market-price roll down to a cheaper burger. The fun, colorful atmosphere and the burgers alongside the lobster make it an easy sell to a child who is not yet a seafood convert.
It is open seven days year-round with outdoor seating, central in the Old Port. Order a lobster roll for yourself, a burger for the kids, and let the casual, friendly room do the rest; this is lobster without the white-tablecloth ceremony.
The fun lobster stop when the kids want burgers and you want a roll. | Skip it if you want a sit-down dinner room; this is a casual, fast spot.
Avoid for families
Skip Fore Street with children. Sam Hayward's iconic wood-fired New American room at 288 Fore Street is dinner-only and reservation-driven, a refined open-kitchen experience pitched at adults; it runs long and formal, not a table that needs a high chair and an early finish.
And skip the city's tasting-menu rooms for a family dinner. Portland's small, ambitious dinner-only restaurants are built for grown-ups on a special night, with tight seating and long, quiet meals that a restless child will not survive and the room will not forgive.
Eating out with kids in Portland, Maine
Portland makes family dining easy if you stay on the casual waterfront. Flatbread Company puts a wood-fired oven in view and a deck over the harbor, and DiMillo's turns dinner into a meal on a ferry. For an any-hour stop, Becky's Diner and The Friendly Toast are fast, kid-equipped and forgiving, Bissell Brothers has the space for a big family group, and Highroller Lobster Co. is the fun way to put a lobster roll in a child's hands. The citywide rule: go casual, go to the water, and Portland feeds the whole family without a fuss. See also solo dining in Portland, Maine.
Frequently asked
Which Portland, Maine restaurant is best for families with young kids?
Flatbread Company on the Old Port waterfront, for the combination of a wood-fired clay oven in plain view, a large harbor deck and simple build-your-own pizzas children love. It is casual, open daily and easy to relax in. DiMillo's On the Water is the runner-up novelty, a restaurant on a converted car ferry with space and a broad menu, and The Friendly Toast is the most toddler-equipped room with high chairs and coloring books.
Where can families eat lobster in Portland without a fancy dinner?
Highroller Lobster Co. on Exchange Street is the fun, casual answer, a bright room serving creative lobster rolls alongside award-winning burgers, so a child who is not yet a seafood eater still has something. DiMillo's runs Maine lobster in a relaxed ferry-boat setting with pasta and simpler plates too. Both put lobster in front of a family without the white-tablecloth ceremony of the city's fine-dining rooms.
Are Portland, Maine breweries good for families?
Some are. Bissell Brothers at Thompson's Point is the family-friendly taproom, with a kids' menu, soft drinks, plenty of space for toddlers and large groups, and vegan and gluten-free options. Note that its separate outdoor Garden is 21-and-over, but the main taproom welcomes children. It is a short drive from downtown and a destination in itself, with events and water views, which makes it an easy spot for a big family gathering.
How much does a family meal in Portland, Maine cost?
It stays moderate at the casual spots. Becky's Diner and The Friendly Toast keep plates around 10 to 20 dollars, Flatbread's pizzas run about 15 to 25, Bissell Brothers' mains about 12 to 20, and Highroller's burgers are cheaper than its market-price lobster rolls. A family of four eats well at the diners and the pizza deck for a modest sum; the lobster is where the bill climbs.
Is it normal to bring children to restaurants in Portland, Maine?
Yes, especially to the waterfront pizza decks, diners and casual lobster spots on this list, which are built for relaxed, all-ages meals. The rooms that feel wrong for kids are the dinner-only fine-dining destinations like Fore Street and the small tasting-menu restaurants, which we list above as the ones to save for an adults-only night. For the casual Portland table, a family is entirely expected.
Keep planning: Portland, Maine dining guide · solo dining in Portland, Maine · family restaurants in Boston · family restaurants in Portland, Oregon · the full RFK rankings index
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team. Reader-supported: some reservation links are affiliate links with no cost to you, and a link never buys a place on a ranking. See our ranking methodology.