RFK Rankings · Tampa
Best Restaurants for Family-Friendly Dining in Tampa (2026)
Family-friendly dining · Tampa · 6 rooms ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 16, 2026 · Updated June 16, 2026 · Reviewed by Fredrik Filipsson, Editor-in-Chief · How we rank · Corrections
Tampa is built for eating out with children. The weather pushes everything onto patios and riverfront decks, the city's signature rooms come with playgrounds, storybook statues and flamenco, and a century-old Spanish restaurant in Ybor City still anchors family celebrations the way it did for grandparents. The challenge is finding rooms that entertain the kids without serving the adults a frozen-nugget compromise. The six below, native-Floridian riverside cooking, historic Cuban-Spanish, an inventive bistro and a buzzy comfort-food kitchen, all manage both. Book an early table on a patio, and let the kids burn off energy between courses.
1.Ulele — Native Floridian, Tampa Heights
Native-Floridian cooking on the Hillsborough River with a playground and storybook statues; the city's easiest family dinner. Book a patio table.
Ulele, on the banks of the Hillsborough River in Tampa Heights, is the most complete family room in the city. The Columbia Restaurant Group built it around native Floridian ingredients, charred oysters, alligator hush puppies, the Ulele burger, and its own on-site brewery, so the adults eat and drink genuinely well. For children there is an $8 kids menu, an outdoor play area, the restored storybook statues from old Tampa's Fairyland scattered across the lawn, and a riverwalk to run off energy between courses. The patio and Spring overlook seal it. Book an early riverfront table, order the oysters and the burger, and let the kids loose on the lawn.
Book direct at ulele.com.
2.Columbia Restaurant — Spanish-Cuban, Ybor City
Florida's oldest restaurant pairs Spanish-Cuban classics with flamenco and tiled courtyards; book a family celebration in Ybor City.
The Columbia, founded in 1905 in Ybor City, is the oldest restaurant in Florida and the room Tampa families have used for celebrations for four generations. The hand-painted Spanish tiles, fountains and nightly flamenco shows turn dinner into an event for children, while the menu, the 1905 Salad tossed tableside, paella, Cuban sandwiches, the black-bean soup, is the real Spanish-Cuban thing. It is large enough to absorb a big family table easily and used to multigenerational parties. This is the special-occasion family dinner in Tampa. Book a table with the flamenco show, ask for the 1905 Salad tossed at the table, and order paella to share.
Book direct at columbiarestaurant.com.
3.Datz — Comfort food, South Tampa
A buzzy comfort-food room with one of the country's most playful kids menus; an easy, fun weekend family stop. Walk in early.
Datz, on MacDill Avenue in South Tampa, is the city's comfort-food clubhouse and a guaranteed crowd-pleaser with children. The kids menu alone earns it a place, with tongue-in-cheek picks like the 'I Don't Know' and 'I'm Not Hungry' plates, each coming with a drink, a sweet and a side. The adult menu is over-the-top in the best way, loaded grilled cheeses, a serious burger, brunch, and the attached Dough bakery handles dessert. The room is loud and casual, so a noisy table belongs. It is not fine dining, but it is the most fun family meal in town. Walk in early on a weekend and let everyone order off-script.
Walk in or book at datz.com.
4.Oxford Exchange — American cafe, near Hyde Park
A light-filled bookstore-cafe with an easy brunch and a shop to browse; ideal for a calm daytime family meal. Book brunch.
Oxford Exchange, across from the University of Tampa, blends a bookstore, a design shop and a glass-roofed cafe, which makes it one of the calmest daytime rooms in the city for a family. The American and British-leaning menu, avocado toast, a strong burger, scones and a serious tea and coffee program, works for a relaxed brunch or lunch, and the attached bookstore gives children something to do before and after. The conservatory room is airy and bright rather than precious. It is the antidote to a loud kids' restaurant. Book a weekend brunch, take a table in the glass conservatory, and browse the shop afterwards.
Book direct at oxfordexchange.com.
5.Edison Food + Drink Lab — New American, Soho/Hyde Park
Jeannie Pierola's inventive New American kitchen welcomes older kids with adventurous palates; book an early table for a step-up family dinner.
Edison Food + Drink Lab is chef Jeannie Pierola's inventive New American room near Hyde Park, the choice for families with older children who want to eat beyond the usual. Pierola, a longtime Tampa pioneer, runs a playful, ingredient-driven menu, the crispy chicken skins, wood-grilled mains, a rotating chalkboard, that rewards a curious young palate. The room is contemporary and lively rather than hushed, so a family table fits without strain. It is the most ambitious cooking on this list and best for kids past the nuggets stage. Book the early sitting, order a spread of small plates to share, and let older kids try the kitchen's odder ideas.
Book direct at edisontampa.com.
6.Mise en Place — New American, downtown
A long-running seasonal New American room that handles older children and big-family dinners gracefully; book ahead for a celebration.
Mise en Place, Marty and Maryann Blitz's downtown-adjacent restaurant, has been a Tampa fine-casual fixture for decades and remains a graceful choice for a family celebration with older kids. The seasonal New American menu changes constantly, with the kitchen's known strengths in local seafood and the grouper and the duck, and the service is warm and used to multigenerational tables. The room is polished but not stiff. It is the grown-up end of this list, the place for a milestone dinner rather than a casual Tuesday. Book ahead, ask the team to pace the courses for the table, and let the kitchen guide the seasonal picks.
Book direct at miseonline.com.
Skip these with kids
Bern's Steak House — a marathon, not a family night
Bern's is one of America's great steakhouses, but the long, formal dinner, the cellar tour and the separate Harry Waugh dessert room make it a slow adult occasion. Save it for a date night; bring the family to Ulele instead.
Tampa's tasting counters — wrong pace for kids
The city's omakase and chef's-counter rooms run multi-course, fixed formats built for focused adults. With young children, skip them and choose a patio or riverfront room from the list above.
How to eat well with kids in Tampa
Tampa's climate is the family diner's best friend: book a patio or riverfront table and the children have room to move that no indoor dining room can match. Ulele's lawn and riverwalk, the Columbia's tiled courtyards and Datz's buzzy energy all give a family table cover, so go early, before the dinner rush, when service is quickest and the rooms are calmest. Lean on the places with real kids menus, Ulele's $8 menu and Datz's playful one, so children eat properly rather than off a nuggets default, and use the older-skewing rooms, Edison and Mise en Place, only once the kids can sit through a longer meal. Ybor City and the Tampa Heights riverfront are the two easiest neighbourhoods for a family night. Leave the steakhouse marathons and tasting counters for an adults-only evening.
Frequently asked
What are the best family-friendly restaurants in Tampa?
Ulele, on the Hillsborough River with an $8 kids menu, a playground and storybook statues, is the easiest, followed by the historic Columbia in Ybor City for a celebration with flamenco and Datz for its playful kids menu. Oxford Exchange suits a calm brunch, while Edison and Mise en Place work for families with older children.
Which Tampa restaurant is best for kids?
Ulele is the most complete: riverfront seating, an outdoor play area, restored Fairyland statues to explore and an $8 children's menu, with genuinely good native-Floridian food and an on-site brewery for the adults.
Is the Columbia Restaurant good for families?
Yes. Founded in 1905, Florida's oldest restaurant is upscale but used to multigenerational tables, with hand-painted tiles, fountains, nightly flamenco and classics like the tableside 1905 Salad and paella. It is the special-occasion family room in Tampa.
Can you take kids to Bern's Steak House?
It is better as an adult night. Bern's is a great steakhouse, but the long, formal dinner, cellar tour and separate dessert room make for a slow evening. Bring the family to Ulele or the Columbia and save Bern's for a date.
What time should families eat dinner in Tampa?
Go early, before the dinner rush, and book a patio or riverfront table so children have room to move. Service is quickest and the rooms calmest in the first hour of dinner service.
Related rankings
More from RFK
Browse the full Tampa dining guide, read the Ulele review and the Columbia Restaurant profile, plan a grown-up night to remember on a first date, see the step-up option in the Edison write-up, or open the full RFK rankings index.
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