Kid Friendly Restaurants on Brisbane's South Bank

From LEGO silver service to pancake feasts at 4pm, these restaurants prove why South Bank Brisbane is the ultimate family getaway - for your tastebuds and your sanity.

Dining out with kids can be tough. 'Family-friendly' can translates to a culinary challenge where adults suffer through chicken nuggets shaped like dinosaurs and overcooked pasta drowning tomato sauce. 

Brisbane's South Bank, thankfully, is an exception to the rule. Here restaurants understand that parents are still human beings with functioning taste buds, and children don't actually need to be fed a steady diet of beige. 

The riverside precinct has evolved into the centre of Brisbane's cultural and entertainment map, where the man-made beach, lush parklands, cultural institutions, and the city's stunning climate converge. And it's the dining scene that's undergone the most delicious transformation, here are the best kid-friendly South Bank restaurants in Brisbane.

One of the best family restaurants in Brisbane, Poca Madre, delivers bold, authentic Mexican flavour with a modern twist that somehow manages to please both sophisticated palates and developing ones.

The desert-chic fitout, with its warm pink walls and hand-painted murals, isn't trying to be Disneyland with tacos. It's a real restaurant that happens to welcome small humans. The slow-roasted brisket quesabirria tacos are the real deal, and the kitchen will dial back the heat for kids without turning the dish into flavourless mush.

What's remarkable isn't that they have a kids' menu, it's that they’ve mastered simplified versions of the same authentic dishes adults eat and the colourful presentation of dishes adds an element of excitement.

Insider tip: Order the house-made tortilla chips with guacamole to start, they arrive in a portion generous enough for the whole family to share, and all that interactive dipping keeps fidgety kids occupied while you peruse the rest of the menu. 

Location: Poca Madre, 15/14 Little Stanley Street, Brisbane City

Another joint that kids absolutely adore is Poppies. This welcoming venue proves there’s a special place in heaven for restaurants that serve breakfast all day. Poppies understands that family time doesn't adhere to conventional meal schedules, and sometimes your kid wants pancakes at 4pm because time is a meaningless construct when you're seven.

It’s lively enough that a child's sudden wail won't cause every head to turn, yet not so chaotic that you feel like you're dining in a playcentre. The all-day brunch menu features unique dishes crafted from high-quality ingredients, while dinner brings classic Aussie fusion cuisine with a seasonal, rotating selection of fresh ingredients.

Insider tip: Their weekend breakfast service includes activity sheets and crayons that arrive before the food, a tactical masterstroke that should be studied in business schools. 

Location: Poppies, Shop/B11 Little Stanley Street, South Brisbane

Every weekend the Little Stanley Street stretch in South Bank transforms into the kind of marketplace that reminds you why humans have gathered to trade goods since we figured out we could. Forget the food court fare that passes for market eating in many postcodes. The Collective Markets, the street food vendors serve up family recipes passed down through generations. The kind of food where you can taste the heritage, not just the salt and sugar engineered to hit your pleasure centres.

Insider tip: The market runs Friday evenings from 5pm to 9pm while Saturdays stretch from 10am till the energy fades, and Sundays offer a 9am to 4pm window.

Location: The Collective Markets, Little Stanley Street, South Brisbane 

The best kid-friendly place to stay in South Bank Brisbane is the appropriately named Novotel Brisbane South Bank.

A contemporary oasis nestled right in the middle of South Bank, it also offers its own famous Brisbane family friendly restaurant, Spice Central Kitchen and Bar, where expert chefs blend vibrant international flavours with fresh local ingredients. The kitchen even runs kiddy-cooking workshops where your little chefs get to craft tasty cookies in the kitchen, freshly baked and personally delivered to your room door.

With spacious, family sized rooms and a big, sparkling pool, there are also thoughtful touches for the kids like complimentary pool toys and Zooper Doopers in the poolside fridge. Novotel Brisbane South Bank is also perfectly positioned just moments from the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, Bluey’s World, South Bank Parklands, Queensland Performing Arts Centre, and the Queensland Art Gallery.

Insider tip: The unique ‘Lego Butler’ experience delivers Lego kits on a silver tray, complete with white-gloved service.

Location:  Novotel Brisbane South Bank, 38 Cordelia Street, South Brisbane

If you're planning a day at South Bank's iconic Streets Beach, Southbeach is your culinary lifesaver. Located literally upstairs from the lagoon, this relaxed eatery understands the unique rhythm of family beach days, where kids will swim until they're practically famished.

Floor-to-ceiling windows frame stunning views of the Brisbane River, Streets Beach, and the city skyline, providing enough visual distraction that you might actually finish a meal.

Their kids' menu doesn't try to recreate the wheel. Yes, there are chicken nuggets for the die-hard refusenik in your group, but they're actual chicken, not mechanically separated mystery meat. The fish is fresh, the burgers don't taste like they were thawed this morning, the staff don't visibly wince when you walk in with sandy children and high chairs are readily available.

Insider tip: Request a table on the outdoor terrace, the fresh air helps with wiggly kids, and a last-resort-iPad won't raise any eyebrows.

Location: Southbeach, 30aa, Stanley Street Plaza, South Brisbane 

Thai restaurants usually go one of two ways with kids: they either water everything down to the point of culinary homeopathy, or they maintain their integrity and watch your children's faces turn the colour of the Sriracha they just accidentally consumed. Siam South Bank has somehow found the mythical middle ground.

The space is open and airy, the service is warm and the menu has kid-kind dishes like crispy chicken satay and corn fritters that serve as a gateway to more adventurous Thai cuisine. What's refreshing is that they don't cook the life out of everything. The vegetables still have texture, herbs are fresh and abundant, and there's a discernible difference between mild, medium, and "I’m out of my depth" levels of spice.

Insider tip: Ask for their mocktail menu, the tropical concoctions come with enough garnish to double as entertainment, and then you can enjoy something stronger and pretend you're in Thailand instead of next to a six-year-old who's explaining Minecraft in excruciating detail.

Location: Siam South Bank, South Bank Parklands, 4b/15 Tribune Street, South Brisbane 

For a sweet treat, Happy Pops stands out as South Bank's premier kid favourite gelato destination, serving hand-crafted premium artisanal gelato and sorbet.

What makes Happy Pops special is their meticulous approach to creating these frozen delights. The salted caramel, raspberry and coconut, and Nutella cookies and cream are particular favourites among the younger crowd. Parents appreciate that these treats, while indulgent, use quality ingredients without artificial additives.

Insider tip: They offer half-scoops for kids with eyes bigger than their stomachs, and the staff don't get that dead-inside look when your child asks to sample seventeen flavors before choosing vanilla. It's the little things.

Location: Happy Pops, 30BC, Stanley Street Plaza, South Brisbane

Sometimes the best restaurant for kids is no restaurant at all. South Bank's sprawling green lawns offer what might be the most honest dining experience in the precinct: the DIY picnic.

Most South Bank restaurants offer takeaway, and the grassy area in front of River Quay offers shade, space, and views that would cost you a fortune in a restaurant.

Pack a cooler with good food and enjoy the freedom to let your kids be the chaotic forces of nature they truly are.