8 Best Family Restaurants in Vancouver

Sure you can cook, but sometimes a girl just needs to get out of the kitchen for a little break. Luckily you live in Vancouver, a town chock full of cool restaurants for moms with busy kids. Here are some of our favourites.

With inventive rolls that represent up to all four food groups, Kamei Royale, the massive 200-seat restaurant, also has an abundance of tatami rooms so kids can roam or have chopstick sword fights without disturbing the other patrons while Mom has her spicy tuna roll.

With five big and noisy locations all around Vancouver, you should be able to get a table at Milestones in no time flat. The booths are big and the aisles are wide for stroller parking. Kids under 12 can eat, drink and enjoy gelato for $8.99. And while they're waiting for their sliders, kids can play tic-tac-toe, solve riddles and do word puzzles printed on the placemats.

Although you won't find high chairs or a kids' menu at any of their seven locations in Vancouver, Cactus Club Cafe still makes the list because it's loud, dark and has a plethora of booths. The game is always on; and their Etch A Sketch loaners quiet down even the loudest of kids. They also have the best chicken tenders in the Greater Vancouver Area.

Nat's New York Pizzeria is the hands-down fave of many a savvy mom. Customers rave about its thin, hand-thrown crust. There are two locations to serve Vancouverites; on West Broadway in Kits, and in the West End on Denman. Bella Pizza at Hemlock and Broadway is worth a mention as well for the wonderfully copious amounts of garlic in their tomato sauce!

This eatery is mom-designed and operated—need we say more? Some of the family-friendly touches include a large play area, an extra-wide door for those double strollers, kiddie-sized bathroom fixtures and a big clock on the wall so you don't miss preschool pick-up time. You'll feel so at home you might forget to go home—but never fear, if you're running late for dinner prep you can grab one of the family-sized, homestyle meals from the Kokopelli freezer.

Be the funnest mom on the block when you buy the bright rainbow bread from The Bakehouse in Edgemont Village. It might taste like white bread, but it's not—each slice is a swirl of bright blue, red, orange and yellow. Bright not your style? There's also a great breakfast and lunch menu with yummy soups, sandwiches and treats, and a kids' breakfast special too.

What's so good about this spot? Just about everything, according to our scouts. The whole family will be drooling over the flatbread pizzas that are baked in the clay, wood-fired oven. The kids can watch the dinners being made, or spend their time in the play area. There are simple, kid-priced versions of the menu favourites, and lots of tastes to keep adult palates tantalized, too. Head their way on Sunday and Monday nights from 5 pm on for Family Nights, when the kids can roll out and top their own pizza creations. Birthday party packages are offered as well—why not get the guests doing their own cooking for once?

Steps from Creekside Gondola and open from 3:30 pm during ski season, it's the perfect spot for the whole family. The wooden tables and chairs are ski boot-proof and kids are encouraged to create art which Creekbread proudly displays as menu covers. Family favourites include pizzas like the Four Cheese and the Nitrate-Free Pepperoni & Mushroom, but foodies will love the Pemberton Potato Pie.