Looking for a place to eat out with kids is a bit challenging in big cities like Tokyo, whether for locals or tourists. Many Japanese restaurants only have limited seating and often just counter tables, which can be inconvenient when you have kids in the pack. Additionally, some restaurants do not allow kids and in many cases you won’t know until you get there. 

When I’m eating out with my family, I have this checklist to accommodate everyone’s interest so we can all have an enjoyable experience

• Has a table with 4 seating or comfortable seating for kids
• Has kids friendly menu
• Has various dessert options (we’re dessert lovers!)
• Has a Japanese menu so my husband and I can still enjoy Japan’s delightful foods

There is one type of restaurant guaranteed to accommodate your need to eat out with your little ones, and it’s called famiresu, short for “family restaurant”. As the name suggests, it’s a restaurant that is designed to cater to all members of the family’s needs and customers of all ages. They are particularly enjoyable for kids because they usually have a nice and healthy kid’s menu and sometimes come with small toys. Below is a list of our go-to popular and easy-to-spot famiresu in Tokyo: 

Jonathan’s

English menu: Yes	Price range: 500-2000 yen per dish	Baby chair: Yes	Diaper changing station: Yes
Calories information: Yes	Allergy information: Yes	Free flow drink bar: Yes	Kids menu: Yes

This restaurant offers seasonal dishes and desserts so in winter you can enjoy nice and warm ramen but in summer you can try their refreshing cold ramen. It also has a free-flow drink bar with a wide selection from calpis, one of the most loved drinks in Japan, juice, cola to various types of coffee and tea. If you purchase a drink bar as a set with meals it will be cheaper. Another thing, most Japanese restaurants offer free water or tea and so does Jonathan’s. If you don’t purchase a drink bar, you’ll get free water and can refill it at the drink bar station. 

They usually open early in the morning and some stores offer a Japanese breakfast set for only 879 yen (tax included) for grilled salmon set with rice, miso soup, and a choice between natto (fermented soybeans) or raw egg. In my opinion, that’s a good deal to experience a Japanese-style breakfast. Do check the store’s opening hours and menu availability as they may vary by branch.

Now for the younglings, Jonathan’s has a kid’s menu that comes with jelly and gacha coins. We ordered a kid’s hamburg steak set and the portion was just enough for my 8-year-old. You can use this coin for the gachapon (toy capsule) at the gachapon machine in their shop and this makes the experience even better! Kids under elementary age receive a complimentary kids’ drink bar (excluding coffee and tea options).

The store that we visited was the Tsukishima branch. Jonathan’s has 84 branches in Tokyo and a lot of them are in tourist popular areas, like Shinjuku, Odaiba, and Akihabara. So if you’re in the area and want to have a nice meal with your family without a fuss, Jonathan’s is worth a try. 

Denny’s

English menu: Yes	Price range: 200-2000 yen per dish	Baby chair: Yes	Diaper changing station: Yes
Calories information: Yes	Allergy information: Yes (on the booklet menu)	Free flow drink bar: Yes	Kids menu: Yes

Denny’s is also a famous famiresu with an extensive menu. While Denny’s originated in the USA, the menu in Japan offers a unique twist. They serve a wide range of Western dishes and popular Japanese dishes like omurice (rice and omelet), donburi (rice bowl) set, noodles, and literally many more. The omurice is said to be the favorite menu here, while my personal favorite is the chicken jambalaya since I like strong spices.

Denny’s usually offers breakfast, but in Tokyo, branches that do not have breakfast are in Ueno Yanaka Store, Shibuya Koen-dori Store, and Kamiitabashi Store (source from the website: here). 

For children, they offer a kid’s menu starting at 400 yen for a kid’s ramen and jelly. Kids under 3 get a free children’s drink bar but even if you have to pay, it’s only 130 yen. They even offer baby food, although there’s only one option – whitebait rice porridge (for around 7 to 8 months old) at 240 yen.

Be sure to order one of their seasonal desserts. So far we have tried peach parfait and shine muscat parfait and they didn’t disappoint. The right amount of sweetness, a combination of sorbet, jelly, sauce, and fresh fruit really made my mouth happy!

Denny’s is relatively easy to find in Tokyo as they have a lot of branches. They have stores in Asakusa, Shibuya, Akihabara, and many more. We visited the ones in the Shibuya Koen-dori and Tsukiji branch.

Gusto

English menu: Yes	Price range: 300-1600 yen per dish	Baby chair: Yes	Diaper changing station: Yes
Calories information: Yes	Allergy information: Yes	Free flow drink bar: Yes	Kids menu: Yes

Here is another restaurant that your family can enjoy. We visited Gusto in Ginza after strolling around the area in the hot summer. I often see families with young kids dine here. Gusto has a simpler menu and is more budget-friendly compared to the other 2 restaurants I mentioned earlier. It’s a great option if you are a bit in a rush but still want to have a decent warm meal at an affordable price. I mean, what goes better than that? It’s also a good place if you want to have a light bite because they have half-size pasta, karaage (deep-fried chicken) with a choice of sauces and of course, desserts. Gusto offers breakfast too but like the others, the opening hours vary between stores. They have both Japanese and western breakfasts.

Gusto has seasonal desserts but their Shiratama Cream Anmitsu is worth a try. The ingredients are carefully selected from other regions in Japan, like the ogura bean paste is made from azuki (red beans) from Tokachi, Hokkaido, and the homemade black honey is made with brown sugar from Iriomote Island. Gusto might be a casual restaurant but it’s amazing how they pay attention to little detail to make sure customers get the best quality food.

Kids meals start from 300 yen for a mini ramen and kids drink bar set. This set is recommended for kids under elementary age. For bigger kids, they have a “Lucky set” with various choices starting from 500 yen for a ramen, drink bar, and toy set. And if there’s still room for dessert, kid’s soft ice cream is available at only 100 yen.

Gusto has 182 branches scattered throughout Tokyo. You can easily find Gusto in popular areas like Ginza, Sumida, and Shibuya as well. 

Royal Host

English menu: Yes	Price range: 500-5000 per dish	Baby chair: Yes	Diaper changing station: No
Calories information: No	Allergy information: Yes (here)	Free flow drink bar: Yes	Kids menu: Yes

Royal host offers a distinct experience as a famiresu. The restaurant has a more upscale ambiance and features premium dishes, but still welcoming for kids. They mostly offer western menus but have some Japanese as well. You can tell they use high-quality ingredients by the delicious and well-presented food, although this means you need to spend a bit more but it’s all worth it. The steak gathering platter is a good deal for trying out their steak, chicken and shrimp. We tried paella and rice pilaf as well and there was really nothing to complain about.

Royal Host provides various options for the kids menu. They have 2 options for a rice plate, which are children’s stew hamburger plate rice or bread and omelet rice & fried shrimp plate. These dishes are presented beautifully, making kids feel like they’re enjoying a grown-up meal. The portion is quite big and I guess it would be filling enough even for me. We also order kid’s ramen that comes with french fries. The portion is enough for our 3-year-old. The drink bar has more options here and the cocoa is my favorite. It’s not too sweet and the taste is well balanced. I added some ice and it’s just a perfect drink in summer. 

One small thing, the other restaurants provide the menu on a tablet and it’s more convenient for us to order using it. They don’t have that here, so we have to order manually. The menu is written in both English and Japanese but the description is only in Japanese. But again, it’s not really an issue since we can easily use Google translate and the staff also speaks basic English. We visited their branches in Ginza and Hatchobori. The service in the Ginza branch is better in my opinion, because they use a ticket queue system and it allows you to check the waiting time by scanning the QR code in the queue ticket.

Summary

There are some types of restaurants in Japan, but finding the ones that’s comfortable for families with little kids in a big city like Tokyo needs more effort.

Famiresu or family restaurant is the type of restaurant that most likely matches the need to dine in comfortably, especially with the kids, since they usually have bigger space, well-presented and healthy kids menu, and also affordable. Some well-known famiresu that are easy to find in Tokyo are Jonathan’s, Denny’s, Gusto, and Royal Host. Although it looks like they offer western food, we actually still can feel Japan’s touch with the ambiance and varieties of the menu. Generally, they open early in the morning as they serve breakfast menus until as late as 23:00 but opening hours differ between stores. We visited these restaurants around 2023 and I also put price information from the website in September 2023. We hope this guide helps you have a great dining experience while exploring Tokyo!