America's most 'family-friendly' restaurant is in Texas: Yelp
(NEXSTAR) – The school year is quickly coming to an end, and before long, Texas families will be sweating out the summer together — and that means sharing more breakfasts, lunches and dinners with the kids.
Whether you're looking to stop for a bite during a family road trip or a Saturday outing, it's always good to know which restaurants are geared toward a meal with the kids — and Yelp just released its list of Top 100 Family-Friendly Restaurants of 2025 to get you on the right track.
As it turns out, the Lone Star State has not one but three restaurants in Yelp's top 10 — including a Houston eatery that was named the No. 1 family-friendly restaurant in the U.S.
To determine this list, Yelp says its analysts first identified restaurant ratings with a large concentration of reviews that mentioned the phrase "family friendly." Yelp's analysts then ranked those businesses across a number of other factors, including total volume of reviews. Yelp also says this data is an "all-time" list, so the rankings are reflective of years and years of data.
The Texas restaurant that takes the national No. 1 spot as being the most family-friendly is Little Matt's in Houston. Located in West University Place, Little Matt's — established in 2009 — offers a wide range of burgers, salads and Mexican-inspired entrees in addition to kid-friendly options like pizzas, hot dogs and mac and cheese, which are all served, per Little Matt's, "with fruit AND fries." And as another bonus, all adult entrees come with complimentary frozen margaritas, beer or wine.
Yelp writes: "Youngsters are the focus at this popular cafe. … Parents love the 'kid nirvana' vibe: There are game-equipped tablets up front and a mini-arcade and toy-vending machine in the back (staff often hand out free quarters to play)."
Additionally, Yelp reviewers frequently indicated they like patronizing Little Matt's because the business donates part of proceeds to Texas Children's Hospital, in honor of the deceased children of both the former owners and the current owners.
Here are the rest of Texas' most family-friendly restaurants, including the other two Texas spots to make Yelp's top 10.
| Rank | Restaurant | City |
| 8. | The Yard | McKinney |
| 10. | The Cove | San Antonio |
| 21. | The Stix Icehouse | McKinney |
| 26. | Dahlia Cafe | Liberty Hill |
| 32. | Hutchins BBQ | Frisco |
| 37. | Blue Corn Harvest Bar & Grill | Cedar Park |
| 40. | Pinthouse Pizza | Austin |
Included among the eight Texas restaurants to make Yelp's rankings are McKinney's The Yard, which offers a "backyard" hangout feel for adults and kids, while local Austin favorite Pinthouse Pizza (Burnet location) makes for a perfect summer hang — with craft beers and televised sports for the adults and free arcade games for kids.
Other Central Texas restaurants on the list include Dahlia Cafe in Liberty Hill, which was No. 26, and Cedar Park's Blue Corn Harvest Bar & Grill, which was No. 37.
All in all, Texas' eight entries were only beaten by one other state: Florida, which claims the most entries on the list, has a total of nine. Texas, however, is the state with the most inclusions in the top 10.
For a full list of the top 100 family-friendly restaurants in America, visit Yelp.