Denver Family Restaurants

Just forget about your diet when you visit Bonnie Brae Ice Cream, Denver's favorite family-friendly ice cream shop. With more than 50 delectable flavors, like Gran Marnier Chocolate Chip, Deep Dish Apple Pie and Butterscotch Custard, how can you resist? (Of course, there are standard vanilla, chocolate and strawberry for those whose tastes favor the non-exotic.) With red vinyl seats and handwritten menus, the vibe at Bonnie Brae is charmingly retro.

Yes, this Italian restaurant is a nationwide chain, but the food is good and plentiful. Meal portions are huge, so plan to share dishes family style. Kids have their own menu, with smaller portions: chicken fingers, grilled chicken, giant meatball spaghetti, ziti, lasagna or pizza bread. The Denver location is right downtown in the Pavilions shopping area on the 16th Street Mall. It's typically packed, so make a reservation online or by phone. Be prepared for a loud atmosphere; while low-key kids may be bothered by the noise, your more boisterous kids' antics will fit right in.

Take the kids to a brewpub? Absolutely! Brewpub menus naturally appeal to kids' palates, with burgers, fries, pasta and pizza, although a special kids' menu is available at this eatery, right on the 16th Street Pedestrian Mall. Patio seats at Rock Bottom are hard to come by in the summer months, but they are great for people watching. While you sample Molly's Titanic Brown Ale or 16th Street Wheat, treat your kids to a Pint Glass Sundae. Other top Denver brewpubs include Wynkoop Brewery (owned by Denver mayor John Hickenlooper) and Breckenridge Brewery, a stone's throw from Coors Field, home of baseball's Colorado Rockies. More beer is brewed in Denver than in any other city in the nation, so you owe it to the Mile-High City to sample at least one brew!