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Top 10s Child-friendly restaurants
Children welcome at La Madeline's Sunday bistro lunch
© Richard Goode
1Villa San Giovanni
Kids like airplanes and pizzas so why not put them together? Good Italian food and tables within meters of the runway. Decent wine list for grown ups. Helicopters too
Wonderboom National Airport (main terminal building), Linvelt Street, Wonderboom, Pretoria. Tel: +27 (0)12 543 0501.
2Monument Restaurant
Boerekos (Afrikaans food) buffet with indigenous gardens to play in and ye olde ox-wagon rides for kids. Bountiful pudding table for the sweet toothed members of the family.
Eeufees Road, Voortrekker Monument. Tel: +27 (0)12 321 6230/70/71. Open Sunday for buffet lunch
3Eight Restaurant at Spier
Not a preservative, additive, or colourant in sight at this organic cafe beneath the trees. A healthy menu caters for small tummies and heaps or green lawn run around. Afterwards, take the kids to the cheetah or birds of prey rehabilitation facilities. Tel : +27 (0)21 809 1100
4Kliptown Hotel
Staff who pick up and play with babies while you eat. Local kids to play with, Sunday barbeques with jazz and an on-site local history museum for older children.
Kliptown Hotel, Walter Sisulu Square, Kliptown, Soweto, Gauteng. Tel: +27 (0)11 527 7300.
5Bambanani
A revolution in child-friendly dining, drop the kids at the downstairs customised play park, with qualified child-minders to look after them. Retire to the upstairs dining area for light meals, tapas, and a large G&T. 85 4th Avenue, Melville, Johannesburg. Tel: +27 (0)11 482 2900
6Franschhoek Mountain Lodge
Maluti mountain beauty and authentic Thai cuisine for grownups. Child care, kids menu and Lilly the pot bellied pig for younger brethren. Idiosyncratic but utterly charming service for all.
Franshoek Mountain Lodge; Franshoek Mountain Lodge and Polo Club, R26, Rustlers Valley, Ficksburg. Tel: +27 (0)51 933 2828. Booking essential for those not staying at the lodge
7Deer Park Café
This venue opens out onto a dedicated children’s park in Vredehoek. Yummy mummies love the healthy organic vegetable dishes and the free-range meat dishes.
Deer Park Café, 2 Deer Park Drive, Highlands Estate, Cape Town. Tel: +27 (0)21 462-6311
8Prawn Shack
Favoured the coolest of yummy mummies and their offspring. Beach barbeque style food with margarita cocktails for mummies and sand dunes to run around on for kids. Super relaxed day out for all.
Amatikulu Beach, approximately 120km from Durban. Tel: +27 (0)84 737 6493. Only open Sat for lunch, other days by prior arrangement – booking essential
9Cafe Roux at Noordhoek Farm Village
Glorious outdoor setting and food with a fresh seasonal focus at this family-focused cafe. A play park especially designed for kids, and a large grassy play area, is always visible from the restaurant. Chapmans Peak Drive, Noordhoek, Cape Town. Tel: +27 (0)21 789 2812
10Fairview wine estate
Cheese, wine and bistro fare galore at this popular family-friendly estate. The kids can't resist the feeding the resident goats and holding the owls at the birds of prey display. Suid-Agter Paarl Road, Paarl. Tel: +27 (0)21 863 2450