The UK’s 20 best family-friendly pubs

Finding a family-friendly pub that satisfies energetic children and tired parents is no small feat – but Britain’s best inns have mastered the balance. Across the UK, a new generation of pubs is redefining the classic local, combining sprawling beer gardens, soft play areas and dog-friendly spaces with exceptional, locally sourced food. No longer limited to soggy chips and microwave nuggets, today’s standout spots feature thoughtful kids’ menus, creative activities and a genuinely warm welcome for every generation. I went in search of the best, and from country taprooms to coastal gems, here are my 20 favourite family-friendly pubs you’ll need to visit. Almondsbury Creative, Bristol More than just a pub, the Almondsbury is an arts and events hub for the people of north Bristol. The former social club set amid sports fields was saved from closure seven years ago and, in 2024, was named Best Pub for Families in the Great British Pub Awards, thanks to a packed programme of entertainment, including a Grinch-themed brunch, a Fright Fest and a weekly Kids Creative Club to keep the little folk amused during that important post-work slot on a Friday. There is a set menu for children priced at £6.50 with a drink and the option of trading up to larger portions for the hungry ones. The Almondsbury was named Best Pub for Families in the Great British Pub Awards (Photo: Almondsbury Creative) Angels, Hitchin, Hertfordshire A perfect spot to share with your little angels, this modern pub is the creation of local brewer McMullen. It features both a soft play area indoors and park outdoors and there’s lots of space to spread out. Open all day, even the very smallest are catered for at Angels with coffee mornings for mums with babies and a lunchtime pub quiz, too. There’s a kids’ menu, of course, including a scaled-down roast on Sundays and breakfasts of pancakes and waffles alongside the full English. Beech Tree Inn, Dumgoyne, Glasgow There are no lions and tigers and bears at the Beech Tree, but you will find ponies and rabbits and goats, as well as guinea pigs, chinchillas, ducks and aviary birds, plus a wildlife garden with a buggy-friendly path to ramble along. As well as a nature school for the kids, it also does a good job as a pub with a bar, family friendly restaurant and a pleasant garden with sheltered tables in full view of the rustic play equipment. Handy for hikers, too, on the West Highland Way. Fen Bell Inn, St Mary Hoo, Kent A modest pub near Rochester that at some point sprouted a small zoo at the back is now a full-on conservation project, and provides a whole day out for the family with animal experiences such as the Meerkat Encounter, kids’ parties, charity events and a Bee Walk in the flower meadows, where you can discover 24 different species of bumblebee. After all that you can enjoy a drink while the kids dine on an extensive lunch menu, and there are now breakfasts, too, from the new kitchen. Shorts Hickory’s Smokehouse, Rhos-on-Sea, North Wales One of the country’s most successful themed pub-restaurant chains, you can find Hickory’s Smokehouses from Middlesborough down to Swindon, and this one in the seaside resort of Rhos stands out with its fun slide in the garden. Indeed, Hickory’s is fun all round, and especially for kids. Every pub has its own Movie Room where they can watch cartoons fuelled by popcorn, and the children’s menu has its own take on Southern cooking including, for dessert, Fro-Co – that’s a tub of frozen custard on which you can sprinkle your own choice of toppings from the Creation Station. The House in the Tree, Hayden, Cheltenham There is a rather grisly tale attached to the history of The House in the Tree, but as this is a family occasion we won’t go there. The main attraction these days is the petting zoo where a menagerie of pigs, chickens, ducks, goats and rabbits can’t wait to amuse your offspring. The pub has an extensive play area in the garden, too, which has its own menu of burgers, baguettes and basket meals alongside special kids’ dishes and ice-creams. Jolly Sailors, Brancaster Staithe, Norfolk As you’d expect, there’s a nautical feel to this characterful, bustling pub just off Brancaster’s beautiful beach. It has a lovely garden with a Jolly Roger pirate-themed playground and a beach hut serving ice-creams. As well as a children’s menu, with dishes tailored to “big sailors” and “little sailors”, there are pizzas (two-for-one on Thursdays) topped with Norfolk ingredients, and for the grown-ups, the Jolly has its own brand of Brancaster Brewery beers made just down the road. A warm welcome awaits at the Jolly Sailors in Brancaster Staithe The Milking Parlour, Calke, Derbyshire Under rustic beams in an old dairy farm building in the heart of the countryside, the Milking Parlour is Tollgate Brewery’s taproom. But it’s not all about the beer. Among a choice of covered and heated drinking areas, there’s a children’s playground and plenty to explore around the farm, which is part of the National Trust’s Calke Abbey estate. Kids will enjoy the pizzas, too, and the brewery has put together a series of circular walking routes, so the family can make a day of it. Perry Hill, south-east London Raise your drinking cups and rusks, please, to the 2025 Great British Pub Awards’ Best Pub for Families! In a residential part of the capital between Sydenham and Catford, the Perry Hill is designed with kids in mind. Parents can join the Sweet Child O’Mine club to receive discounts and exclusive invites (without having to listen to Guns N’ Roses) and there’s a busy diary of events including music for toddlers and a Baby Quiz (the questions are for adults). The kids’ menu extends to party packages with added entertainment. Puss in Boots, Offerton, Cheshire Run by Almond Family Pubs, which specialises in this kind of thing, the Puss in Boots is more than a child-friendly name. The carvery is open seven days a week, not just Sundays (the company’s founder is a master butcher), and a creative and clever kids’ menu features healthy options promoted by a cuddly herbivorous triceratops and has a while-you-wait food-themed wordsearch. Outdoors, the attractive garden of this Robinsons Brewery pub is a local favourite, and of course it has a children’s play area to work up an appetite – or work off the extra calories while mum and dad take a snooze. Pubs are no longer places where children aren’t welcome (Photo: DGLimages/Getty/iStockphoto) Skymaster, Warrington Welcome to the latest innovation in family friendly pubs. The first thing you’ll notice about this new concept from Marston’s, dubbed Woodie’s, is that the play area isn’t hidden around the back but proudly positioned beside the front entrance – and there’s much more inside. Children have their own woodland-themed space with games and crafts to keep them occupied, and they can also buy custom-built desserts from Woodie’s Sweet Factory, paying with tokens. Which gets them used to the idea of money, I suppose, except they get to eat free every Wednesday, which could be confusing. Three Horseshoes, Barry, South Wales It’s hard to say whether it’s the kids or the parents who will enjoy the giant playbarn at the Three Horseshoes the most. With a separate space for babies and under-fives, the barn provides fun for youngsters up to the age of 12, while mum and dad have the choice of staying with them over a coffee or escaping from the hubbub in the pub. When you get back together for a meal, the children’s dishes are home-cooked with fresh ingredients. and you’ll be pleased to know they brew their own beer here called Dragon’s Breath. Oh, and there’s a new playground in the back garden for when the weather turns warmer. Three Mile, Gosforth, Newcastle Three Mile is a part of the grand Great North Hotel complex on the northern outskirts of Newcastle. It’s an imposing piece of work with several bar areas – and a soft play zone known as the Playhouse that also includes a “Netflix Corner”, which should keep the little ones quiet for five minutes. The Playhouse has its own menu for the bairns and a tuck shop for sweets and snacks, and there are pizzas available from the Pizza Dough restaurant next door which throws “pizza and play” parties for those special occasions. Pizza Dough restaurant next door to Three Mile throws ‘pizza and play’ parties (Photo: Malhotra Group) Twice Brewed Inn, Bardon Mill, Northumberland In Northumberland’s designated Dark Sky Park, the Twice Brewed Inn has a stargazing centre hosting by the Kielder Observatory where an array of telescopes enable parties to watch the skies under the guidance of astronomers. There’s a planetarium, too, to take you on a virtual journey through space, while family friendly events have early start times in the winter so younger ones can take part. As well as that, there’s a brewery and taproom on site with a children’s menu served during the day, and you’re not far from the Hadrian’s Wall Sycamore Gap Tree Memorial. Penycae Inn, Pen-y-cae, South Wales A stylish retreat in the Brecon Beacons that has recently been tastefully restored, the Penycae’s big draw for families is its micro zoo. The beer garden is alive with animals rescued from across the UK by the owners over the years, among them meerkats, marmosets, wallabies, pygmy goats, waterfowl and Japanese cranes. The pub has gained a great reputation for its food, too, adding its own local spin on kiddies’ favourites, and the bars on both floors double as art galleries. Plough Inn, Lebberston, North Yorkshire As you walk into the Plough, a lively spot that’s handy for holidaymakers to the windswept Scarborough coast, a pair of arrows point you in different directions: Adult Bar to the right and Family Bar and Fun Farm to the left. The Fun Farm is a big and colourful soft play area that hosts children’s parties and other events, and for those who’ve earned a treat Mr Moo’s Ice-Cream and Dessert Parlour is waiting for its next customer – of any age. Pubs for all the family (Photo: SolStock/Getty/E+) The Tower, Crieff, Perthshire A pub-hotel in the centre of Crieff, a small town in the picturesque glen of Strathearn, the Tower makes for a great family getaway. It’s an unusual building in a sort of Bavarian style, and it has a playpark with splendid views (though I’m not sure children are interested in scenery), a kids’ menu with a set meal including dessert and drink, plus pizzas. And for that family gathering, there’s a “sitooterie” in the beer garden. Well, the Scots could hardly call it a summer house, could they? Waie Inn, Zeal Monachorum, Devon The Waie Inn is the way to go for a full and active family day out. Set among gardens in the heart of the Devon countryside, it offers an impressive list of attractions for those who always like something to do. There’s the Waie 2 Play indoor soft play area, with a zone for the under-fives and a coffee shop for mums and dads; an outdoor play park within view of the beer garden; a swimming pool (lessons available); a fishing pond; skittle alleys and more. There’s a good choice on the menu for those with “smaller appetites”, which I imagine includes children, though not all of them in my experience. Wight Mouse Inn, Isle of Wight Owned by Dorset brewer Hall & Woodhouse, the Wight Mouse looks out over the sea towards France and has a stunning beer garden from which to enjoy the view. It has won awards for being family friendly in the past, and there’s an outdoor play area and kids’ section on the menu with lots of gluten-free options. Perhaps the best thing about the pub is that, close to Blackgang Chine, it makes a fine base for walking the coastal paths around here. Windmill Farm, Lincoln Part of Greene King’s Farmhouse Inns chain, Windmill Farm is purpose-built to be family friendly with plenty of space and staff specially trained to look after people with kids. There’s an indoor play area, a large beer garden, a carvery, an extensive pub food menu, including children’s favourites and cakes. Lots of cakes. The Lincoln site is within easy reach of Hartsholme Country Park and the city’s castle, so you can make a day of it. Phil Mellows is the co-author of Beer Breaks in Britain with travel writer Kate Simon