I recently asked the Day Trips Around Rochester, NY, community a question on behalf of a new Rochesterian. They were looking for a restaurant in the Rochester area that would be great for a date night and also kid-friendly but not kid-centric. Check out the suggestions from the community!
Please suggest more family-friendly—and pet-friendly—restaurants in the comments. I’ve also added a list of restaurants at the bottom that serve international and ethnic cuisines, perfect for experiencing new foods together.
Cafes
- Cafe Sasso
- Golden Harvest Bakery & Cafe
- Mamaste Cafe and Play
- Old Farm Cafe
- Pop Roc – Pop Culture Cafe
- Pure Imagination Cafe
- Tree Town Cafe
Food + Games
- Bill Gray’s Skyliner Diner (inside Strong Museum)
- Dave & Buster’s
- Minnehan’s
- Nerdvana
- The Playhouse / Swillburger
- Radio Social
- Tully’s Good Times
Traditional Restaurants
Many of these recommendations came with a note that the staff and the environment make them feel comfortable taking the littles out for a delicious meal.
Plus, dozens of international and ethnic cuisines to experience are listed below.
Breweries & Cideries
Again, these came with notes about having a family-friendly environment, often including games families can play together and fun, themed events.
- Blue Barn Cidery
- K2 Brothers Brewing
- New York Beer Project
- Other Half Brewing
- Rising Storm Brewery
- Sager Beer Works
- Strangebird Brewery
- Nine Maidens Brewing
International & Ethnic Cuisine
I also received a question about where to take kids from a young age to experience varied cuisines. Start with these! There are also several cuisines/kitchens at Mercantile on Main.
British
Caribbean/Jamaican
Chinese
Ethiopian
German
Greek
Indian
Irish
Italian
- Garlic Pit Pasta House
- Mamma G’s
- Pasta Villa
- Restaurant Fiorella
- Ristorante Lucano
- ROAM Cafe
- Rocco
- Tony D’s
Japanese
- Furoshiki (Raman)
- Kobe (Sushi)
- Plum Garden (Sushi, Hibachi)
- Plum House (Sushi)
- Sakura Home (Hibachi)
- Sogo (Sushi, Hibachi)
- Sumo (Sushi, HIbachi)
- Taisho Bistro (Sushi, Raman, Hibachi)
Jewish/Kosher
Korean
Latin American/Spanish/Puerto Rican/Dominican
Mediterranean/Afghan/Persian/Syrian/Turkish
- Anatolia Mediterranean Grill
- Aş Evi
- Bamiyan Kabobs
- Cedar
- Chortke
- Falafel Aleppo
- Levantine’s Cafe & Bakery
- Master Falafel
- Mediterranean Kebab House
Mexican
Polish
Southern US/Soul Food/Cajun/Creole
Thai / Vietnamese
Please suggest your favorite places to enjoy international and ethnic cuisines around Rochester in the comments, and I’ll happily add them to this list!
International Food Markets
Try new ingredients, desserts, prepared foods, fruit, and vegetables. Years ago, we took our Girl Scout troop to Wegmans Calkins Road, where they each selected foods from the hot bar they had never tasted. Then, we visited the various food markets so they could purchase something unique to bring home and try. To this day, it’s one of our most memorable field trips.
- Asia Food Market
- Asia Market Groceries
- International Food Market
- Rochester Public Market
- Spice Bazaar
- Wegmans
Regional Markets
- Sauder’s Store, a Mennonite family-run grocery market in Seneca Falls
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Enjoy the Journey Together!
Maybe add to the list the places that also have Live music, for when you want to have dinner and a show…..tia!
Pier 53 is a waterfront, open air restaurant on the east side of Sodus Bay. Come by boat or land. Outdoor games are a great family activity and check out Facebook for the live music schedule.
https://www.pierfiftythree.com/