When traveling with kids, it can feel like you’re relegated to eating at chain restaurants and fast food places. You may love trying local restaurants, but you don’t want to interrupt someone’s special meal or overwhelm busy staff. Luckily, there are many kid-friendly dining options in Gulf Shores that serve awesome food! Although all of the restaurants we visited while in town were kid-friendly, four really stuck out.
On our first night in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, we visited The Original Oyster House for dinner. Original Oyster House can get busy on a Saturday night, so it’s a good thing that they’ve also got the Original Oyster House Boardwalk. Go inside, get your buzzer, and explore the boardwalk with your kids until your table is ready! After dinner, head back out onto the Boardwalk to grab some ice cream for dessert.
Original Oyster House has a big menu, so everyone is sure to find something they love. We ordered the Parmesan garlic oysters with a salad bar, the butter pecan mani with cheese grits and salad bar, the fried oysters with slaw and red beans with rice, and praline cheesecake for dessert. Although all of the food was good, the praline cheesecake and the Parmesan garlic oysters were the standouts of the meal. It was the most amazing dessert we’ve had in a long time! The Original Oyster House has high chairs, along with crayons and coloring sheets and toy alligators for the kiddos. Jenna loved her toy alligator.
The second restaurant we visited was Bill’s By the Beach. With great outdoor dining featuring views of the Gulf, a unique cocktail menu, and delicious food, Bill’s by the Beach is perfect for anyone wanting a taste of Gulf Shores. Bill’s by the Beach also has a kid’s menu, featuring signature twists on old classics, like sweet tea chicken fingers. Under the restaurant is a waiting area for busy times at Bill’s by the Beach, with plenty of entertaining activities for kids. Enjoy a game of “Giant Four,” a larger-than-life version of the classic Connect 4 game, while you wait. Then, enjoy fresh, seasonal food while watching the ocean. You can’t beat that! Bill’s by the Beach also has high chairs available.
While at Bill’s, we tried the grilled seasonal fish and grits along with Bill’s most popular item, the chef’s daily tacos. Corn tortillas are stuffed with the chef’s choice of protein, which changes daily, and topped with chili-lime crema, onion, salsa, and cabbage slaw. The tacos on the day we visited were filled with blackened shrimp! We also ordered the shrimp and grits, which has been featured on Food Network. Although we didn’t know that when we ordered it, we could see why. For a side, we chose the potato blue hash. It was filling and delicious, and a perfect compliment to a Sunday brunch. Brunch is one of my favorite meals, so I have high standards for it, and Bill’s by the Beach did it right.
Although there wasn’t a crowd when we visited, I have heard that it gets quite busy during peak season. That’s just a good reason to visit their downstairs area for a game of floor Jenga! Jenna spilled a glass of water while we were at the restaurant and the staff didn’t even blink. They helped us clean up the mess and asked if anyone had gotten hurt, brushing off our profuse apologies.
Another kid friendly restaurant we visited was Tacky Jack’s. Tacky Jack’s has the self-proclaimed “best breakfast on the beach,” so of course we had to visit for breakfast! The outdoor seating overlooks the water, where dolphins can often be seen frolicking about. One of our favorite things about Tacky Jack’s was the high chair. That sounds weird, but hear me out- Tacky Jack’s offered high chairs that clamp on to the table, bringing baby closer to you. These high chairs were great for our five month old, who hasn’t quite mastered the traditional high chair yet. They also offer traditional high chairs. Jenna loved being able to sit close to the action, although she did manage to stick her hand in our grits, which was not an experience she wants to repeat.
While at Tacky Jack’s, we ordered the shrimp omelette, which is filled with shrimp and cheese and comes with your choice of bread. We also ordered the Sunrise Egg Platter, which is a traditional diner-style breakfast with two eggs, choice of meat, choice of bread, and grits. Rounding out our order was a Belgian Waffle and a side of cheese grits. Portions were large, which is great for family dining, and everything was tasty! There are 3 Tacky Jack’s locations, and we visited the one in Orange Beach. Located next to the restaurant is a gift shop and boat parking, as many of their customers visit by boat. Your kids will love watching boats come and go, and they may even spy a sleepy cat hanging out under the stairs on the deck!
If you’re a busy mom (or dad!), you probably love coffee. If so, you need to check out BuzzCatz Coffee and Sweets in Orange Beach. The kids will be begging you for one of the cupcakes, like the red velvet one my mom tried, and you can pump yourself up for a busy day with a pumpkin spice latte (my order), an iced mocha (mom’s order), or a cold brew coffee (Justin’s order.) BuzzCatz also offers grab and go foods such as salad and wraps, along with pastries, stuffed challah bread, and Justin’s favorite, the daily quiche. There is patio seating, where we met several dogs. If your kiddos are like the ones we babysit and want to be just like you, you can order them a hot chocolate to sip on. Just like coffee….almost.
Kid-friendly dining options in Gulf Shores are abundant. Which kid-friendly restaurant in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach would you like to visit with your family?
It is nice to have a kid friendly list of restaurants that are nice places to eat at.
You had me at “The Original Oyster House” I love all things shellfish! 🙂
All of the restaurants sound really great. The food they serve look delicious and I love taht they’re kid friendly! Helpful post!
I’ve never been to Alabama, but I’m sure they have great southern food! Looks like great selections for the kiddos.
I need to take my family for a tour of Gulf Shores. The dining options sound delicious for kids and adults alike. I love some good seafood.
I love that Bill’s offered larger than life games for the kids! What a great way to keep them busy. I also think I need one of those coffee drinks in my life!
We only have been to Gulf Coast Florida are the Destin and we fell in love on that place. I heard about the Orange Beach AL and I’ve been telling my husband we have to go and check that place. Now I think with your photos really convince me to make plan as soon as possible.
I’ve been through Alabama but I’ve never gotten to actually stop. We don’t have any kids but these places still look awesome!
My kids and I aren’t far from Alabama! These are being added to our list the next time we visit!
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Looks like so much fun! I’ve actually never been to Alabama, but I need togo just for a foodie trip.
It’s so hard to relax and eat when you cant find a kid friendly restaurant, but these places sounded so kid friendly, and the food looks awesome! I especially love the sound of the coffee and sweets place!
Those shrimp and grits look so tasty! I have never had grits before, actually so this is a dish I would definitely try out! Love that these restaurants are family-oriented and that children can enjoy a good meal as well.
What a fun way to enjoy dining on a visit. Kid friendly restaurants are nice to find when the hordes are starving.
I was just thinking Im hungry. Now Im thinking i’m really, really hungry. Everything looks great!
All of these restaurants by in Gulf Shores Alabama sound amazing. I love Bill’s by the Beach with the play area waiting room under the boardwalk. The larger than life Connect game would be fun for anyone. Thanks for sharing these restaurants.
All the dishes you shared look absolutely scrumptious! It’s great to know these kid-friendly restaurants before you plan a trip- definitely going to share this post with friends of mine who are visiting the region with their kids in tow!
I would love to try all three of these restaurants. My friend has been to Tacky Jack’s. They loved the food there.
Wow that looks like a great time! I love that giant connect four game, that would be a lot of fun and that chicken looks so good!
How I wish I have your guide when I was still living in Dothan, AL 😀 All of these looks like a great family friendly places to enjoy with your loved ones.
Their food looks so good and appetizing! Looking at the pictures made me want to go to Gulf Shore right now just to grab a bite to eat!
I also prefer kids-friendly restaurant because I always with my kids when we are having dinner in a restaurant. I’m glad that you had list.
So many great kid-friendly dining options! We travel with our kids frequently, so it’s nice to know that if we are in the area that there will be several places to choose from that my girls won’t fuss over what they are served!
Love that there are options for kid-friendly restaurants in Gulf Shore! The food looks delish and the ambiance seem relaxed. Thank you for sharing!
The food looks delicious. It is hard sometimes to find kid-friendly restaurants. Thanks for sharing
Ooh, they have some really good options. I think this sounds like a really nice place for a getaway with the kids.
Bill’s By the Beach gets my vote for sure. Those oversize connect four games look like so much fun. Plus I’m a sucker for good food and the pictures are selling me on it.
We will have to check these out if we ever visit Alabama.
These look like such great restaurants! I bet our family would really like Tacky Jacks!
I wish the the restaurants around here were as kid friendly as those! I would love to take my niece to a restaurant like those.
Kid friendly and the food looks amazing! I can just imagine the seafood there – so fresh right from the Gulf itself!
All of the food looks so yummy. I will keep these restaurants in mind if I am ever in the area.
Looks like a great list of places to go with kids in the gulf shore. Love it!
Someday we hope to get there. We have friends just moved down there from MN and they are begging us to visit. I am going to share this so she knows where to eat.
It’s always helpful to know a few kid friendly restaurants when traveling! I’ve never been to Alabama but would love to check it out.
My friends go down to the gulf shores in Alabama all the time. I’m going to give her the link to this because I’m thinking she would love to try out some of the restaurants.
Technically, most of the time, it’s the kids dictating where to it. It’s nice that they have a lot of kid offerings in their menu.
This is great info as we were just talking about visiting the gulf shore of Alabama and there would be a ton of kiddos coming with us. I will be sending you post to my friends-thanks
We’ve been thinking about a trip to Gulf Shores,and I’m very glad you shared this. My kids don’t exactly have discerning pallets, so I need a place that offers simple things for them.
I’m such a seafood lover and the shrimp and grits and the oysters look amazing. Love that these restaurants are all kid friendly.
I love this roundup of kid friendly restaurants. Gulf Shores has some excellent dining options, but we all know how picky kids can be. Great!