Family Favs: restaurant listings & reviews…
theLoop rates kid friendly eats.
AJ’s Burgers and America’s Favorite Foods We recently discovered this fun family restaurant in New Rochelle. Good classic American fare and wraps…with an average check of under $10. they’ll bring dough to the table for kiddies to make their own weirdly shaped bread. 542 North Avenue, New Rochelle, NY 914.235.3009.
Augies Big plates; family style Italian. Lots of regulars. 2417 Boston Post Road, Larchmont. 914.834.3800. (see comments below)
The Barnacle BBQ The Barnacle is an unpretentious, comfortable casual spot with really good food and an owner who tries his hardest to please. TV screens for sports. Menus on their website . 181 E Boston Post Road Mamaroneck NY 10543 914.777.6610
Bellizzi People are somehow drawn here by the playroom, but a once decent diversion for kids is now a video game arcade on steroids. A mini- New Roc City. Be prepared to spend the night digging for quarters. We don’t think the food here is worth the stress. 1262 Boston Post Road, Larchmont. 914.833.5800.
Chat 19 Good cocktails, reliable food. Same family owns Lusardi’s. Getting very bridge and tunnel on weekend nights, and can get 4 deep at the bar. Come to think of it, you do have to cross a bridge to get here… 19 Chatsworth Avenue, Larchmont. 914.833.8871.
East Avenue Cafe Good coffee, good food and friendly service at the counter. Just be prepared for the owner’s sense of humor ("Is that your grandchild?" he asked a young woman about her baby) A wall of candy by the pound. 2 East Avenue, Larchmont.
Harbour House Coffee Shop A dying breed. Old school greasy spoon.Go for the atmosphere and bacon and eggs. 1927 Palmer Avenue, Larchmont.
Harry’s Burritos Offshoot of locations in Manhattan. The margaritas are much better than the food. Plenty of options for vegetarians. Love the chili pepper string lights. 94 Chatsworth Avenue, Larchmont . 914.
Hubba (from LOOP reader Jesse M.):There are no words to describe HUBBA in Port Chester. The ONLY place to go in Westchester for the ultimate late night indulgence. Be sure to order your Hubba Water, ‘cuz that chilli is HOT! 24 North Main St. Port Chester.
Larchmont Diner Not bad, but we prefer Nautilus Diner for the food and atmosphere. 2399 Boston Post Road, Larchmont. 914.833.2062
Larchmont Tavern Local bar with a long tradition. Recent change of ownership; much better food. Still crazy after all these years. 104 Chatsworth Avenue, Larchmont. 914.834.9821.
Leonardo’s Part pizzeria, part deli, it’s alll good. 2133 Palmer Avenue, Larchmont.914.833-2400.
Longford’s Own Made Ice Cream Under friendly management, no longer same owners as Rye location. Ice cream is priced by weight. Good frozen yogurt.New birthday party area. We all scream! 1941 Palmer Avenue, Larchmont. 914. 834.0207.
Los Gemelos Restaurant and Tortilleria: (from LOOP reader Petra P): For an authentic taco made with a freshly baked tortilla or a delicious chicken mole, head to the no-frills Los Gemelos in Portchester. After dinner, check out the selection of huge amazing ice pops at Paleteria Fernandez.
Mamaroneck Diner Fast service. Super kid friendly. Extensive menu. Especially good soups and salads. They deliver.
Metro Deli Am I the last person to discover this place? A really good family style deli. Owned by the same people as the Metro Diner on Central Avenue in White Plains. Across from Balducci’s in Scarsdale. 4 Palmer Ave Scarsdale. 914. 472-4760
Nautilus Diner Good, reliable and better than basic.
Nicky’s Pizza Good pizza, negative atmosphere. Nicky’s is to Murray kids what Villa Maria is to Chatsworth. Get a slice and try the garlic knots. 144 Chatsworth Avenue, Larchmont. 914.
Paleteria Fernandez This gem for those in the know may have the best ice cream anywhere, but it’s not like any you’ve seen before. Authentic Mexican pops are milk or water based with flavors like mango, avocado and caramel. then they can dip them in chocolate, coconut, etc…. Mamaroneck Avenue, Mamaroneck and 33 North Main Street, Port Chester,
Ray’s Best Chinese food in the area.All natural. If only they delivered. Try a "bird’s nest," crunchy noodles, for the kids. 1995 Palmer Avenue, Larchmont. 914.833.2551.
Sal’s Pizzeria How on earth we forgot about Sal’s (see comment below) we will never understand. Pizza Nirvana. Sicilian and Salad pizza top rated. 316 Mamaroneck Avenue. Mamaroneck. 914. 381.2022.
Sherwood’s Classic Larchmont pub. Very good bar-b-que, burgers and large salads. If you are a fan of wings or ribs, you have to try them here. 10-cent wings at the bar Monday nights. Two crowds for dinner: one early with kids (6-8pm) and a later night crowd (after 10pm). 2136 Boston Post Road, Larchmont.
Stan’Z Cafe A-List mommy crowd. Excellent sandwiches and salads. Breakfast and lunch only. Can get packed on weekends.26 Chatsworth Avenue, Larchmont. 914.833.9760.
Tequila Sunrise The best guacamole anywhere. And those margaritas….Nice sidewalk tables in good weather. 145 Larchmont Avenue, Larchmont. 914.834.637. tequilasunrise
Toyo Sushi One of best sushis the area. (Though people like Koo in Rye.)
Villa Maria Pizza
Wraps and Things Wrap it up! Deli serving wrap sandwiches. Good value. Grab a table and read the paper. Nice light-filled spot. 1936 Palmer Avenue, Larchmont. 914.833-7656.
you haven”t lived until you’ve tasted Sal’s sicilian slice.
Mamaroneck Ave.
Where is La Palateria en Po’ Chester? Otherwise: cool and well done!! 8)
I’d add Augies to this list for when the extended family descends and you need to feed a lot of people. Huge portions at this family-style Italian and the foods actually not bad.
THANK YOU for making Kearns Deli your “LOOPpick”-the recognition is especially gratifying considering the strength of the local competition-also,thanx for referring to Liilian & myself as “kids”
Leonardo’s…best family spot in town, no competition. Always welcoming.
Pizza? Nobody in Westchester beats Sal’s on Mamaroneck Avenue in Mamaroneck.
Harbour House – great breakfast, warm environment and very kid friendly! Maria, Betty and Jamie are so friendly and are easy going and terrific with kids! Yum!!
Kearn’s Deli is great! We’re going to make sure we’ll still pass it on the way to the train when we buy a house.
What about the East End Cafe? That’s a great place to have a nice Saturday outing, with or without children. (Try the #28. You’ll never order anything else. Unless they have blueberry-corn muffins, which are a rare find but completely worth it.)
Hajime in Harrison is some of the best Sushi, just make a reservation before you go!
Carlyn’s Cove for a cold beer and good bar food (better than the diner!) Across from the Village Hall in Larchmont on Boston Post Road.
Forget the Harbor House. It once was a great place but is in need of remodeling and EXTERMINATION. I found a roach under one of my Breakfast Potatoes. I still have the skin crawls!
Have to agree with you on Tequila Sunrise. Great atmosphere if you have kids or a big group, but annoying mariachi band and frankly, the food isn’t that great. Good bar scene, though. If you want tasty Mexican in the Larchmont-Mamaroneck area, try Gusano Loco. The atmosphere is not seizure-inducing and the food is far better.
Tequila Sunrise leaves much to be desired. Food is not only flat but overpriced. The open air doors reveal their bar display to the street-something I don’t appreciate kids seeing on their walk home from school! Also draws a noisy and raunchy gang at night. Always love the bikers too while I’m dining on the sidewalk—-may I have a side of Roaring Thunder please? We rate this restaurant mucho disgusto.
Agree that Chat 19 is a good family restaurant. It would certainly be much better, especially for brunch, if the local families who brought their children didn’t consider it a playground for their kids. It’s amazing how many couples sit down and then let their small children run wild – disturbing every other table. It’s shameful behavior!!
A word about pizza:
The best regular slice: Pizza Connection–yes, Pizza Connection. (What’s left of it. On Mamaroneck Avenue.)
The best salad slice: Joe’s (also on Mamaroneck Avenue).
The best pizza with vegetable toppings: Leonardo’s.
The best Sicilian: Sal’s, of course.
Re Steam Eat — after resolving to stop there and try it soon, I thought I saw “for rent” signs in the windows when driving by recently. Rather than being “closed temporarily,” are they closed for good?
EDITRIX: ‘fraid so
no one should leave out pizza gourmet at 597 E Boston Post Rd in
Mamaroneck. the home made soups and the same size pies for takeout as in the store are fantastic. they also deliver. highly recommend.
How about “Bangkok Thai”? Great homestyle Thai food.1208 W Boston Post Rd, Mamaroneck
bellizi — a must avoid. I’ve never seen my child turn down a hot dog, until a recent first time visit to this awful place. 10 bucks for a small undercooked unedible dog and fries? Wow. Had to search for waitress to ask for everything at least twice. You know, simple things like sugar for ice tea, drinks, drink refills, our actual order, the check etc. Entertainment advertised to start at 6PM? No sightings when we left at 6:30. Rude staff, horrible service and bad food. Do people really eat here more than once?
Villa Maria is horablr! i ordered chicken parm to go and I got eggplant parm instead. Tried again and got a chicken cutlet that looked like it was flattened by a bee line bus. Try Lamandas in greenburg , its been there for 52 years and the pizza crust melts in your mouth and the sole and chicken franchese are to die for!!!
The Barnacle – 181 E. Boston Post Rd., Mamaroneck – We were very excited to have a BBQ place so close to home – no more driving to Po’chester. However, The Barnacle still needs to work out the kinks. While most of the food was tasty, two of the four orders came out wrong, the fish was tasteless (supposed to be a BBQ AND fish shack) and this restaurant does not have french fries. We were offered tater tots as an alternative to go with a burger. The heat also seemed to be off the night we went so sitting by the window was frigid. The place could have potential if they fix a few issues first – we will wait a bit before we go back.
Villa Maria? Absolutely the worst Pizza on the Planet!!! Basically Heinz Catsup on doughy stale bread. The French American school kids seem to love the crap they serve in that joint; staffed by twenty somethings who need to learn how to cook pizza and get to a gym. Horrible service, ridiculous prices and crappy food. Best Pizza is Pizza Gourmet, or even the Mamaroneck Diner; Sal’s is overrated, Nicks is a joke. Basically, you have two choices. All the other’s…..under cooked, doughy garbage. They should be ashamed to call it Pizza in New York. And I’m from CT?
I have good experience going with kids to Coromandel Indian Restaurant in New Rochelle. Wonder if someone has a good experience with Raj Mahal (sp?) on MMK Ave? Coyote Flaco also received us with open arms and the latina/mexican server were very sweet with my 3 kids.
The Barnacle has great potential, keep at it guys! We are fans!! 🙂
Any other locals sick of the manhattan yuppies ripping apart all of their favorites? First of all if you go to Bellizi, it’s probably not going to be as service oriented as you seem to expect. It’s a kids place; handle it. Tequila Sunrise is what it is, good frozen drinks some picky food and a party scene in the summer. Done. Chat 19, best thing to happen to Larchmont in the past 5 years. If you don’t want to see kids go at night. And as far as this bridge and tunnel crowd…. ummmm which bridge and/or tunnel are you writing about? Could you be more snooty?snotty? New Rochelle is still westchester.
Really Nicky’s no atmosphere? I guess you haven’t said hello to any of the guys behind the counter lately. As far as i’ve seen, nothing but smiles. Villa Maria horrible?! I’ve been eating their pizza for twenty years, maybe it’s just you. PEOPLE listen up: sometimes there are bugs in restaurants. Sometimes there are children. Sometimes there are
crowds 4 deep at the bar. Take it easy. Larchmont is a cool laid back town with a lot of good people who know how to have a good time. If you have so many issues with the establishments why are you here? Go back to the city if my town is not up to your standards. OR stay have a drink and relax.
Remember: this town is all about the locals… and those that wish they were.
editrix you GO, pilates!
OK, seriously..SERIOUSLY, what is with the blind adoration of Sal’s Pizza? Folks, this place is living on a legacy, but its all hype. The usual cowd of lemmings goes there, ignorant that its simply not very good anymore. Indifferent and impersonal people behind the counter; cold and poorly reheated slices. What, you’re doing me a favor by giving me a corner slice, or making a slice well-done instead of spongy? Its PIZZA fellas, nothing more and for that we should be grateful for what you toss at us? Stop. This place is filled with nasty hacks and the blind people that go there.
The NY Pizza Station on Halstead Ave. in Harrison has delicious food and very good pizza’s…you can sit down and enjoy the extensive menu or have the food delivered!!I’ve used them when the whole family comes over (10 people)and everything arrives perfectly packed..(.HOT)…. there are never any left-overs!!!!!
Had HOT wedges delivered for lunch,French fries and a big salad….and there were AHHHHH’S all around.Try the pepper & egg with sausage and the Philly steak with onions , cheese and peppers!!!
Now,when the gang is coming over,the deal is,”I’m ordering from the Station Pizza so what’s your pleasure????”….and everyone is happy!!!!!
Speaking of the worst Pizza and italian food Modern Pizza in New Rochelle.
Leonardos is good stuff
Red Plum in Mamaroneck has great Sushi, and Chef Special Rolls
Hey everyone! Check out Gervasi on Central Ave in White Plains. Great Sunday Brunch.
Medditerrean Atmosphere. Need Reservations.
Harbour House I call it Mouse House.