Patio season is back, and parents know the assignment: find a place with decent food, outdoor seating, and enough breathing room that dinner doesn’t turn into a hostage negotiation. These 10 spots around Indy give kids room to be kids while parents actually get to eat something they didn’t cut into tiny pieces first.
Related Article: 100+ Things to Do This Summer Around Indianapolis
Baby’s
2147 N. Talbott St., Indianapolis
Smash burgers, fried chicken, and milkshakes get the kids on board. The patio play area is what gets the parents to come back. Magnet tiles are also stocked at the tables to keep little hands busy while you wait for food. Baby’s hosts all-ages drag show brunches on select weekends, which are worth checking the calendar for. Open Sunday through Tuesday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Bier Brewery Noblesville
1618 S. 10th St., Noblesville
Bier Brewery’s Noblesville location is built for families. The two-acre wooded biergarten has a wooden play tower with a wheelchair-accessible ramp, a slide, dinosaur ride-on toys, lawn games, bocce courts, a ping pong table, fire pits, and a curling court. There’s a separate dog park behind the property for members. The menu covers pizza by the slice on weekdays, wings, salads, and a kids’ menu with chicken nuggets, veggie nuggets, quesadillas, and grilled cheese. You order at a window inside and they buzz you when food’s ready. Closed Mondays.
Related Article: 15 Fun Indianapolis Restaurants for Kids
Daniel’s Vineyard
9061 N. 700 W., McCordsville
Daniel’s Vineyard sits on 80 acres in Geist with 14,000 grapevines in the front yard and a lot of outdoor seating to take in the view. Order pizza, wine, or beer while the kids play chess, bocce, cornhole, or roll down the big grassy hill out back. The winery runs weekly events including live music, line dancing lessons, and karaoke nights. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
Field Brewing
303 E. Main St., Westfield
Field Brewing is in downtown Westfield, with a chef-driven scratch menu and house beers on 16 rotating taps. The outdoor space is a big draw for families: a sprawling lawn with bocce, giant Jenga, and artificial turf where kids can run while you eat. Open Monday and Tuesday 3 to 9 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Ford’s Garage
13193 Levinson Lane, Noblesville
Ford’s Garage is decked out with vintage Ford cars, gas pumps, and prohibition-era brick and copper. There’s an old Ford truck out on the front patio that customers can eat on, and indoor garage doors that open to a covered patio. Five patio doors open onto 1,200 square feet of outdoor seating. After your meal, walk out and turn right and you’ll find an outdoor play area that’s part of Hamilton Town Center. Open daily at 11 a.m.
Half Liter BBQ
5301 Winthrop Ave., Indianapolis
Half Liter is Texas-style barbecue just south of Broad Ripple along the Monon, with a 250-seat beer garden that’s one of the largest on the north side. The outdoor space is open, casual, and family-friendly, with cornhole, fire pits, and live music in warmer months. The dog-friendly patio is a draw, too. Open daily at 11 a.m.
Iozzo’s Garden of Italy
946 S. Meridian St., Indianapolis
Iozzo’s is a better fit for older kids than toddlers. The downtown Italian restaurant has been serving family recipes from a 1930s original since 2009. The renovated courtyard is the draw, with brick walls, a fountain, and string lights that make it feel less like downtown Indy and more like a small Italian plaza. Lunch Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., dinner Monday through Thursday 4 to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 4 to 10 p.m., Sunday 4 to 8 p.m.
Midtown Plaza Carmel: Fork + Ale House and Sun King Spirits
350 and 351 Veterans Way / Monon Boulevard, Carmel
Midtown Plaza in Carmel is the rare spot where the public space outside the restaurants is as much of the draw as the restaurants themselves. Two family-friendly options sit on the plaza, and you can move between them without leaving the kids’ sightline.
Fork + Ale House at 350 Veterans Way is a scratch kitchen and brewery with the kid favorites: chicken tenders, burgers, white mac and cheese, hand-tossed pizza. The patio sits steps from the plaza’s ping pong tables, pool tables, bocce, and giant LED screen. Open Monday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday until 11 p.m., Sunday until 9 p.m.
Sun King Spirits Carmel at 351 Monon Boulevard is a two-story food hall with a main-level patio and an open-air rooftop deck. Order from any of the in-house food vendors (Queenie’s Pizza, La Margarita, The Den by FoxGardin) at a counter, get a buzzer, and pick up when ready. All ages welcome, dog-friendly outdoor space.
Between the two, you’ve got pizza, tacos, tenderloins, burgers, and pretty much any other kid-friendly food. The plaza itself has a splash pad (Sprinkle Park), a playground, swings, fire pits, lawn games, and an outdoor screen for movies in season. Free parking in the garage across the street.
101 Beer Kitchen
9708 District North Drive, Fishers
101 Beer Kitchen was built by parents for parents. The kids’ menu is a check-the-box card where children customize their own meal: a choice of entrée (panko-crusted tenders, six-cheese mac and cheese, pretzel-wrapped hot dogs, pizza grilled cheese, cod fillet, naan grilled cheese), two sides, a dessert, and a drink. It arrives on a divided tray. For the adults, there are 20 rotating taps, a seasonal cocktail list, and happy hour Monday through Friday 3 to 6 p.m. The patio sits in Fishers District with a fireplace and indoor-outdoor flow when the weather cooperates.
Traders Point Creamery
9101 Moore Road, Zionsville
Traders Point Creamery is a working organic dairy farm with a farm-to-table restaurant in a restored 1860s barn and an upstairs balcony with views of the pastures. Self-guided farm walks are open during business hours, so kids can visit the cows, chickens, and other animals before or after a meal. For dessert, the on-site Dairy Bar serves ice cream made from the farm’s grass-fed milk, plus milkshakes, sundaes, and floats from an open-air walk-up window on the front patio. The Loft restaurant is closed Mondays.
Shin Dig
1351 Roosevelt Ave., Indianapolis
Shin Dig is a Cunningham Restaurant Group spot in the North Mass Ave district with more than 15,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space. The partially covered indoor-outdoor patio is the appeal: fire pits, cornhole, giant Jenga, Connect Four, and ping pong. The menu is pizza, wings, and small bites. Open Monday through Thursday 4 to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday noon to 9 p.m.
