City Limits Diner
200 Central Avenue
When it comes to family friendly dining in White Plains, City Limits Diner is the most obvious go-to spot. Open from early morning to late night, City Limits has an extensive menu with options for everyone in the family. Many dishes on the regular menu are a touch more adventurous than standard diner fare (crispy lobster wontons, anyone?), but the children’s menu is simple and predictable with choices ranging from PB&J to a 6oz NY Strip Steak. Cakes, cookies, breads and treats from the house bakery alone are worth the trip.

Melt Sandwich Shop
277 Mamaroneck Avenue
Craving slow roasted turkey breast on a roll with tomatoes, chipotle remoulade, smoked bacon and cheddar—but your kid only wants plain grilled cheese or pizza? No problem. Head over to the Melt Sandwich Shop and be prepared to design just about any kind of sandwich your little heart desires. With sandwich, pizza and salad options to suit all tastes, this all-fresh-never-frozen spot is guaranteed to please anyone with taste buds. Seating is limited inside—and it gets BUSY during lunch hours—but there are tables outside, weather permitting. Don’t feel like going out? Melt delivers within White Plains. Check their Facebook page for “secret combos.”

What a Bagel Café
276 Mamaroneck Avenue
Good bagels, great sandwiches, lots of choices, quick service and several carafes of Green Mountain Coffee made What-A-Bagel-Café the spot where our family always ended up when everyone was melting down. It’s easy to park on this far end of Mamaroneck Avenue and the café has several small tables in the front of the store for those times when you’re just not ready to get back in the car yet. Choose from 18+ types of bagels, 12+ varieties of cream cheese and a lovely selection of muffins and croissants, or build your own lunch with a combination of prepared salads and deli items. A sign by the register warns that talking on a cell phone while on line interferes with the register and causes higher prices to ring up.

Noodle+
245 Main Street
Noodle+ appeals specifically to families with kids; just check out the wallpaper tiles full of smiling children on the restaurant’s website! The kid’s menu focuses on childhood favorites like fried rice, noodles, wonton soup and dumplings, but most items on the regular menu are likely to be a hit as well. There are lots of options for making your own noodle or rice bowl and draw on a variety of Asian influences. For a real treat, make sure to try the bubble tea--flavored teas and drinks with thick straws and chewy tapioca “bubbles.”

Emma’s Ale House
68 Gedney Way
Now, “family friendly” might not be the first words that come to mind when you see “ale house,” but Emma’s definitely fits the bill—especially in the afternoon and early evening hours. Though there isn’t a dedicated children’s menu, kids meals are easy to put together from the main selections--it would be hard to go wrong with Crispy Chicken Lollipops, Tomato and Mozzarella Pizza, Cheeseburger Sliders and some Tater Tots (though perhaps not all at once). Keep an eye out for the Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding on the dessert menu.

The Iron Tomato
57 Mamaroneck Avenue
When everyone in the family is looking for a little something different, The Iron Tomato is a great place to go. The extensive eat-in/take-out café menu covers the bases from sushi to scarpiello and does it all will fresh flavors and relative speed. There are tables inside for sit-down dining (after you order and get your food at deli-style counters), though it is tough to snag a spot during the corporate lunch rush and mid-day on weekends. The desserts are amazing… but we’ll get to that in a minute.

The Italian Pavilion
377 Mamaroneck Avenue
Whether you’re looking for pizza by the slice or an entire pie, The Italian Pavilion is the place to go. Single slices are generous and served so meltingly hot that the paper plate seems likely to spontaneously combust--ask them not to heat it up if you’re feeding a child! The predictable array of specialty slices does not disappoint (I recommend the Sicilian and Buffalo Chicken slices!). There are a number of booths inside the store for dine-in orders. Seats turn over very quickly; often before the employees can get there to wipe the table down. Just brush the hot pepper flakes off the table and take a seat; someone will quickly help you out if you point out a messy table.

La Manda’s
251 Tarrytown Road
While The Italian Pavilion is the place for pizza-on-the-go, La Manda’s is where families will find good food and friendly service in a relaxed where-the-locals-go atmosphere. This isn’t quiet-and-fancy-white-table-cloth-Italian, there’s a lot of laughter and a general din about the place that makes it casual but not overwhelming. Classic selections make up the menu and the brick-oven pizza has been coming out of the same oven since 1934. Be forewarned--this restaurant doesn’t accept credit cards (but there is an ATM on the premises, in case you forget).

And for dessert…

The Iron Tomato
57 Mamaroneck Avenue
Yup. We’re back here. Because even if the Iron Tomato is where you stopped for lunch, it’s also where you will want to come back for dessert. The display case alone could send Cookie Monster into a diabetic coma--not to mention the cakes, cupcakes, napoleons and cannolis.

White Plains Bake Shoppe
466 Mamaroneck Avenue
Beautiful and delicious cakes, cookies, tarts, breads and other baked goods make up the menu at the White Plains Bake Shoppe. Stop in for the palmiers (or “Elephant Ears” ) and cookies and don’t be surprised if you leave with a cake. And don’t worry if that happens; 364 days a year you can claim you are celebrating your UN-birthday, in the style of Alice in Wonderland. And on that other day, cake purchases are totally justified.