There are places that are kid friendly, meaning the primary draw of the place is for children, and then there are places that are kid friendly, meaning they are legitimately fun for children, but adults will have a good time too. This itinerary is for the latter.

Whether you are hosting friends who have children, or you are a local with a new child who is hoping to get back out in the world again, or you are visiting San Diego with your baby or young kids, this itinerary highlights the parts of the city that are both booze-friendly and kid-friendly at the same time. Places where you would go before you had children, but will also be nice now that the kids are here. Places where the workers will not bat an eye at the fact that you are holding a beer in one hand and a tiny companion in the other.

The Itinerary

Head to a brewery
Go to Little Italy Piazza Della Famiglia at Dusk
Get Dinner at the Crack Shack
Go to the Pool at The Lafayette Hotel
Go to Blind Lady Ale House for Dinner
Head to One Paseo Mall in Del Mar
Watch the Sunset and Get Dinner at Viewpoint Brewing Company
Map to this itinerary

Friday Afternoon

Head to a Brewery

Breweries were made for children. San Diego was made for breweries. Children were made for San Diego. A brewery should be your first step in welcoming anyone to San Diego really – a place to reconnect, plan the weekend, and not feel rushed. Our favorite breweries in San Diego are Ballast Point, Pure Project, and North Park Beer Company and these all happen to have multiple locations that are both kid friendly and serve great food.

Pure Project is a newer brewery in San Diego serving offbeat beers from barley wines to ‘murky IPAs’ to well-made, delicious lagers. Their location in Banker’s Hill is right off the entrance to Balboa Park and has plenty of space inside and across the street there is a large outdoor seating area that is a perfect spot to bring kids. They often have a brick oven going, putting out tasty wings and thin-crust pizza. They also allow you to bring your own food from any local vendor. Their murky IPAs are what they do best, but all of their beers are well made and interesting.

North Park Beer Company specializes in hazy, hoppy DDH and TDH IPAs, but they have a wide range of selections. They opened their second location in Banker’s Hill in 2023 and it is beautiful, airy space that serves possibly the best burger in all of San Diego. The rest of the food is delicious too. They have plenty of booth space to trap the kids at a table, as well as communal tables and outdoor seats. The original location, on University Ave in North Park, is huge with a larger upstairs area that has some games and is often uninhabited enough to bring a score of children without disturbing anyone. They do not serve food at the North Park location.

Ballast Point is one of the original breweries that started San Diego’s craft beer scene. Their Sculpin IPA made them a national name back in 2005 when people still didn’t know what an IPA was. Their brewery and restaurant in Little Italy has been around for years and is a great spot to start any weekend. It has a big, open, casual layout perfect for wandering children, as well as a courtyard and an outdoor patio.

They have a full food menu that is legitimately good. They were one of the first breweries to do it right and they remain one of the best. They recently opened a location in the Miramar neighborhood that is even bigger and nicer.

Alternative: In fact, most of San Diego’s best breweries have spots in Miramar, a mostly uninhabited neighborhood of office buildings in east San Diego where the breweries were able to move a lot of their daily operations and open huge tasting rooms. If you want to spend your day drinking your way through an office park, head over there. It is actually quite nice. Cutwater Spirits opened their first tasting room in Miramar which is worth a visit alone. All of the locations there are family-friendly of course.

Friday Evening

Go to Little Italy Piazza Della Famiglia at Dusk

After a day of beers, food, and planning the weekend, head to Little Italy. This neighborhood is in general is a kid-friendly + alcohol-friendly place, but probably the best place to post up and have one or five more is the Piazza Della Famiglia, right in the center of the neighborhood. There is no outside alcohol allowed so your best bet is getting drinks from Little Italy Food Hall and finding one of the red tables in the square. We would probably skip the food from the food hall or any of the restaurants surrounding the piazza and just stick to drinks. Save your appetites for the better restaurants in Little Italy.

The piazza almost always has something going on, from pop-up performers to scheduled live music to art walks. The kids can run around the square and play on the fountain or try to trick a mime into moving. The Little Italy Foundation has put a lot of effort into restoring the neighborhood and the piazza is a great example of a communal spot where local San Diegans go to gather most days of the week.

Get Dinner at The Crack Shack

A few blocks north of the piazza, The Crack Shack has beer, cocktails, picnic tables, corn hole, and some of the best friend chicken in San Diego. It is probably the best casual spot in Little Italy for lunch or dinner. The place is all outdoors with not a lot of cover, but this is San Diego so that does not matter. They serve sandwiches, bowls, salads, kids meals, and of course, buckets of fried chicken. The firebird sandwich is a go to if you want some spice in your life, but in the end you should probably just get a bucket of fried chicken because why mess with perfection? Also, it will soak up all the booze from the day and send you off into sleep early at the appropriate bedtime for the children.

Saturday Morning

Go to the Pool at The Lafayette Hotel

The Lafayette Hotel is located on El Cajon Boulevard, an area that is mostly mechanic shops and fast food spots, but is sprouting luxury apartment buildings and trendy restaurants quicker than any other part of the city. The Lafayette, the pace setter for the rejuvenation of “The Boulevard”, was completely remodeled in 2023 and is fast becoming a staple of San Diego nightlife.

It hosts two restaurants – a 24-hour diner and an Oaxacan mezcaleria (aka a fancy Mexican restaurant) – as well as a beautiful and lively lobby bar, a moody bowling alley that feels more like a speak-easy, and a pool that nods to the hotel’s 1940s Hollywood heyday when famous actors came to drink cocktails and have affairs in private. The hotel offers day passes to the pool without having to be a guest (purchased on their website). Once there, the pool bar serves beer and drinks and you can order food from the diner to be delivered to your seat poolside.

So sit back with a cocktail in hand and pretend that girl across the pool is Ava Gardner and also that she is actually looking at you. And that the kid shouting at you to play Marco Polo is not really shouting at you but at someone else. Though the place has adult vibes it is kid friendly and lovely, so enjoy being classy while also being responsible for the little ones.

A note: on weekends they reserve the lounge chairs for hotel guests only, so you will be likely hanging out on a towel poolside (which is fine as long as you plan ahead, you can alway go eat at the restaurant when you get hungry). Weekdays the lounge chairs are first come first serve, so show up anytime after 10 am to claim your spot.

Saturday Evening

Blind Lady Ale House is located north of El Cajon Boulevard in Normal Heights, a diverse and eclectic neighborhood north of North Park. This place serves beer and pizza and does both of them quite well. The space is large and casual and the food is top notch. It is kid friendly (you will see lots of local families here) without sacrificing any of its coolness or quality. There is often live music and you might even catch Will Ferrell dropping in for a visit. Pro tip: order the fries for the kids and then proceed to eat them all yourself. They are delicious alone, but come with three homemade dipping sauces that are all fantastic. Other things that are fantastic include: the cheese pizza, the pepperoni pizza, all the other pizzas, and all the beer.

Sunday Morning

Head to One Paseo Mall in Del Mar

Maybe you are feeling the effects of all that drinking and want something that at least feels slightly more wholesome. One Paseo is an outdoor shopping mall in Del Mar with teams of stores, restaurants, and, importantly, a Harland Brewing location. Not to say malls are wholesome, but this one hosts a good amount of family friendly events, including Family Yoga and Baby and Me HITT classes on Sunday mornings. They often have movies and family events in the field near the brewery.

Show up early for yoga and work off the hangover, then immediately get a beer and some lunch at Harland or one of the other restaurants. The big grassy field near the brewery is perfect for the kids to run around while you anxiously look at your inbox for the first time and think about the fact that you have to work on Monday.

Sunday Evening

Watch The Sunset And Get Dinner At Viewpoint Brewing Company

Viewpoint Brewing Co, as the name suggests, is a place that is worth visiting for the views alone. It is located right on the water by the San Dieguito Lagoon in Del Mar, not far from One Paseo. Come at sunset and watch the sky catch fire as you sip a beer and wish away the work week. This is another big open restaurant where you will catch lots of local families coming for the sunset. The food is quality, elevated pub fare. So sit and eat and drink and watch the birds flying south for the evening and sigh. Now pay attention and figure out where your children ran off to. They are probably by the lagoon throwing rocks at a pelican.

A Map to This Itinerary

The Spots

About The Author

Oscar has lived in Boston, the Carolinas, New York, South America, and California. He has been to Le Bernadin and Taco Bell and finds value in both. He claims no expertise in anything.