5 restaurants to enjoy a summer meal with children

BarcelonaWhether at the beach, on a hike in the mountains, or just out of town: in summer, it's nice to eat out with the kids to escape the heat and the routine. However, sometimes kids get restless, get tired of the adults' after-dinner conversation, or simply need a more suitable space. We suggest five restaurants where you can go with the kids and enjoy a meal together.

It's not a restaurant, but you can enjoy a homemade buffet with more than nine dishes to choose from. The most notable feature of La Manreana, an old farmhouse located in Juneda (Les Garrigues), is its wide range of recreational activities that never disappoints children. The commitment to sustainability is a hallmark of the house, and it has everything you need to immerse yourself in rural life: a nature park and a farm school. Visitors can interact with farm animals, access a wildlife area with animals from rehabilitation centers, and amuse themselves with vegetables in the vegetable garden and greenhouse. Children can also participate in activities such as a guided tour with a farmer or a escape room around the farm, as well as having fun on trampolines, wooden games, and even a 1,000 m² maze. Tickets can be booked in advance on their website.

A beachside beach bar where you can enjoy rice in the shade with your family and then have a drink in the chill-out area with background music while you watch the little ones have fun playing in the sand... what more could you ask for? Located in Gavà Mar, Kauai is an ideal option for a day at the beach with (or without) children near Barcelona. If you're traveling by car, it has its own parking lot and also has a picnic area and barbecues for group events. Chef Òscar Manresa leads the gastronomic offering, which is based on tapas, rice dishes, and fideuás (and grilled sardines in season!). They also have children's menu dishes such as macaroni Bolognese and butifarra with potatoes, and vegetarian options. At lunchtime, there's a relaxed, family-friendly atmosphere, and on Saturdays and Sundays, it becomes even more festive during the evening DJ sessions that keep you moving until 8 p.m.

Barcelona has a green space in the center that we often overlook. La Caseta del Migdia is a beach bar located at the Mirador del Migdia, near Montjuïc Castle, with a relaxed and fun atmosphere. You can enjoy a combination of sausage and grilled chicken skewers, or escalivada (vegetarian version), accompanied by salad, corn, and toasted bread. With privileged views of the sea and the mountains, this place is an oasis to pass the heat if you haven't left the city, where the little ones can run and play among the trees before dinner. They're open in the afternoons and early evenings from Friday to Sunday, and often host live rumba performances. If you're in love with Barcelona and want to admire it from the top of the mountain while having a drink on a terrace, this is the place to go—as long as it manages to squeeze in a spot among the tourists.

If we leave behind the holiday imagery of coastal coves and high mountain pools, we can find truly unique landscapes in rivers. This is the case at the mouth of the Matarraña River, which flows between cliffs. The Port Massaluca campsite, in Terra Alta, is located here, from where you can see the old railway bridge that crossed the mountain on the way to Fayón, in Aragon, one of the villages relocated after being swallowed by the reservoirs. In addition to a camping area and bungalows in a privileged setting, the campsite offers an interesting culinary offering featuring local products, specializing in rice dishes and fideuás, grilled meats, and Mediterranean cuisine. There are also children's dishes such as macaroni with tomato sauce and chicken breasts stuffed with ham and cheese. In addition to diving into the river, activities such as kayaking to visit the old Fayón bell tower are available.

Jean Piaget already said that children "learn because they play," and Maria Montessori noted that "the work of children is to play." But often, spaces and materials are needed to allow this to happen. This is taken into account at the Civic Center, the gastronomic space and playroom located on the ground floor of the Celrà Factory, the former Pagans Factory and a modernist industrial building, the emblem of this municipality in Gironès. The menu offers tapas, pizzas, cakes, and sandwiches, as well as a children's menu. To one side of the restaurant is the jewel in the crown: a room with lots of games and paints for drawing, and an area with mattresses for children under two. And if they need some fresh air, there's a playground right in front of the building. It's an ideal place to take the children, and perhaps also a place for adults to escape the demands of everyday life and recover our playful spirit.