# Kid-friendly restaurants in Aspen

> Kid-friendly restaurants in Aspen, checked October 2026: kids menus, a skating rink beside the burgers, pancakes on the mountain, and which tables to book.

Canonical page: https://aspenprive.com/kid-friendly-restaurants-aspen/  
Updated: 2026-10-02 · Publisher: Aspen Privé (local Aspen stay planning and concierge)

Aspen is easier with children than its reputation suggests. **Hickory House** publishes a kids menu and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner; **CP Burger** sits beside an outdoor skating rink in winter; **Bonnie's** on Aspen Mountain is the pancake stop between ski-school laps. The harder part is a 5:30 table during holiday weeks. **We live in Aspen and know its restaurants and the people who run them.** Tell us the nights and we'll hold the tables.

Hours below are what each restaurant publishes, checked October 2, 2026. Aspen restaurants shorten hours or close for parts of the spring and fall off-season, and set winter hours around ski-area opening day, so confirm the week you arrive. We include a kids menu only where the restaurant itself shows one.

## Early tables for the family, held (what Aspen Privé arranges)

After ski school everyone is hungry at the same time, and so is every other family in town. We know Aspen's restaurants and the people who run them: [tell us the nights](https://aspenprive.com/contact.html?service=dining-reservations) and we'll ask for early tables, a booth with room for a high chair, and a driver so nobody walks home in ski boots.

## The family standbys

- **Hickory House**: Barbecue and ribs at 730 W. Main St. The restaurant publishes a kids menu alongside daily and weekend breakfast menus, lunch and dinner; listed hours are 8:00 a.m.–2:30 p.m. and 5:00–9:00 p.m. daily. In the spring and fall off-season it asks you to call for hours.
- **CP Burger**: Burgers, hot dogs, truffle fries and milkshakes at 433 E. Durant Ave., steps from Aspen Mountain. In winter it sits beside Aspen's only outdoor skating rink; in summer the rink becomes a mini-golf course. Its site lists daily hours from 11 a.m., with two different closing times, so check before a late dinner.
- **Little Ollie's**: Modern Chinese and handmade dim sum at 308 S. Hunter St.: shareable, familiar and quick. Lunch 11:30 a.m.–3 p.m., dinner 4–10 p.m. daily, with table reservations and takeout.
- **Paradise Bakery**: Downtown since 1976 at 320 S. Galena St.: muffins, cinnamon rolls and homemade ice cream and gelato. Open 6:30 a.m.–9 p.m. daily, which makes it the after-dinner treat as well as breakfast.

## Lunch between lessons

- **Bonnie's, Aspen Mountain**: A 1960s lodge mid-mountain off Tourtelotte Park, known for pancakes, white-bean chili and apple strudel. Breakfast and lunch, 9 a.m.–2:30 p.m. during the ski season. See [on-mountain dining](https://aspenprive.com/aspen-on-mountain-dining/).
- **Snowmass and Buttermilk**: Most families with younger children ski Buttermilk or Snowmass; plan lunch around the ski-school pickup. See [skiing in Aspen with kids](https://aspenprive.com/skiing-in-aspen-with-kids/).

## A nicer dinner with older children

For the special-occasion tables, see [where to eat in Aspen](https://aspenprive.com/aspen-restaurants/) and [Aspen's Michelin restaurants](https://aspenprive.com/aspen-michelin-restaurants/).

- **Ajax Tavern**: The Little Nell's brasserie at the base of the gondola: lunch 11:30 a.m.–5 p.m., dinner 5–9 p.m., booked on Resy. Note the hotel's charge of $100 per person for cancellations inside 48 hours or no-shows.
- **Clark's Oyster Bar**: Seafood, chowder and a Gruyère-topped burger in a warm room with a fireplace. Lunch is walk-in only (11 a.m.–3 p.m.); dinner (5–9:30 p.m.) takes reservations and walk-ins, and groups of six or more book through the events team.
- **Meat & Cheese**: Boards, sandwiches and shared plates, 11 a.m.–9 p.m. daily. First-come, first-served: no reservations, so go early with children.

## Making dinners work with children

- **Eat early**: A 5:00 or 5:30 table is easier to get, quieter and fits tired skiers. Holiday weeks, December 20 to January 4 and Presidents' week, fill first.
- **Walk-ins at lunch, bookings at dinner**: Clark's lunch, Meat & Cheese and White House Tavern don't take reservations; lunch is the easy meal out. Book the dinners.
- **One night at the house**: A private chef on the busiest night, with the children fed first and a sitter after, is often the best evening of the week. See [private chef](https://aspenprive.com/private-chef-aspen/) and [babysitters](https://aspenprive.com/aspen-babysitter/).

## Questions

**What are the best kid-friendly restaurants in Aspen?**  
Hickory House (publishes a kids menu; breakfast, lunch and dinner), CP Burger beside the winter skating rink, Little Ollie's for dim sum, Paradise Bakery for breakfast and ice cream, and Bonnie's on Aspen Mountain for pancakes at lunch.

**Which Aspen restaurants have a kids menu?**  
Hickory House lists a kids menu on its own site. Others may offer children's dishes; ask when you book, as menus change by season.

**Is there ice skating next to a restaurant in Aspen?**  
Yes. CP Burger, at 433 E. Durant Ave., sits beside Aspen's only outdoor skating rink in winter; in summer it becomes mini golf.

**Do I need reservations for family dinners in Aspen?**  
For dinner in December, around New Year and Presidents' week, yes, especially for an early table. Lunch is easier: several popular places don't take reservations at all.

**Where can we eat on the mountain with kids?**  
Bonnie's, mid-mountain on Aspen Mountain, serves breakfast and lunch from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the ski season. Families on Buttermilk or Snowmass usually plan lunch around ski-school pickup.

## What Aspen Privé can arrange for this

Early tables held on the busy nights, a chef for the nights you stay in, a sitter so the adults get one dinner out, and a driver.

- [A nanny or babysitter](https://aspenprive.com/contact.html?service=childcare): We find and brief a nanny or babysitter for the days the little ones aren't in ski school, or the evenings you go out: at the house, the same person all week if you like.
- [Private chef](https://aspenprive.com/private-chef-aspen/): Dinner at the house, menu agreed in advance.
- [A driver for the evening](https://aspenprive.com/contact.html?service=evening-driver) (From $210 per hour): A car and driver on call for dinner and the night out, so nobody hunts for a taxi at midnight.
- [Grocery stocking](https://aspenprive.com/grocery-stocking-aspen/): The kitchen stocked to your list before you land.

## Sources (checked October 2, 2026)

- [Hickory House: Aspen hours and menus (breakfast, kids)](https://www.hickoryhouseribs.com/menus-aspen/)
- [CP Burger](https://www.cpburger.com/)
- [Little Ollie's Aspen](https://littleolliesaspen.com/)
- [Paradise Bakery: information](https://www.paradisebakeryaspen.com/information)
- [Aspen Snowmass: Bonnie's](https://www.aspensnowmass.com/visit/dining/aspen-mountain/bonnies)
- [The Little Nell: Ajax Tavern](https://www.thelittlenell.com/dine/ajax-tavern)
- [Clark's Oyster Bar Aspen](https://www.clarksoysterbar.com/locations/aspen)
- [Meat & Cheese](https://meatandcheeseaspen.com/)

## Related

- [Skiing in Aspen with kids](https://aspenprive.com/skiing-in-aspen-with-kids/): Ski school and which mountain.
- [Best breakfast in Aspen](https://aspenprive.com/best-breakfast-aspen/): Before the first chair.
- [Where to eat in Aspen](https://aspenprive.com/aspen-restaurants/): Michelin and the hard-to-book tables.
- [Michelin restaurants in Aspen](https://aspenprive.com/aspen-michelin-restaurants/): Every starred and recommended table.

To plan or request any of this: https://aspenprive.com/plan-your-trip/ · https://aspenprive.com/contact.html