If you want your restaurant to be family-friendly, then you're going to do things like offer a kids' menu and give the kids coloring sheets that are placemats. These steps are definitely important, but these steps alone may not adequately set your family restaurant apart. Here are some bigger, more involved steps you can take if you want to make your restaurant a true top choice among families.

Serve Certain Dishes "Family Style"

Consider creation a portion of your menu that just features dishes served family-style. In other words, when someone orders one of those dishes, you will give them a bowl of that dish to pass around the table and share. This works really well for families with kids who may not be sure how much the kids will eat. They can serve them a little at a time rather than hoping they eat an entire kids' meal and ending up with lots of waste. Good dishes to offer family-style include macaroni and cheese, salads, and various steamed or sauteed vegetables.

Leave More Room at Tables

If a certain table is meant to seat 8, consider seating only 6 at that table. Or, if a table is really large enough for 6, just use it to seat families of 4. Parents will really appreciate having this extra room. It makes it easier for them to reach over and cut their child's food. It also leaves more space for accessories like diaper bags. If a baby is sleeping, their parents can bring in their car seat and still have space for it around the table.

Play Kids' Songs Every So Often

Obviously switching all of your music to kids' music would be annoying for a lot of your guests. However, throwing a few kids' songs into the rotation will help keep kids interested and engaged during the meal. The parents can point out when the kids' songs are playing, and the kids will feel included when they hear music that's more familiar to them. Parents often have a better time eating out when their kids are entertained during a meal, and this is a fairly easy way to do that.

With a few kids' songs, more room at the tables, and various dishes served family-style, you can make your restaurant extremely friendly to families. Once families visit once or twice and have a great time, you can bet they'll come back and tell their friends. Look at what other restaurants like National Coney Island are doing to get more ideas.