Five of a kind: Smart kids' meals

The Vine

The unicorn, the Jabberwocky and a kids' menu without chips. Mythical creatures, all three - but at the Vine, owner Ron O'Bryan has brought the fairytale to life with a smart, nutritious kids' menu without the ubiquitous sides of chips. Youngsters will chomp happily on lamb cutlets with steamed broccolini and corn, or meatballs in sugo with cheesy mash and peas. All kids' meals are $12 and O'Bryan will also do a half-portion of any adult-menu item on request. True to its working-class roots, the Vine focuses on weekday lunches. Dinner is served on Thursdays and Fridays and kicks off at 5.30pm, making it still easy to be home for bath and stories by 7.30pm.
The Vine, 59 Wellington Street, Collingwood, 9417 2434, thevinecollingwood.com.au

Ramen Ya

Little ones can't get enough of planes, trains and automobiles? Feed their imagination at Ramen Ya, where kids' meals are served in bento boxes shaped like trains and planes. There are four ''sets'', all with rice and salad, plus your choice of crumbed chicken, crumbed prawn or saucy chicken teriyaki. Ramen Ya's Paramount location has high chairs, as well as bench seating. While they're busy munching their way through the cockpit, enjoy a steaming bowl of springy ramen in tonkotsu broth. To make this rich, opaque soup, pork bones are boiled for two days and crushed regularly until they cede every ounce of goodness to the stock.
Ramen Ya, Shop 9, the Paramount, 108 Bourke Street, city, 9662 1001; and shop 25g, Melbourne's GPO, 350 Bourke Street, city, 9654 5838, ramenya.com.au

Mr Wolf

What's the time, Mr Wolf? Dinnertime! At Karen Martini's smart but welcoming St Kilda spot, that means 5pm to 6.30pm, when $10 buys a lot of shoosh in the form of colouring-in, a bambini pizza and a scoop of house-made vanilla ice-cream with chocolate sauce. Hungry wolf cubs will go wild for the poco lupo, with proper ham and mozzarella on a tomato sugo base. With the kids sorted, adults can take their time browsing Mr Wolf's smart pizza menu, with offerings such as the Sicilian, with prawns, peas, cherry tomatoes and fior de latte. Gluten-free and yeast-free bases are available, too. The early sitting can fill up fast, so be sure to book.
Mr Wolf, 9-15 Inkerman Street, St Kilda, 9534 0255, mrwolf.com.au

A family with kids walks into a wine bar. Thankfully, at Ayatana, this tale has a happy ending. This restaurant serves modern takes on Thai dishes, along with a wine list carefully chosen to complement strong and spicy flavours. Ever-smiling owner Tony Rungpradit and team offer a kids' menu designed to introduce little taste buds to the Land of Smiles. A kids' serve of pad Thai arrives tucked up in an omelet blankie, while beef massaman curry with pumpkin and sweet potato is sweet and creamy. Ayatana offer confident classics such as roast duck curry with holy basil, as well as clever plays on Thai flavours, like soft, folded bao filled with minced chicken and zippy red onion and mint. Ayatana, 97 Chapel Street, Windsor, 9533 8813, ayatana.com.au

The burger lounge

Got a fusspot for whom nothing but a burger in a box will do? Make it a Gippsland grass-fed beef burger at the Burger Lounge. At this polished burger bar in leafy Eltham, the kids get a colourful box with beef or free-range chicken burger, fries, juice and a fruit-based ''special treat''. Burgers come with cheese and tomato sauce, and sneaky parents can add lettuce, carrot or tomato for an extra dollar. Grown-ups can go wild with the epic burger menu - try the signature beef patty stuffed with havarti cheese, or a rockling fillet burger with green olive salad. Finish up with good Five Senses coffee and a round of petulas - addictive Albanian doughnut balls drizzled with honey and pistachios.

The Burger Lounge, 902 Main Road, Eltham, 9431 4500, theburgerlounge.com.au