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Too tired to cook a family dinner but don’t want to spend a fortune eating out? Everyday Wanderer has you covered! Here are the local Kansas City restaurants where kids eat free (or super cheap) nearly every night of the week.
Even without kids, weekdays can be a grind. There’s the commute to work, endless meetings, and millions of emails. Back at home, there are bills to pay, laundry to wash, and dogs to walk. Add in a kid (or three), and even the most organized parent has limited time to plan meals, grab groceries, and prepare a home-cooked meal for dinner.
While the fast-food drive-through is certainly convenient, I always feel less guilty about eating dinner on the run when it’s healthier fare. And although national chains are prevalent, I love supporting smaller regional and local restaurants in the Kansas City area.
Stretch your family’s dining dollars by visiting one of these Kansas City restaurants where your kids eat free (or for next to nothing) throughout the week.
I paid full price to dine at the all-you-can-eat Italian buffet, bring home a toasted sub sandwich, dig into a Z-Man, and otherwise enjoy delicious experiences at these Kansas City restaurants. And I always share my honest opinions no matter who is footing the bill.
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Where Kids Eat Free in Kansas City on Monday
Cinzetti’s All You Can Eat Italian Feast
If you want a home-cooked meal without any hassle, then Cinzetti’s is the place to be on Mondays and Tuesdays. Their all-you-can-eat Italian buffet is set up more like a potluck in someone’s home than a long trough, and dishes are prepared in small batches throughout the evening.
With soups and salads, pizza and pasta, a wide range of Italian entrees, and delicious desserts, there’s something for everyone in your family at Cinzetti’s. Our family favorites include:
- Mediterranean Salad
- Chicken Marsala Pasta
- Eggplant Parmesan
- Meatloaf Madeira
While the adult meals are a bit pricier than other options on this list (currently just under $17 per person before tip and tax and not including beverages), kids ages 4 to 12 eat free on Mondays and Tuesdays. Feeding two family members — a parent and a child — a wide variety of high-quality food for less than $10 per person (and no dishes to wash) sounds like a big bargain to me!
But it gets better…
While most “kids eat free” offers allow the parent to receive one free kid’s meal per adult meal, Cinzetti’s lets parents cash in up to two free kid’s meals per adult. (And believe me when I say that this twin mom took advantage of the offer right up to Bo and Juliette’s 12th birthday!)
Pro Tip: Kids under the age of four eat free every day at Cinzetti’s.
Visit Cinzetti’s on the Kansas side of the Kansas City metro at 7201 W. 91st St. in Overland Park.
Planet Sub
Planet Sub began as Yello Sub in the midwestern college town of Lawrence, Kansas. With toasted, fresh-baked bread and sandwiches topped with guacamole way before it was commonplace, Yello Sub quickly developed a strong following.
Under the name Planet Sub, the first franchise store opened in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park in 1998. Today Planet Sub’s toasted sub sandwiches, soups, and salads are available in six states.
Our favorite PSub items include:
- Green Turkey – a toasted sub sandwich with turkey, bacon, cream cheese, guacamole, lettuce, tomatoes, and salsa
- Dagwood’s Dream – just like Blondie would have made with roast beef, ham, pastrami, provolone, lettuce, tomatoes, and horseradish
- Tuna Bacon Melt – tuna salad topped with bacon and Swiss
On Mondays, all Kansas City Planet Sub locations offer up to two kid’s meals for children 10 and under with each adult meal purchased. (Note: To get this offer, you’ll have to purchase the meal with chips and a drink, not just the sandwich).
Pro Tip: Don’t have kids under 10? Don’t worry! Planet Sub extends other amazing offers from time to time, like buy one get one for $1 and get two adult meals for $12.
There are nearly 10 Planet Sub locations across the Kansas City metro. Find the location nearest you on the Planet Sub website.
Where Kids Eat Free in Kansas City on Tuesday
Joe’s Kansas City
Whether we have a busy evening or not, if it’s Tuesday in Kansas City, you can bet your sweet and spicy barbeque sauce that Louise and I will be at Joe’s Kansas City, because kids eat for just $0.99 on Tuesdays. (Note: This offer is for dine-in only.)
Our family’s favorites at Joe’s Kansas City include:
- Z-Man – beef brisket, provolone, and onion rings on a toasted Kaiser roll
- Rocket Pig – pulled pork topped with bacon, pepper jack cheese, and fried jalapeno slices
- Burnt Ends – flavorful chunks of beef brisket
But just as predictable as us showing up at one of the three Kansas City locations, and the line to order stretching out the door, is our Tuesday night order. I get a ‘Bello Z-Man (their signature sandwich with thick slices of portobello mushrooms standing in for the beef brisket) and my daughter gets the white meat kid’s meal with a side of their deliciously seasoned fries.
Feed your kids for nearly free next Tuesday at any of the three Joe’s Kansas City locations.
Cinzetti’s All You Can Eat Italian Feast
In case your family didn’t get enough delicious Italian food on Monday, kids also eat free at Cinzetti’s on Tuesdays.
Where Kids Eat Free in Kansas City on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, or Saturday
Other than big chains — yes, I am looking at you and your Funny Face pancake combo, IHOP — I don’t know of any local Kansas City restaurants that let kids eat free (or super cheap) on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, or Saturday. But if you know of a place, be sure to leave a comment in the section below!
Where Kids Eat Free on Sunday
Spin! Pizza
Founded in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park in 2005, Spin! Pizza was one of the US’s first Neapolitan-style pizza restaurants. With starters and soups, fresh salads, grilled sandwiches, and (of course) pizza, the recipes used to launch Spin! were developed in partnership with local James Beard Award-winning chef, Michael Smith.
Our family enjoys these dishes at Spin! Pizza:
- Stuffed Meatball – a large meatball stuffed with cheese and smothered in marinara sauce
- Chicken & Goat Cheese Pizza – chunks of roasted chicken, crimini mushrooms, caramelized onions, and chunks of goat cheese
- Sonoma Salad – red leaf lettuce, spinach, grapes, raisins, apples, goat cheese, and chopped glazed pecans tossed with a house-made blood orange vinaigrette
- 8 Color Salad – romaine lettuce, red cabbage, red leaf lettuce, grape tomatoes, radishes, celery, green onions, Gorgonzola, toasted pine nuts, and croutons tossed with red wine vinaigrette
- And all of the gelato flavors!
Pro Tip: If you have a wheat allergy (or are watching your carb intake), Spin! is the place to go! They can make any of their pizzas on gluten-free or cauliflower crust. And both actually taste amazing!
On Sundays, Spin! offers a free kid’s meal with the purchase of a full-sized pizza, large salad, or Mini Mia combination (a 7” pizza and your choice of soup or salad). Kids get to choose an entree — pizza, macaroni and cheese, or a grilled cheese sandwich — a drink, and a mini serving of gelato. And, unlike some kids-eat-free offers on this list, the Spin! Pizza offer applies to either dine-in or carry-out which makes it easier to pick up Spin! and cheer on the Kansas City Chiefs on Sundays!
Let your kids eat free (including a delicious scoop of gelato) at one of these Spin! Pizza locations in Kansas City.
Talk of the Town
Wrapping up this list of local restaurants where kids eat free is Talk of the Town. Located on the Kansas side of Kansas City, both the Overland Park and Leawood establishments of this family-friendly neighborhood sports bar make it easy for you to cheer on the Chiefs and stretch your budget to the max by letting kids eat free all day on Sunday.
Our family enjoys the Talk of the Town:
- Burnt End Nachos and Burnt End Tacos – because KC BBQ can make any deliciously prepared bar food classic out of this world
- Baked Mac ‘n Cheese with Burnt Ends – are you noticing a trend?
- Bison Burgers – substitute bison in any Talk of the Town burger — you are in Kansas after all!
Whether kickoff is at noon, 3:00 pm, or later, kids eat free all day on Sunday with the purchase of an adult meal.
Pro Tip: In addition to the kids -eat-free special, Talk of the Town also offers other Sunday specials. At the Leawood location, Sunday is also $15 prime rib day, and at the Overland Park location, Sunday means $10 pizza deals. And because Talk of the Town is a sports bar, drink specials are also available.
What’s Your Favorite Kansas City Restaurant Where Kids Eat Free?
What local Kansas City restaurant is your family’s favorite? Do they offer a kids-eat-free (or nearly free) special? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Please note: Photos not watermarked by me or clearly attributed to a specific photographer or organization are from the community of talented photographers over at Pixabay.
More Information and Inspiration for a Visit to Kansas City
- If you need a break from Kansas City’s world-famous barbeque — sounds strange, but I’ve heard it sometimes happens — try some of the best fried chicken in the Midwest or these additional places to eat in Kansas City.
- Top off your meal with dessert at one of the best ice cream shops in Kansas City.
- Share some of the best flavors from America’s Heartland with one of these food gifts from Kansas City.
- Need more motivation to visit the Paris of the Plains? These quotes about Kansas City will make you want to visit right now!
- From its art scene to its many fountains, these scavenger hunts are a fun way to explore Kansas City.
- Are you a fan of Netflix’s Queer Eye? Here’s how to experience Kansas City like the Fab Five did in Season 3.
- Stretch your travel budget to the max with these free things to do in Kansas City.
- Identify the colorful flowers that accent the Kansas City landscape with this seasonal guide to Kansas City wildflowers.
- Experience life on the prairie back in the 1860s with a visit to the Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop in Olathe, Kansas. This living history museum is the last operating stop on the Santa Fe Trail.
- Explore Kansas beyond Kansas City with this Kansas bucket list.
This is such a fantastic collation of ‘Kids Eat Free’ deals around Kansas. We always do a bit of research if we’re going to eat out and see if we can find the kids eat free deals. It always makes a big difference. Here in Australia, kids meals are generally about $10 each, so for us (with 2 kids) that’s an easy $20 saving.
I am a single mom of four. Believe me, kids eat free offers made a BIG difference when we traveled and my kids were little. Hopefully these recommendations will help other families stretch their budgets so they can do and see more of Kansas City, whether they are locals or visiting from somewhere else!