The Fat Hippo | NEW Kids Menu - perfect for fussy eaters

*Collaborative post - please see my disclosure policy for details

Breaking News! The Fat Hippo launched a new kids menu today. Harry, Heidi and Jack were invited down to put the new menu through it's paces tonight. We visited The Fat Hippo Jesmond and it was busy, busy, busy so reservations are definitely recommended if you don't want to be disappointed. 

The Fat Hippo feels like a very cool place to take your kids and I know we'll be bringing the kids here in years to come - probably even into adulthood. The Jesmond restaurant was mostly made up of families with grown up children catching up but little ones don't feel out of place here either (check out this post from our visit in 2015 when the kids were aged 4, 6 and 7 if you fancy a trip down memory lane)

A lot of thought and detail has been put into the kids menu and H, H and J all loved the special Fat Hippo touches such as the box to design your own burger and the hippo swamp colouring in activity. It certainly kept them occupied.

The children's menu is £6 and suitable for under 12s. I love that it's now completely customisable and kids can pick a patty (beef, bean, breaded chicken or plain chicken), toppings, sauces, garnishes and side. If your children fancy a chicken burger with cheese, chorizo, mustard and pickles - their wish will be granted. Or if like Jack they prefer just breaded chicken and cheese with no sauce, again it's no problem. Kids can build their own burgers exactly to their own specification - perfect if they're going through a fussy phase or simply can't stand to eat anything that has so much as touched a lettuce leaf.

Heidi was also delighted to find that there are now options other than burgers on the menu now too. Heidi's not really a burger eater in general and always prefers a pasta dish where possible and she thoroughly enjoyed her mac and cheese which comes with a side and a choice of sauce too. You can also order chicken fingers if burgers aren't your thing.

The portions are huge! Harry loves burgers but Jack's not so keen on bread. They made some sort of pact where Jack promised Harry he would try a burger this time as Harry always says they are the best. Jack loves his food and he was well chuffed when a huge burger was placed down in front of him. I have no idea how he managed to eat it all (plus dessert!).

A Fat Hippo burger is one of Harry's favourite foods of all time and you can see how happy he was to be tucking in. He'd been looking forward to this visit all week - I need something new to bribe him with now!

Then for Heidi.....Mac and Cheese which she also thoroughly enjoyed.

Kids can order Hippo Juice, Cordial or Milk as part of the £6 deal or pay £2 extra to upgrade to a shake which of course my three wanted to do. I stole a sip and it was so good! In fact, I think they should serve these half portions on the adult's menu as the normal shakes always fill me up too much.

The Fat Hippo's not all about the kids. In fact, Steve has declared The Fat Hippo Underground as his number one restaurant in Newcastle. We'd already enjoyed Fat Hippo burgers earlier in the month at a local food festival but honestly, I don't think you can ever have enough. Steve brought his herd card along and of course, he had to order a secret menu item. He was going to go for a 6 x 6 until I told him not to be ridiculous so settled for a Sloppy Joe instead. He loved it and even declared it as his new favourite burger above his beloved PB&J. If you'd like access to the secret menu, simply sign up to the herd here. It's free to join! 

Me, I'm a creature of habit and 9/10 I order 'The Fat Hippo' burger. Why change something if you love it? Fat Hippo burgers are the type of burger you do get messy eating as they are so huge and juicy but it's best to just dive in and get on with it.

Despite eating at The Fat Hippo on numerous occasions, I have yet to try a dessert. After starters, mains and shakes I am always far too full. I had a game plan to make it happen this time - we skipped starters and I ordered wine rather than a shake. This meant I could just about squeeze in dessert. The kids ordered a Fat Hippo Brownie (£2 supplement) which is just the cutest brownie I have ever seen! It looks quite dry in this pic but that's just the lighting - it was actually super moist and chocolaty and served with a butterscotch sauce which reminded us of a swamp. Clever! I love the branding at The Fat Hippo - they really do have it spot on.

No Hippo-shaped desserts for the grown ups (FYI Fat Hippo - you should add the hippo brownies to your secret menu) and Steve's looked rather boring in comparison. It seems like kids get all the fun! It tasted just as good though. I went for a delicious Toblerone cheesecake - a lovely treat in lieu of my normal milkshake.

The New Fat Hippo Children's menu is available from all branches as of today. Fat Hippo restaurants are perfect for an informal and fun meal out with kids that will be enjoyed by all. I would especially recommend The Fat Hippo Underground which is ideally located next to Newcastle's Theatre Royal and a perfect spot to enjoy a pre-theatre dinner with kids. Jack always loves going to what he calls 'the underground restaurant'. Let me know if you fancy it.