Short answer: The waterfront places are the ones that work: Pier One opens at 7am with a log burner and sea views and is popular with dog walkers, and The Waterfront is on the water from 9am with some free parking. Both give children something to look at, which is what a city pub usually cannot.
Plymouth's centre has city pubs, and city pubs with young children are an endurance exercise. The waterfront is different: there is water, boats, the breakwater in the distance and people going past, which does the entertaining for you. It is also where the places open earliest, so a late breakfast beats a busy lunch.
Opens at 7am every day, with a log burner and sea views, and is popular with dog walkers — which is usually a reliable sign that a bit of noise will not be a problem. Early is the trick here with children, and almost nowhere else opens at seven.
Right on the water, open from 9am, with some free parking attached — rare in this city and worth a great deal. Space, a view and no parking charge is a better combination with a family than anything in the middle of town.
Harbourside views and good breakfasts. The advice from people who eat there regularly is to stick to the seafood rather than range across the menu, which is fair enough in a city that lands it.
Plymouth closes more than you would expect for a city of its size. The Barbican Kitchen is closed Monday and Sunday, Tio Leo is closed Monday and Sunday and has only six tables so needs booking, and Ocean View at The Dome is closed Monday and Tuesday. Check before you set out with a hungry family.
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