Steph Cadey and two year old Edward pay a visit to very child friendly cafe and soft play in Bristol
My two year old and I are always looking out to discover exciting new places to enjoy together, and when we heard about the Skyboat Cafe in the Redlands area of Bristol, it sounded like just the thing. Owned and run by two local mums, the Skyboat Cafe acts as a local hub, offering parents and carers a very enticing cafe alongside a wonderful play area that is available to book for 90 minute play sessions.
We’d booked in a morning play session, with lunch afterwards, making a welcome change from me having to plan yet another meal! Straight away this delightful little cafe ticked all the boxes, with its light, child-focused decor making an instant impression, and Edward just loving the clouds and what he described as the rain drops hanging from the ceiling in the play area. It was all very cute…
After checking in and gratefully accepting the chance for a cup of coffee made by someone else, Edward and I got on with the fun and games. Our first stop was a wonderfully cosy room which is ideal with babies and toddlers. This was equipped with mats and soft play, as well as a bubble strobe machine which painted dancing colours on the wall. Edward, full of a two year old’s adventurous spirit, headed onto the second room with its wooden play house, slide and illuminated tunnel, as well as cargo netting clamber zone. In fact, the whole place is very open plan, which means he could charge from one space to another and make the most of everything on offer.
Throughout, the Skyboat Cafe operates with a maximum capacity of 10 people – that’s adults and children – at a time to ensure as much social distancing as possible, with visitors encouraged to use the hand sanitiser regularly.
There is a fourth room where the regular yoga, baby massage and other classes take place. In fact, for our visit, with no classes on, it was perfect to take a rest together and enjoy a little storytime, cooched up together on a giant beanbag.
The whole feel of the play areas is perfect for little ones, full of fun and play without being overwhelming.
With our play session coming to an end, it was off to the cafe area for lunch. Our eyes are immediately drawn to the food counter where there was a plethora of gluten free fare to make our mouth water, with everything on the menu around the £7-8 mark. After some serious deliberation, I chose the avocado on sourdough bread with dukkah, which was delicious and very well seasoned, albeit a little on the small side.
Edward went for the Skyboat picnic plate, with a wonderful selection of small pieces of sausage roll, crisps, hummus and vegetables. He loved it and at £6, the quality and size was just right. The mains were accompanied by heaven in a glass in the form of a chocolate smoothie, although i didn’t get to drink much as my two year old wanted to have it all, followed by a cake each – just too tempting to ignore, even if it did mean we ended up leaving covered in chocolate!
Thank you Skyboat Cafe for supplying a thoroughly enjoyable morning’s mum and son time.