A whole latte fun
Back in early 2007....
Me: You know what this town needs?
My husband: Free exotic car rentals?
Me: We need a place where people can take their kids indoors whenever they feel like it. I mean, there are "baby and me" gym or music classes, but they're at a scheduled time. What if the Man-cub is sleeping then? There are playgrounds you can go to anytime, but the Man-cub is just a baby. There needs to be a place where kids and moms can go and chill any time -- like a hands-on science museum or an indoor play area.
My husband: That's nice, but not as fun as renting a Lamborghini for free.
Last summer....
I wondered if I was going to be stuck going to fast-food restaurants just to have somewhere cool for the Man-cub to play.
Present day....
I took my son to A Latte Fun, an indoor playground and cafe. This is exactly what I had been dreaming of when the Man-cub was just a baby. I later found out A Latte Fun had a location in Palm Beach County, and there was Cool-de-sac in Miami-Dade County, but finally Broward people have a place of their own.
Even the name is fun! The front part of A Latte Fun is a cafe:
Then you enter a door to get to the large play area:
What a cool idea to put the trampoline into the floor! The Man-cub had a great time jumping, but he spent most of his time playing at the train table.
Nearby was the toddler lounge.
And the puppet stage and dollhouse area.
Kids loved playing in the kitchen, store and dress-up area.
Thanks to a well-stocked closet, there were lots of princesses running around. The boys don't seem to want to dress up as much, but I did see an astronaut as well.
The cafe offers WiFi and a wide glass wall so parents can work or check e-mail while watching their children in the play area (probably better for older children). True to its name, you could order a latte or cappuccino, among other beverages, and there were juice boxes and different kinds of milk for kids. We ate in the cafe, and the Man-cub had one of the kids' meals while I had a cranberry-almond chicken salad. I thought four chicken nuggets with a package of goldfish crackers for $3 was a bit much (his juice box was $1 extra), but my chicken salad was great. I got a cappuccino, and granted it was decaf, but it still tasted pretty weak so I didn't finish it. The pastries looked delicious.
I figured we would be back, so I got a pass for 10 visits. The Man-cub will love it! I love having a place to take him to play where it doesn't matter if the heat index is 110 degrees F. My only real complaint (other than the weak cappuccino) is that the Adirondack-style chairs that are placed around the play area are uncomfortable for breastfeeding. (I actually tried nursing in public! Go me!) There were two padded chairs, but they were already taken by other parents. My only other seating options were a padded bench (once it was free), a hard bench where people store their shoes and bags, or the floor. I could have gone to the cafe, but it was crowded at the time with few seats open.
If you're in South Florida, this is a great place to play! If you live elsewhere, do you have a place like this in your town -- or are you going to create one?!
Me: You know what this town needs?
My husband: Free exotic car rentals?
Me: We need a place where people can take their kids indoors whenever they feel like it. I mean, there are "baby and me" gym or music classes, but they're at a scheduled time. What if the Man-cub is sleeping then? There are playgrounds you can go to anytime, but the Man-cub is just a baby. There needs to be a place where kids and moms can go and chill any time -- like a hands-on science museum or an indoor play area.
My husband: That's nice, but not as fun as renting a Lamborghini for free.
Last summer....
I wondered if I was going to be stuck going to fast-food restaurants just to have somewhere cool for the Man-cub to play.
Present day....
I took my son to A Latte Fun, an indoor playground and cafe. This is exactly what I had been dreaming of when the Man-cub was just a baby. I later found out A Latte Fun had a location in Palm Beach County, and there was Cool-de-sac in Miami-Dade County, but finally Broward people have a place of their own.
Even the name is fun! The front part of A Latte Fun is a cafe:
Then you enter a door to get to the large play area:
What a cool idea to put the trampoline into the floor! The Man-cub had a great time jumping, but he spent most of his time playing at the train table.
Nearby was the toddler lounge.
And the puppet stage and dollhouse area.
Kids loved playing in the kitchen, store and dress-up area.
Thanks to a well-stocked closet, there were lots of princesses running around. The boys don't seem to want to dress up as much, but I did see an astronaut as well.
The cafe offers WiFi and a wide glass wall so parents can work or check e-mail while watching their children in the play area (probably better for older children). True to its name, you could order a latte or cappuccino, among other beverages, and there were juice boxes and different kinds of milk for kids. We ate in the cafe, and the Man-cub had one of the kids' meals while I had a cranberry-almond chicken salad. I thought four chicken nuggets with a package of goldfish crackers for $3 was a bit much (his juice box was $1 extra), but my chicken salad was great. I got a cappuccino, and granted it was decaf, but it still tasted pretty weak so I didn't finish it. The pastries looked delicious.
I figured we would be back, so I got a pass for 10 visits. The Man-cub will love it! I love having a place to take him to play where it doesn't matter if the heat index is 110 degrees F. My only real complaint (other than the weak cappuccino) is that the Adirondack-style chairs that are placed around the play area are uncomfortable for breastfeeding. (I actually tried nursing in public! Go me!) There were two padded chairs, but they were already taken by other parents. My only other seating options were a padded bench (once it was free), a hard bench where people store their shoes and bags, or the floor. I could have gone to the cafe, but it was crowded at the time with few seats open.
If you're in South Florida, this is a great place to play! If you live elsewhere, do you have a place like this in your town -- or are you going to create one?!
Labels: reviews, site seeing, things to do
posted by Holly at 6:39 AM
21 Comments:
That looks way cool Also, try nursing in your mei tai. It may take a little practice, but once you get the hang of it, it makes NIP, SO EASY!!! And the best part is that nobody even has a clue!
OMG that place is so awesome. I live in SD and we could really use something like that in the winter, not summer.
Wow! That place looks fantastic!
I WANT one of those! That is awesome. And, yay to you for breastfeeding in public!
Really cool place and I think they should give you a cut for thinking it up!!!!
I didn't know places like this existed. So much better than braving Chuck E. Cheese. I'll have to check it out. It looks so cool. A great idea for my two year old when the sibs are away at school.
Great pics. Love the post and the place. =)
Oh how I wish there were something like this here! Our library has a really awesome fun zone, but it is not so much geared toward physical fun which is something we really need.
Yay for a great place to take your child. And, go you for nursing in public!
Holy crap, please mister coffee god in the sky this would make me happy forever and I would forgo winning the lottery if a place like this would open where I live. I would quit my job and go there everyday- or I could win the lottery and then build the place- either way
That place puts our local bounce house and Gymboree to shame. We spend practically every afternoon at Gymboree since it's air conditioned and contained so my 1 and 2 year old don't escape. Nobody serves coffee though.
We have something like that on a small scale - much crappier - but I also had the same business idea...just no money!
A big improvement on the old Discovery Zones they used to have.
OMG! That looks incredible. I wish we had a branch of "latte heaven" here in Boston!
What a brilliant idea! I wish we had something like this up in my area. Thanks for sharing the fabulous photos.
Now THAT is a cool place. And your pictures of it are lovely.
Pretty cool! We have something similar to that here but no where near as extravagant!
Wow that place rocks!
I find the floor quite comfortable for breast feeding in public. I get all comfy cross legged (helps to be against a wall) and cover up with a blanket of receiving blanket.
Wow, that's amazing! I had NO idea places like that even existed! I'm gonna have to Google it and see if there's something like that around here. :) I'd be there nearly every day!!
I recently been to "A Latte Fun" in South Florida while visiting my family. My husband and I took our 3 year old and 20 month old daughters with thier 3 year old twin cousins. We had such a blast! I live in beautiful Monterey, CA. and I am seriously considering on opening one in our area. We are in great need of an indoor play area which will cater to children younger than 8 years old. We do have a "My Muesum" here but it's mainly geared for older children and admission into the muesum is terrible!!! Well wish me luck!
Hi there! For those of you living in Washington state, I am opening something similar called "Play a Latte!" in a few weeks!!!! We have a small cafe, and for the play area a crooked playhouse, bouncehouse, ship play structure, climbing wall, toddler play area as well as an infant play area...a small retail area will be coming soon as well, and I have a separate "nursing station" for those wanting a bit of privacy..I just started a facebook page under play a latte, pictures coming this week, check it out, thanks!!!
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