| Family friendly cafés in Stamford |
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When venturing out and about with your child(ren), a family friendly café offering the perfect latté and scone is a welcome respite from the daily trials of parenting. Karin Joyce visits some of the café options available in Stamford Finding the perfect family friendly café is not easy when you have a pushchair, one or more toddlers/babies in tow and a caffeine addiction to feed. Contending with narrow doorways, unhygienic highchairs and a lack of suitable food choices are just some of the challenges parents encounter when searching for that illusive Utopia. Stamford provides some welcome solutions to regaining a bit of you and keeping the family happy. Stamford Arts Centre - 27 St Mary’s Street The Stamford Arts Centre is one of the more family friendly cafés in Stamford. You will find plenty of space, good, affordable food geared to both parent and child and easily accessible changing facilities. Entry to the Stamford Arts Centre with a pushchair is just off St George’s Square. The doorway of the Stamford Arts Centre is more than wide enough for all pushchairs. You will find the Baby Changing/Disabled toilets in the entry hallway. There are 8-10 tables and there are 4-6 highchairs available in addition to a “pram park” where you can safely store your pushchair. The Stamford Arts Centre provides a wide range of affordably priced food and drink options for parents and children. The standard of cleanliness at the Stamford Arts Centre is excellent however, as with any popular café, the highchairs will more than likely need a wipe down prior to installing your child. The Stamford Arts Centre staff are efficient, friendly and very helpful. During the busy times (11am-1pm) the staff are pretty much run off their feet but your order will be delivered as quickly as possible. Overall, the Stamford Arts Centre is the perfect venue for a parent and/or family with a pushchair and a desire to sample tasty, affordable food in a comfortable setting. Costa Coffee - 31 High Street Costa Coffee is a relatively new addition to the High Street and is surprisingly spacious and accommodating to families. The entryway is very accessible for pushchairs and you will be able to easily negotiate the café as the main aisle is wide enough to fit a pushchair through. There is no “pram park” but you should be able to stow your pushchair next to your seat. There are plenty of seating options including couches, chairs and highchairs. Costa Coffee has 2-3 highchairs that are available but as with the adult seating options, during busy times, it is difficult to find one. The drink options are extensive and moderately priced while the food options are slightly more limited and not terribly child oriented. As Costa Coffee is frequently very busy, you may need to clear a table in order to sit down but for the most part, the café is clean. There are changing facilities available and I have found them to be more than satisfactory. The staff are adequate and will help to bring your order to your table if you are encumbered with a pushchair and lack of hands. Costa Coffee is a suitable choice for a respite with your family, however, be aware that it is a popular choice for Stamford shoppers so you may be hard pressed to find seating. Café Black – High Street Another new addition to the High Street, Café Black is so popular that it took me four attempts before I succeeded at getting a seat with my husband and daughter. The entryway is easily negotiated by any pushchair but that’s where the pushchair friendliness ends. The only suitable seating if you have a pushchair is in the front of the café. If you are able to collapse your pushchair you will have more options, however, be aware that in order to place your order you will have to mount two small steps to get to the counter. The food and drink options are limitless, impressive and delicious. Most options are very child friendly and reasonably affordable. Happily, the Café Black staff are cheerful, helpful and attentive, particularly to parents with children. There is no highchair nor is there a baby changing facility in the toilet which makes the café a bit family un-friendly. As a family, we found Café Black most enjoyable however, it’s probably best left as a venue to treat yourself to when you are child free. There are some wonderful, family friendly cafés in Stamford and hopefully you’ll be able to visit them and regain a bit of yourself the next time the crayons, toys and children’s television becomes a bit too much. |
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