Delicious brunches. Good coffee. Appropriate high chairs (with a tray, we beg you, please—we’ll even bring our own sannie wipes). A play area for the kids. And make it aesthetic AF. We’re not asking a lot here, us parents here at Urban List, but by god is it difficult to find a breakfast spot that ticks all our boxes for kid-friendly cafes in Brisbane/Meanjin.
Well this mum has gone and done the hard yards for you, dragging one willing adult (dad) and one slightly-less-willing-but-in-it-for-the-snacks-toddler to all the cafes in Brisbane with playgrounds and play areas in town to find the best. The ones worth risking being ‘that parent’ with a screaming child in public just to get a good eggs benny and a double shot latte. The ones that you might even go back to next weekend.
Cream House Cafe
10/18 Wynne St, Sunnybank Hills
When it comes to cafes with play areas in Brisbane, Cream House Cafe is one of the best. With a huge walled off kids are complete with a playground, pretend play equipment and ride on vehicles the kids will be well entertained. You might even be able to keep them at the table long enough to have a snack with the promise of a robot that will come and deliver your food. Once they’re taken care of, you can smash a crab omelette, acai bowl of fairy floss pancakes—whatever takes your fancy.
Chapter IV
180 Latrobe Terrace, Paddington
Were we stoked to discover that one of our favourite Brisbane cafes is kid-friendly, with a kids menu to boot? You betcha. Chuck the tiny humans into this Paddington cafe’s enclosed kids play area, or up in one of the high chairs they have available, while you tuck into peach melba waffles with whipped vanilla mascarpone. “No darling, this is a special healthy breakfast just for mummies—eat your dino nuggets.”
Cafe Lagarto
Samford
If you’re lucky enough to have one of those kids that sleep in the car (I hear they’re a blessing), a road trip to Samford’s Cafe Lagarto might be for you. Located inside the Samford Lifestyle Centre, the cafe not only has a fenced playground, but you can also wander down a farm walk to say hello to a bunch of friendly farm animals, either before or after your delicious brunch. There's even plants to browse, even if you won't be able to fit any in between the car seat in the back and the pram in the boot.
Huskk Cafe
Grange
It might be small, but Huskk Cafe’s play area should at least entertain the kiddies for long enough for you to scoff down some corn and zucchini fritters or a stack of gingerbread pancakes with pistachio brittle and lemon curd (hot tip: their wee nippers menu also features gingerbread pancakes if you don’t want to share). There’s also high chairs available—even some with trays—and plenty of space to wheel a pram in. It’s a yes from us.
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Table 26
Chermside, Indooroopilly And Carindale
Image credit: Table 26 | Supplied
A cafe where we can combine brunch, shopping AND playtime? Table 26, you're speaking our language. Conveniently located inside Indooroopilly Shopping Centre and Westfield Carindale, plus their brand new location at Westfield Chermside, this aesthetically pleasing spot is a weary parents actual paradise, with an enclosed play area where the kids can work out some energy and the mums (and dads) can enjoy a caffeine hit and a plate of breakfast baos—no doubt well deserved after attempting to tick off all those school supply purchases with children in tow. Bonus, their new Westfield Chermside location is dog-friendly too, and even has a dog-grooming salon next door, just to tick an extra box for you.
Cafe Gia
Herston
With a fenced play area outside, high chairs and a kids menu, Cafe Gia makes brunching with toddlers a breeze (except for when it comes to getting them back out of the play area…). They’ve got all the breakfast classics covered in their cottage kitchen too, from avocado smash and bacon and egg burgers to baked eggs and eggs benedict.
Rabbit Hole Cafe
Wynnum And Seven Hills
Both of Rabbit Hole Cafe’s east side locations are uber fam-friendly—at Wynnum you’ll find an adorable indoor kitchen play area where they can pretend to whip mum and dad up oat milk lattes galore, while Seven Hills has a practically a whole damn playground out the back. It’s a good thing the kids will be occupied, because it’s going to take you a while to decide between breakfast options like French toast with thyme-infused strawberry compote, potato croquettes with smoked salmon and breakfast bao buns.
White Horse Ranch
Albany Creek
Image credit: White Horse Ranch | Facebook
Fam-friendly, dog-friendly, food intolerance-friendly—what boxes doesn’t White Horse Ranch tick? There’s an enclosed play area for the small ones, along with high chairs and a kids menu if they’re peckish (always), and even a gift shop to browse if the kids will allow it. What could make things even better? A giant blueberry ricotta hotcake with a dollop of housemade passionfruit curd and vanilla bean ice cream, of course.
Carport Cafe
Cannon Hill
This hidden gem is as chill as they come, tucked away in the back streets of Cannon Hill. The leafy outdoor seating area is filled with a mish-mash of mismatched and salvaged furniture, with a kids area at the back featuring a box of toys and a chalkboard wall to inspire little artists. The breakfast menu has everything you need—ie bacon, eggs, halloumi and kids options—and you’ll get no judgement for adding an extra shot to your already double shot latte.
Birds And Bees Café
Everton Hills
This Latin American-inspired café is known for their gorgeous cakes, divine food, and welcoming vibe. The Columbian cuisine and tunes add character to this colourful café, but their kid’s area is what puts them on this list. Birds and Bees have a penned play area for the kiddies, complete with a chalkboard wall for your little ones to create their masterpieces, as well as highchairs for sipping babycinos and chatting about the weather—cute!
Evo Espresso
Yeronga
Image credit: Evo Espresso | Facebook
Evo Espresso’s outdoor play area has enough different toys to keep even the shortest attention span busy, so hopefully you’ll have enough time to finish off your plate of zucchini corn fritters without having to ‘share.’ They tick plenty of other boxes too—kids menu, high chairs, pram parking and plenty of caffeine.
Vend Cafe and Marketplace
Virginia
Kid-friendly breakfast AND shopping? Lock us in for a monthly visit, VEND Marketplace. A massive outdoor play area will keep the kids busy while you tuck into brunch at the cafe, then, an indoor activity area will hopefully keep them that way while you scope out all the stalls from local businesses selling everything from plants to kids clothes.
Home Cafe
Ashgrove
Home Cafe knows what the parents of the north side need—the opportunity to have both hands available for slicing up bacon and eggs (although no judgement here if you give up and eat bacon with your hands). Their enclosed kids room and it’s buckets of toys does just that, with an under 12s menu if nothing but their own plate of bacon will keep their fingers out of yours. They’ve also got high chairs and even baby changing facilities so you don’t have to resort to using the boot of the car.
If you're after a good breakfast first, kids entertainment second, head here:
Image credit: Urban List | Supplied
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