It was hard to know what to expect from the Longridge Canteen, a new play cafe that opened on Berry Lane in January, but I was excited to take my three-year-old along to check it out. Their online presence didn’t really show the ‘play’ side of things but I’d seen their tasty-looking menus, which have a cute design, as if written by kids.
Monday is my day off with B and I was pleased to see they were open with walk ins from 11am until 3pm. Before and after these times you’d need to book. We were greeted by a lovely friendly lady at the door and B quickly took off her shoes and headed straight for the toys while I settled down (dumped our stuff) at a table. There were a couple of other tables taken and more people arrived during our visit so there was a lovely, friendly vibe in there.
B had climbed up to the den and shouted, “I’m exploring Mummy” and as I peeped in, she was wearing an explorer jacket and net in which she was catching bugs. We’ve never seen anything like this in a play cafe before. It was brilliant and I love to see something different.
After playing together for a while and getting familiar with the toys, I grabbed the menu, asked B what she wanted and ordered over at the counter. There are breakfast and lunch options for everyone, extra ‘other bits’ for kids, a pizza menu for the weekend, ice cream, and a small counter of bakes.
Fussy B picked a cheese sandwich – to deconstruct and eat the bread and butter – (£2), sea salt flavour Lancashire Crisps (£1.70), a strawberry yoghurt (£0.75), and a small milk (£1). I went for the grilled cheese toasted sandwich (£5.50) and a tea (£2.50). B must’ve been hungry as she immediately sat down at the table after I ordered so I grabbed the colouring paper and pens from the windowsill to create some beautiful artwork while waiting for our food. There are also games and jigsaws you can take from the side to play with at the tables.
The drinks came swiftly and it was nice to see the loose-leaf tea infuser even if B thought I’d been given something very strange with bits of tree in. After drawing a train track and a couple of frogs, the food arrived and the toastie looked amazing, albeit a little too hot to delve in. I patiently waited, took a bite and it didn’t disappoint. The local smoked Lancashire cheese with the leeks was delicious and the toast was buttery and perfect. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would order it again. As suspected, B deconstructed her sandwich and ate the bread and some crisps ,which she shared with me. She loved the locally produced strawberry yoghurt from Little Town Dairy in the Ribble Valley.
Something sweet? Of course. There was a small choice of bakes including brownie, rocky road, flapjack, and ginger loaf. The flapjack had taken my fancy, and I was about to order when B wanted to have a look, pointed to the brownie (£2.80), and said, “I want that one to share with you mummy.” To avoid a probable tantrum in the middle of a cafe, my threenager got her own way. Pick your battles and all that. However, she made an excellent choice, and while I don’t usually go for brownies, this was a milk chocolatey delight. The only downside was we had to “save some for Daddy.” It was very surprising that she did not want to scoff the lot, and it made me sulk because that was exactly what I wanted to do. Who’s the child now?
Back to playtime, meaning I could finish my cup of tea in peace before B walked over to show me her dress up jewellery, wand, and high heels. Heart eyes. As well as enjoying playing, throughout our visit B regularly visited the kids’ mini toilets to “do it myself,” which was brilliant in the midst of potty training so I’m very grateful for those little kids’ loos.
The play cost £5 so the total of our visit was (£21.25) – very reasonably priced and we had a lovely time. B had lots of fun, and the food had been spot on so we will be back.
I’m always on the lookout for play cafes or cafes with toys. Comment with your favourites.
Read more: Louise’s reviews are all here to tuck into
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