Small Town Play Café — Attraction in Westfield

I really wanted to love this place. We (my sister and I) recently went to another indoor playground that didn't feel too clean, had really worn out toys, inattentive staff, and mediocre coffee. After reading reviews and watching videos of Small Town Cafe, we were really excited to try it out. It seemed to have everything we didn't get at the other place.

I was right, but they were the only things that met our expectations. Our little ones are 2.5 and 3, which is the median for the place's age range but like another reviewer said it feels like the place is geared towards the older kids in that range.

First, the whole place is unpadded, even the tots area for young babies. The town aspect was super cute but it's two floors with adult height steps and vertical climbing areas that young kids could fall down. The slide is a spiral and there was a major blind spot from above to see if anyone was at the bottom before coming down. It was decorated beautifully with a tiny ball pit at the bottom but there is essentially no space to play in that pit. All kids that came down the slide wanted to play in it, which caused more waiting time for the slide. My sister and I literally had to split spots with one person at the top of the slide and another at the bottom to usher when another kiddo could slide down so they wouldn't injure each other.

Besides the safety concerns, the entire place is super narrow. If someone was taking off their shoes to enter, you couldn't even walk around them. And same inside the playspace. No wonder the other reviewer mentioned that their child was being pushed around by older kids, there just simply isn't enough space for kids to navigate around others. They have 2 hour time slots when registering but there isn't anyone enforcing it. All seats were taken up at one point and we had to sit in toddler seats in the party area until people finally dispersed.

We almost gave up trying the coffee since we simply felt stressed the entire time not being able to let the kids out of our sight. After people started leaving around lunch time we were able to grab a coffee and breathe for a bit. The coffee itself was great, but if we wanted to just have a nice cup of coffee we could've went to a cafe.

I think if the time slots could be better enforced and/or a smaller limit per time slot, a safer slide, padding the floors (at least in the tots area), maybe moving where people enter and leave the play area so it doesn't cause traffic jams/moving some of the high tables/chairs near that area, or try some 3 yo and under only time slots - would be really nice improvements on flow, safety, and crowd control.

All in all, this was our experience with our little ones and may be helpful for anyone considering to go with younger kids. The place was very clean with nice Montessori style toys and amenities like diapers provided. Perhaps we'll try again when our...

EDITED REVIEW 12/4/24: My son and I returned today, and we had a wonderful experience. One of the employees, a very nice woman, came right over and addressed my concerns from my last review. I also feel like I was unfair in my first review, as it was my first time at any of these play places. Now I see that the nature of them is to be hectic and exciting for the kids. We also came on a weekday as soon as it opened, and it was less crowded, so overall, it was a better experience. My son had a terrific time, and we will be back again for sure!

son would probably give this place 5 stars which is great, but I'm more between a 2 and 3.

The pros: -It seemed clean. -There was plenty to do for my two-year-old, and we easily filled the two hours. -Everything is electronics-free, so there is plenty of opportunity for creative and imaginative play.

The cons: -The space is really narrow. I love the premise, but if you wanted to include the cafe, the space should have been larger. As is, it should just be a play zone. -The owner keeps responding to comments and saying that their priority is safety and cleanliness. However, for the entire two hours we were there, no one came to the play area to re-organize any of the toys or monitor anything. I understand that the expectation is that you're supposed to supervise your children, but 90% of the parents weren't, and their children were outwardly dangerous and disrespectful. At one point, two boys broke toys and their mothers told them to hide them in a cabinet. There should be a staff member in the play zone at all times supervising and monitoring. There were kids throwing toys in the (really tiny) ball pit, running up the slide crashing into kids, etc. We were there on a Saturday of a holiday weekend, and there was just one girl behind the counter making coffee. I actually felt bad for her. The place was totally packed and crazy, and she was working alone. To me, this is unacceptable. -Similar to the comment above, the toys are supposed to align with their designated room, but with no one cleaning anything up, everything was everywhere, which sort of takes away from the point of having the themed-toys to begin with. -The coffee was outrageously overpriced. I probably would not purchase it again. -The website says it's for kids 0-6, but there were kids who were close to 10 years old there. This needs to be better monitored as clearly, 2 and 10 year olds should not be playing together in such a tight space.

Overall, my two-year-old wasn't really bothered by any of the negatives I mentioned, other than the fact that some kids were mean, and without proper supervision from other adults, I kept having to step in. We would come back, but on a weekday for sure. I wish this place luck, and I hope they succeed. They definitely need more...

Like it is advertised, It is definitely NOT a place where you as an adult can let your child under 4yrs old play by themselves, as you sit on the side and sip your coffee. Be fully prepared to be in the play area along your kid making sure they don’t fall into the many hazards of the place. If you’re not looking to break a sweat and chase your kid around to avoid all these hazards listed below, then I wouldn’t take your kid there if they’re under the age of 4.

Pros: super clean decent coffee great bathroom: provide diapers, clean changing table

Cons: very very narrow space steps up to second floor are super high & steep second floor has so many hazards for kids under 4 because not only are the stairs going up high & steep, there is an open gap with a huge drop down because of a ladder space going up to the second floor. Cannot allow kids under 4 on second floor alone because they would completely fall down the slide has a massive blind spot and kids kept crashing into each other at the bottom ball pit at end of slide is so small, if kids wanted to play in ball pit, they get pummeled by kids coming down slide the other small slide has a steep bar type ladder that young kids won’t be able to get up on their own they do not enforce the two hour rule so it gets insanely crowded they let way too many kids in at a time, as an adult you can’t even move in the area outside the play space expensive price compared to other larger play areas that offer more space and...