Leaf Cafe & Co Rhodes — Restaurant in Sydney

Newest comment： As a Rhodes resident and a parent, I witnessed the unfair treatment of a group of toddlers and their educators at Leaf Cafe on March 5th. It was disappointing, and I’ve been following the situation for whole week. Today, I saw Leaf’s apology and the parents’ responses. This matter seems to have reached a conclusion, and it’s time for everyone to move on.

However, after reading a 5 stars review from Minyoung Kim after Leaf‘s apology, I have a few questions for you:

You said leaving a 1-star review based on something “heard” is unfair to the business. But what about the sudden wave of 5-star “kids-friendly” reviews from individuals clearly linked to the cafe — were those true reviews? I guess they also “heard” the issue from somewhere. Parents and community members shared their firsthand experiences or confirmed details with those involved. Why is speaking up for the children considered unfair, but posting overly positive reviews to drown out the negative ones acceptable?

You implied that only those who directly experienced the incident should be allowed to comment. But does supporting a cause always require personal involvement? If people stand against injustice, must they have lived through the exact same event to speak up? Empathy ，standing with others who faced mistreatment is a valid reason to voice concern!

Leaf Cafe has apologized to the parents and children about what happened on their cafe，but when you accuse the parents of “seeking superiority and acting like victims,” are you speaking on behalf of the cafe? Does this reflect how they truly feel behind their public apology? And if you’re not speaking on their behalf, does that mean you are also “heard” and using that to bully others’ when they leave comments？

Everyone’s experience is valid — yours, the parents’, and the children’s. Let’s focus on fairness and empathy, not discrediting each other.

A very disappointing experience.

I visited this café today and saw a group of 2-3 year-old children with their educators, likely from a local child care centre, enjoying an activity. Unfortunately, the staff were noticeably unwelcoming — rolling their eyes at the children and educators, sighing in frustration, and making disapproving “tsk” sounds.

As a local resident, I was shocked by the lack of professionalism and kindness. It’s disheartening to see a community-focused business treat young children and their carers this way. I won’t be returning and cannot recommend this...

Today the Childcare educator took the children to this coffee shop to buy babycino. It was an exciting outing for the kids and also very educational. However, the cafe manager and staff treated the 2-year-old children rudely and with disdain. It’s hard to believe that such behavior still exists in a friendly society like Australia. This is simply outrageous and unacceptable.

Dear Daniel,

Thank you for your response.

As a parent and a member of the local community, we acknowledge your delayed ，though not entirely sincere apology. While you expressed a willingness to welcome individual families, your statement about visits being “not as part of a school group, but as individual parents with your children” raises some concerning questions.

To clarify, the childcare excursion was not a spontaneous visit. It was a planned and pre-approved outing, organized after direct communication with your café and receiving a clear “yes” from your team. This means your staff were fully aware of the group’s visit in advance. Despite this, both the children and their educators were met with visible impatience and unwelcoming behavior from you and your staff on the day.

Your suggestion that families are only welcome if they visit individually also prompts further concerns. Could you clearly define what you consider an acceptable “family size”? If two or more families, each with 1 or 2 children, visit your café together, would that be viewed as a “group”? Would they risk receiving the same treatment as the childcare group simply because they exceeded an undefined threshold?

It’s disappointing that a community focused café would make such distinctions. True inclusivity means welcoming all customers — whether they visit alone, as families, or as part of a planned group outing with warmth and respect.

As a father of two daughters yourself, I genuinely hope your children never have to experience the same unkindness and hostility from either businesses or individuals that these young children and their carers faced that day.

We sincerely hope this experience encourages you and your team to reflect on how to create a genuinely child-friendly environment, free from arbitrary limitations on how children and their carers are “allowed” to engage with...

Dear Daniel,

Thank you for your response.

As a parent and a member of the local community, we acknowledge your delayed, though not entirely sincere apology. While you expressed a willingness to welcome individual families, your statement about visits being “not as part of a school group, but as individual parents with your children” raises some concerning questions.

To clarify, the childcare excursion was not a spontaneous visit. It was a planned and pre-approved outing, organized after direct communication with your café and receiving a clear “yes” from your team. This means your staff were fully aware of the group’s visit in advance. Despite this, both the children and their educators were met with visible impatience and unwelcoming behavior from you and your staff on the day.

Your suggestion that families are only welcome if they visit individually also prompts further concerns. Could you clearly define what you consider an acceptable “family size”? If two or more families, each with 1 or 2 children, visit your café together, would that be viewed as a “group”? Would they risk receiving the same treatment as the childcare group simply because they exceeded an undefined threshold?

It’s disappointing that a community focused café would make such distinctions. True inclusivity means welcoming all customers — whether they visit alone, as families, or as part of a planned group outing with warmth and respect.

As a father of two daughters yourself, I genuinely hope your children never have to experience the same unkindness and hostility from either businesses or individuals that these young children and their carers faced that day.

We sincerely hope this experience encourages you and your team to reflect on how to create a genuinely child-friendly environment, free from arbitrary limitations on how children and their carers are “allowed” to engage with...