The Mingo Coffee and Play — Restaurant in Forest

Today was my first time here bringing my 17 month old. She did have fun but I doubt we will return. I was disappointed in the lack of cleanliness. I understand that in the play area it is a no shoe zone as it should be because shoes carry a lot of germs, but outside of the play area where you walk in and the cafe part of it people wear their shoes which is fine.. but the young girl who was putting up the toys behind them had shoe covers on but what is the point of that if you wear the same shoe covers in the shoe zone and then wear them into the play area? You’re just bringing that dirt into the play area. New shoe covers should be put on each time or your shoes just taken off each time. The other young lady came in there at one point with her shoes on and then said let me take my shoes off and walked back and took them off. My daughter had clean white socks on when we got there and when we left the bottom of her socks were black. She had a few stumbles as well so her hands were also on the floor and then in her mouth. We have a no shoe household and clean floors that are regularly mopped and her feet and socks are never black and dirty at home and I would expect the same in a play zone for children or maybe that’s unreasonable? I don’t think so. The young lady who was putting the toys up and going back and forth from the back to the front also left the gate open more than once and my daughter made her way through the gate and tried to do it a couple more times as well behind her. Once she realized this she then started locking it but I think it should be kept locked at all times. My daughter has recently become fascinated with our trash can at home and also tried to touch the trash can there in the play area and it was nasty. It looks like the outside of it has never been cleaned. There was also crumbs of some sort in one play area and that wasn’t taken care of or cleaned up the whole time despite the employee being in there to put toys away. There was visible dirt and grime on the benches as well. I see online the playtimes run back to back, maybe there should be a 10-15 minute break in between them for staff to ensure the play zone is a little bit more cleaner, check for messes left behind, quick clean ups, etc.? Overall just pretty...

I took my four year old and 13 year old here for the first time today. I already knew my oldest wouldn’t be able to play as she’s too big, which was cool with her. She only came for the snacks and coffee and a little time away from her brother. My youngest had a blast. It was absolute chaos when we first arrived for our reserved time slot (11 am). Not a huge deal, it’s a small space with up to 25 children at a time. There was a staff member walking around cleaning up toys and putting play areas back together. There are plenty of benches around the play space for parents to sit. I chose to give my son the freedom of independence and I sat at the bar area where I could see him the whole time. Did I have to take my shoes off to step in during his disputes? Absolutely. Grippy socks are key here. I bought him a pair and should have for myself, so that’s a lesson learned. Next time I can bring his grippy socks and get myself some. My daughter sat at a table by the window to give other parents the chairs at the bar. I like that they have a small cafe area not in view of the children. It’s blocked by the cafe itself. This area gives parents a chance to calm their littles down away from their peers. It’s also nice for childless people to come grab a quick bite to eat and a coffee without having a staring contest with a two year old. That being said, parental supervision is a must, especially for little ones. Yes there is a toddler area gated off, but the bigger littles want to venture in sometimes. And then the little littles get out. There’s also plenty of signage saying no food or drinks in the play area but that doesn’t seem to stop anyone. I get it, parents need to eat too, and the child doesn’t want to step out of the play area, but the no food rules keeps the crumbs down in the play area. Standing in the play area holding your sandwich over the gate into the cafe doesn’t count and you’re blocking everyone from coming and going. The coffee and food was great. $12 for two hours of play...

This place is genius! What do kids want? A place where they can play and use their imaginations with everything they need to play at their fingertips. What do parents need? A place to sit down, take a breather and enjoy a drink knowing their child is having a blast in a safe area. The 2 meet at the Pink Flamingo Play Cafe. The Sugar & Spice chai was delicious and my daughter enjoyed the blue kids drink.

The play area itself is so creative. This play space would have been a dream come true when I was child. They have themed buildings inside where the children can go and play pretend, even mixing the areas together in their play. Example my daughter came out of the police station in a police outfit (it was a dress, so cute), had a German shepherd from the vet clinic and a baby doll!!! Apparently she was a police officer and it was bring your baby to work day! I love that she got the opportunity to let her imagination run wild!

We joined monthly membership today after seeing the space and seeing how much our daughter enjoyed herself.

I have to say that there was a lot going on in the building, especially given it was opening day) but it did not feel chaotic or disorganized. It was not over whelming. All of the children in the play space were well spaced out and seemed to be having a blast!

Great idea! You can tell a lot of love and thought went into this and the whole atmosphere is happy...