The Little Village Play Cafe — Restaurant in Wauwatosa

Finn(2) and I had such a lovely time today at the play cafe. It was clean, had fun imaginative toys, color theme was calming and my vanilla latte was delicious. Things to improve on. Two check in areas but only one you can pay at. I would add a way for the first check to let you pay for your session if a line has not formed. That way the barista area can keep doing their thing until the first check in gets busy then peeps can be sent over to second check in to help the flow just an option. Unless this pay at the barista cash register is a brilliant buy a drink strategy since you are here purchasing your playtime session why not a drink ;) then ignore me you geniuses. I would put child’s name on sticker also the time that the session begins and when it ends to help us Mamas/Dads. Also, a wall clock in the play area to help. It can be hard to check the phone and chase a toddler sometimes lol I left my phone in my coat and saw the text saying session was over so that time on the sticker could be helpful if you do not want to hang on to your phone the whole time. More hooks or shelving for diaper bags and coats. The helper who was walking around putting toys back together was doing amazing but maybe one more helper would be great just seems like a lot to try and organize for one worker. Also, sometimes it was hard to tell what some toys were for or what pieces went to what play area and toy. Oh I would remove the infant wooden arches for back time that are on the soft grey mat there is just too much cute toddler foot traffic for an infant to do a fun uninterrupted lay down under those. I think you might have to create a baby safe area or corner for the non walkers to crawlers. Bigger train table! More wooden pretend Melissa and Doug toys. Baby clothes, strollers and beds for the dolls. The play soft Bricks to build just get rid of those and that wooden outline of a home did not see anyone interested in those and they are trip/throw hazards. I would get a little tikes home you can build with different wall pieces and window pieces with screws. The tool bench in there was a great idea but none of the screws fit in the holes so my little one lost interest quick but would of loved it if things had been more organized and could hammer wooden nails and twist screws in. Might lose or move a couch to wall from center. Maybe one more ride on car and one more smaller slide that is attached to a wooden bus or car something unique/smaller. Hand sanitizer was out when we were leaving. Maybe more access to sanitizer pumps. I would add maybe wall baskets that say icky toys here easier to find and keep kids away from. Also, hostess should let parents know there is an icky bin for eaten toys or a sign and maybe there was a sign before going in I apologize if I did not see it. Overall, really loved this place and will definitely be going back. I just want to help with this long review. Hope...

This place was a madhouse. It is cute and has potential, but here are some FYIs before you check it out... The play area is on the smaller size and they don't take reservations. They do limit the amount of people in the play space but the limit is HIGH for the size of the room. When we were there, you couldn't walk two feet without bumping into another kid/caregiver. The play space was SO crowded and chaotic. After this limit, moms were then showing up with their kids and being put on a 30 min waitlist. They were offered coloring to try to help occupy the wait time...buuut I think if I had been wait-listed with my 3 restless boys, I would have left extremely annoyed. It was just my observation that the kids (mine and others) played almost animalistic-ly. Almost like they could sense that there were lots of kids, not lots of space - every man for themselves! This is not the normal type of play I've seen at other indoor play places where the kids have the space and options to do their own thing. You also pay for your crawlers, but the space is NOT conducive for infant play. I didn't feel it was safe to set my 10mo old down. One reason being the chaos stated above, I felt he was going to be run over. But there were also random smallllll pieces. Like, size of a nickel small. Lastly, there were kids that kept escaping through the door between the play area and coffee/boutique area! While I was waiting for my coffee, a worker was trying to find who an escapee belonged to and asked if he was mine. I watched a totally different kid open the door and walk out multiple times. Yikes! ....I believe moms do their best and when you have multiple kids to watch in a crowded sea of heads running everywhere, it is hard. Child proofing this door would be a giant help!! Bottom line, it was definitely not a relaxing mom date for us or play space I could enjoy watching my kids while I sipped my $7.50 16oz latte(this felt expensive to me?). The place was cute, but I would so much rather hit up Nugget Nation or Bug and Goose where there are a properly limited amount of kids, clearly defined time sessions (to avoid potential waitlist) and a specific...

I have been meaning to leave a review for a while. I haven't had a chance, but I really needed to today.

I'm a disabled parent, and most of the time I can use my disability to relate to my kiddo and see the world through their eyes. I can do just about anything and everything other folks can do.

But, there are some days where I question whether or not I'm good enough, or if I'm doing it well enough. Today, the overwhelm was high, and the "disabling" side of disability was getting in the way of all the things that are usually able to come to the front. And, as things got harder, as my toddler leaned into their toddlerness and tested every boundary I had, the voices of some folks in my life who thought they were being helpful saying "were you really going to be able to do this?" came to surface.

I was so grateful for the staff who saw my need to have a second to have a cry, who told me "we've all been there," and who told me "I was doing great" with my kid. Sometimes, I don't believe that, and it's so powerful to just hear it.

My disability is completely invisible. Just looking at me, no one would ever know I was disabled. So, I'm so grateful to have this place where people don't judge and are willing to give a hand up when it's needed regardless of knowing.

However, I just want other disabled parents to know that this place has your back. The staff is awesome, and they really do believe in their mission of inclusivity. It's not just a bunch of flags on the door. These...