City Eats for Little Peeps

You know the CBD isn’t just for men in slick suits and geeky students. For us a trip into the city means another fast paced adventure for Mr 4 and Mr 2. Sky scrapers, musical busker’s, street sweepers, graffiti art work, the dirty Yarra River, unusual looking folk and colourful window displays is just a snap shot of what the boys and l get to experience. For us it also means seeking out toilets and kid friendly eats, which is another whole challenge in itself.

So without further ado here is a list of cafes and restaurants we’ve researched, tested and tried that cater for families and kids. From the CBD to South Bank and South Wharf we’ve uncovered some cool hip spots that are sure to please you and your tiny diners.




 
Little Miss Fancy Pants :: Fancy Eats for Little Peeps

Akachochin – South Wharf

Change Table – High Chair – Some Room for Prams - Booking Requirements  
Fancy Japanese by the water. Best save this spot for when your baby is in arms.

Café Vue Cafe – Collins St
Kids Menu Only
Fancy eats for fancy peeps. Enjoy a slice of the Vue de Monde action without the price tag. This casual café serves up fancy chicken sausage rolls, egg soldiers, nutella with crepes and decadent cakes for the most discerning mini foodie.

The Langham – South Bank
A La Carte Eats for Kid – High Chairs – Change Table – Special Home-Made Baby Puree to order.
The Langham also do Special Themed afternoon tea events for kids, from Peter Pan to Barbie and Disney Princess's on show this spot is a MUST for your little foodie. See HERE for more info.

 

 

Casual Café Style Dining

Café Baci – South Bank
Kids Menu – High Chair – Change Table
No fuss family eats for breakfast, lunch and dinner - they even have kids milkshakes!

Trunk Diner - CBD
High Chairs – Crayons and Paper – Room for Pram - Bookings Essential for Main Restaurant
This upbeat dining venue is tip top for a casual lunch or dinner with the wee ones, all you have to do is come down and grab a table.

Va Bene - Docklands
Kids Menu - High Chairs
This riverside location is top notch for views,  Italian style eats and service.
 

 

The Good Old Family Favourites

 

La Porchetta - North Melbourne

High Chairs – Kids Pizza and Pasta - Next to the Queen Victoria Market
Relaxed atmosphere with tradition Italian eats, which is well priced and boasts a family vibe.

Pancake Parlour - Bourke St and Melbourne Central

Children’s Tea Party Menu – Kids Menu – High Chairs

This fun, loud, familiar family favourite has a well known reputation and serves breakfast, lunch or dinner. Yep we love a good old fashioned pancake with a twist.
 

 

 

Pub Style Dining

The Boatbuilders Yard – South Wharf

High Chairs – Kids Menu – Change Table – Sandpit with Spades – Room for Prams

Gasolina – South Wharf

High Chairs – Kids Menu on request kids pizza and pasta – Colouring In Placemat

P.S If Dad loves Motorbikes then THIS is the place to take him!

Melbourne Public – South Wharf
High Chairs – Room for the Prams – Bookings recommended for large group.
Great spot for people watching and to grab some bar style snacks with the wee ones. Our kids were free to move around and play outside while we had a cheeky beer on the footpath style seating.
 

 

Asian Style Eats

Bang Pop – South Wharf

High Chairs – Change Table – Room for Prams

Casual Asian eats complete with a bar made from Lego, which is just for looking unfortunately. Mr 4 not happy

 

Wagamama - South Gate - CDB
High Chairs - Kids Eat FREE - Find our detailed Review HERE
Cheap Asian eats are my favourite! Grab some spring rolls, dim sum, a bowl of noodles or a stir-fry. There are LOADS of fun family friendly dishes to eat, and hey the kids eat FREE - need l say more!

Find More Family Friendly Yum Cha Hot Spots in China Town and the CBD ::  HERE

 

 

Hello My Mexican Friend

Guzman Y Gomez

High Chairs – Kids Menu – Fooz Ball Table – Room for Prams

Grab some quick and tasty traditional eats at this casual Mexican eatery. The special kids menu will fill little tummies with dishes like The Little Guy Burrito, Chedder Cheese Quesadillas and tasty Kids Nachos. This place rocks, it's the ultimate spot with a very casual vibe for families.

 Mr Sweet Treat

 

We recently named the TOP spots in Melbourne to get a fluffy cupcakes. Find the CITY locations :: HERE
 

Kids and sweet shops go hand in hand. Find the BEST Kid Friendly Confectionery Shops in the city :: HERE

 

 

Has YOUR favourite city dining spot missed the list? Then you best let us know! Leave your suggestions in the comments and we’ll add them to our cracking list. xx

Spotted!! - More CBD family friendly dining suggestions Via the good folk over at Little Melbourne

 

 

 

 

Melbourne’s Best Sweet Spots

There is a small child in all of us. Who doesn’t love peering over a glass counter filled with sweet treats? Lollypops, jelly beans, freckles, red skins, scorched almonds, snow balls, chocolate mates, big boss cigars……

Are visions of mixed lollies dancing through your head now?

Next time the sweet tooth attacks why not check out some of these places we’ve spotted in the city.

All are kid friendly – goes without saying really!!

The Candy Room

155 Queen St Melbourne

A one stop shop for all that is great in confectionery.

Haigh’s Chocolates

191 Swanston Walk Melbourne

Stocks a range of lush boutique chocolates

Treats From Home

 Level 1 243 Collins St Melbourne

Imported sweets and treats from Great Britain

The Original Lolly Store 

Ground Floor :: Melbourne Central

An old-fashioned lolly store crammed with sweets &
lollies, including retro sweets and old-school candies

Suga

Royal Arcade :: 335 Bourke St

 Handmade rock candy which is made on site

Have we missed your favourite lolly store? Feel free to add them in the comments below.

Kids Art and Eats :: South Bank

Last Wednesday the kids and l had nothing pencilled in the diary. Yes NOTHING! No kinder, no child-care, no sport, visiting family members or doctors’ appointments. We were most excited and decided to jump on a tram and have an adventure in the city. I’d been promising Mr 3 a visit to the NGV. He has been keen to check out some art work which was inspired by a recent episode of Gasper and Lisa. The characters had just recently visited an art gallery in Paris. He loves Gasper and Lisa and their “frenchy” ways. How cultured of him!

So off we went. The gallery opens at 10am so first stop after our tram ride from Brunswick was a stroll down Spencer St. Mr 3 took great delight in spotting all the street sweepers, police cars and colourful window displays. We also stopped by Dame Edna’s 'Gladdies' for a cheeky peek too.

The galley was spectacular, as always. We threw some coins in the fountain out the front and made a wish, admired the water windows and swung by the NGV kid's corner. Both boys loved running around this child-friendly space, we did some colouring, danced on the beautiful carpet lights, made a paper crown and sailed the high seas, all inspired by Napoleon of course.

Once we were done there we had a quick whip around the gallery to have a look at some of the amazing art works. We then parked ourselves on the carpet in the great hall to have a mini picnic, while admiring the stunning glass roof. ** Note::  Food or Beverages CAN NOT be consumed in the gallery. Please see signage and staff on appropriate places to eat and drink.**

After the galley the boys decided that they were still hungry so we paid a visit to South Bank, which is about a five minute walk from the NGV. We went into the South Gate building in search of food and by the time we got to the food court both boys were asleep. Talk about timing. But it didn’t stop me from doing a bit of “kid-friendly” food research! So here are my top picks of family friendly dining in South Gate.

Joy Cupcakes :: Freshly cooked cupcakes that come in a variety of sizes and flavours. The mini ones are perfect for little hands. They also have seating inside to rest weary legs. We’ve visited them before which you can read about HERE.

Wagamama :: Kids EAT free!! (Conditions apply) :: Large tables for big groups :: Pram access :: High Chairs ::  No booking required

Lindt Chocolate Cafe :: This visit is mainly for the mammas! I didn’t know Lindt were located at South Gate and thought they are well worth a mention! This place is filled with chocolaty goodness and definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area. Need I say more!

South Gate also has a PARENTS ROOM on Level Two.

NOTE :: There is a food court on the ground level in South Gate. It’s also good a good spot to re-fuel; but don’t get too excited, it’s just a run of the mill type food court serving everything from sushi to fried food, pizzas, smoothies and ice-cream. It can be the ideal pit-stop if you have the wee ones in tow. Plenty of room for the prams, some highchairs and of course it comes with a cracking view of the city.

So next time you plan your trip to the city with the wee ones just keep a note in the memory bank that South Gate can be an ideal place for eats and treats, making it an ideal spot for a family day out.

Christmas in the City

It's nearly Christmas time!

Can you believe it?

l especially love going into the city this time
of year to admire some of the amazing Christmas
decorations and to immerse myself in the hustle
and bustle of all the Christmas shoppers.

Here are some snaps from my shopping trip on the weekend.

Enjoy!
xo

Little Cupcakes

Bub and l had the pleasure of a trip into the city this week for some morning tea.

And l must say it was absolutely just gorgeous.

We stopped at a quaint little cake shop in Degraves St called Little Cupcakes.

We spoilt ourselves with mini cup cakes, a babycino and a rich hot chocolate.

l think the hardest thing to do was to choose from the variety of flavours on offer.

Do we have the strawberry,chocolate,mint, latte or vanilla cupcake??

It was heaven.

Pop it on your list if you're visiting the CBD.

Little Cupcakes is a very small cake shop so leave the double pram outside if you can!

Plus it's more fun to sit outside and watch the world go by!