I forgot to post this one a couple of weeks ago and I totally need to because my kids really love it-I heard about Playdate Seattle ages ago and I typically hate indoor play-spaces, jumpy gyms and stuff like this so I just kind of ignored its hype when it opened.
But then I heard that they are a company with a lovely heart-you can get in for free on the last Wednesday of the month with two cans of food for the FoodBank- and I do adore places that give back to the community, so we decided to check it out. And Playdate Seattle is definitely a neat play space for kids in South Lake Union. It’s got a cute nautical theme and since my guys totally love all things Octonaut right now, this just totally adds to their imagination. I love that it’s near REI and my favorite coffee shop (Espresso Vivace, thank you very much) and it does have a fairly large eating space inside (for their food. I don’t think you can bring outside food into this cafe). Both times we visited now, it’s been a Friday morning at around 9:30 am. The first time we visited was totally dreamy. I think there were only 5 other people in the whole place and I thought it was a completely magical play-place dreamed up by parenting gods. The second time I got a taste of what this place might be like on a crowded afternoon: there was a group of dads watching basketball, and a bunch of mom’s groups that had showed up to lunch and play and there were TONS of kids. It was still manageable and fun, but it was a little too crowded for my nerves. (I do have a higher than normal aversion to blood, guts and gore and to me crowds and kids always have a higher probability for that kind of thing so I try to avoid the combination at all costs.) But my kids loved it. They were sweaty and they were out of breath. They were totally thrilled. And they have started to remind me that we haven’t been back in a little while and that we need to go again. So, we will. (I think basketball week is almost over, right?) And though we haven’t eaten there yet, I noticed a dad next to me with a decently delicious looking hummus and veggie platter so we might try that or the pizzas next time we come. My latte was marginal but I’m not complaining-my kids slept well that night and that is all that matters.
(PS. I totally recommend getting there at opening if you’re not a fan of crowds or if you just want to have the whole place to yourself for at least a little while. This is always the rule with anything with kids in tow and even though, oh my goodness, it’s hard to get everyone ready and out of the house and anywhere for 9am, it is oh so worth it if you actually manage to achieve this miraculous goal.)
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)