Eating with baby #2 – Cafe Caldera

Cafe Caldera
Shop F214
Spencer St DFO
Melbourne

Last Friday we took baby on her 2nd tram ride to the city to shop for some much-needed stuff. First stop was Spencer St DFO. It took a while for us to pick out the stuff we wanted, and we ended up having a late lunch at Cafe Caldera.

We’d popped our heads in while walking past, and it was packed with the weekday lunch crowd. All the tables were taken, including the comfy looking armchairs (Oooo – great place to breastfeed!)

Q needed to be changed and fed, so I tried the DFO’s very own parents room. What a sordid space! The sink and toilet were dirty, the nappy bin was overflowing and there were discarded nappies all over the floor. It stank, and there was no way I’d use the facilities, let alone change my daughter! Obviously, I couldn’t feed her with the lovely scent of eau de baby poo in the background. Yuck.

We decided to finish our shopping and returned to Cafe Caldera at about 2pm, scoring the armchair seats in the back. I was shielded by the bar and the chairs were comfy and supportive. They provided us with a water jug straightaway, which was lovely! I ordered the soup of the day (lentil) and P had the fisherman’s basket. We ate off a small, low table – enough for 2 for a light lunch, or cake & coffee for 4. Food was nice: I’d say about a decent pub-cafe standard, and service was pleasant.

Here we are waiting for the food to arrive:

Baby friendliness: There were no other babies in sight, but staff were pleasant and didn’t mind me breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding: Great privacy and comfort up the back where the armchairs are. There’s even a large, high window to watch the world go by while you feed.
Baby change facilities: Bloody awful! Not sure where you can change a baby in the cafe either. The Travellers Aid Society have a breastfeeding room at Southen Cross station. I’ve never used it but it may be the best bet.
Reviews: Can’t find any, sorry!

The damage:

Eating with baby – intro

It’s hard enough leaving the house with a baby, let alone taking it to a restaurant. However, we love eating out and didn’t really want to stop having culinary adventures even though we had a newborn in tow. There seems to be a distinct lack of family friendliness to the food blogs I’ve come across, so this is my way of creating some positive change. I’m not sure if other parents will find eating out with kids relaxing, but I’ll attempt to take out some of the guesswork.

When you read the Eating with baby entries, please keep in mind that:

1. P and I are very relaxed parents with a very relaxed baby who (knock on wood) seems to behave exceptionally well in restaurants. If you are going to stress out while eating out, it might not be a good idea to eat out: you may not enjoy yourself.
2. We live in Melbourne’s inner south, so many reviews will be concentrated in that area.
3. I find prams unwieldy and do not rate not rate pram friendliness, except on the rare occasions where we did take our pram. If you have one, you may not be able to navigate into some of these restaurants.
4. I breastfeed, so I don’t do any bottle feeding related posts either. I try to feed discreetly but will also be looking at staff attitudes to breastfeeding and note if there are any concerns. I’m not the sort to whip out my boob, so all the restaurants will have an area I deem private enough to feed in. I have fed in every restaurant I review.
5. Booth seats are the best! If you can find some, you’ll be alot happier eating out.
6. Most of these restaurants were visited outside of peak times (ie lunch hour or weekends) when we had a wider seating choice. Booths may not be available if the restaurant is crowded, but always ask (politely) if you can have baby friendly seating – we have never been refused so far!
7. Most importantly, enjoy, eat, play and have lots of fun!

Eating with baby #1 – Cafe Sweethearts

Cafe Sweethearts
263 Coventry St
South Melbourne, 3205
(03) 9690-6752

We’d happened upon this South Melbourne institution by chance on a Monday afternoon, and entered after spying the booth seats and a very happy baby perched on a high chair. We pointed to our little one, asked to be seated in the booths and the “Reserved” sign was promptly removed with a smile. Better and better!

The menu arrived and omg, this place has the largest eggs menu I’ve ever seen. The next time we visit (and there wil be a next time) I’m going to take a picture of it. We put baby down between us to sleep, and had a very enjoyable lunch.

I was enticed by the extensive breakfast menu and ordered the divine blueberry pancakes with bacon and hash brown. The pancakes were scrumptious, blueberries popping in my mouth. The hash brown tasted like a gourmet potato cake: crisp on the outside, soft and well-seasoned on the inside.

My friend & P ordered from the lunch menu:

P’s chicken burger

Friend’s lamb pie or something (trust me, I will get better at remembering what people ordered)

I kept stealing P’s excellent fries, and everyone enjoyed their food. We lingered over our cuppas as I breastfed baby in the privacy of the booth. It was a very stress-free eating experience and we’re looking forward to returning.

Baby friendliness: Pleasant staff, high chair provided.
Breastfeeding: Privacy to breastfeed if you ask for the booths (there is only one) and position yourself right. Otherwise it could be a bit of a challenge as the restaurant is quite light, airy and open.
Baby change facilities: The clean but tiny toilets will make changing baby a challenge. Nearest place to change baby would be the South Melbourne market, I think.
Reviews: Mietta’s summarises things; or you can read this lovely review instead.

Story of a baby

After a happy, globetrotting pregnancy, our little baby was born.

And as the doctors stitched me up …

… they made sure she was okay.

I fell in love with her immediately (something I didn’t expect).

We started getting to know her, as she started to get to know the world.

Just like other babies, she spends some time crying:

But mostly she’s asleep, cuddly and adorable.

She has her father’s feet,

and my eyes.

Sometimes looking after her is exhausting,

but it’s always worth it, especially when she smiles like this.