Ox Shed Cafe

What it’s like

A café with a play kitchen, a baby mat and board games on tap, plus doughnuts and coffee for the grown-ups.

This one's built around sitting still with a coffee while the kids get on with something else. There's a toddler play kitchen, a baby mat scattered with books and toys, and a shelf of board games if you've got older ones who want to sit at the table with you. An arcade machine sits in the corner too, which is the bit a six-year-old will remember long after the doughnut's gone.

The food side is a proper café, not an afterthought: breakfast, brunch and lunch, with vegetarian, gluten-free and vegan options on the menu. Doughnuts are £3.85, or £2.20 for the vegan children's ring doughnut, and coffee starts at £8.50, which is steep for a cup unless that price covers something bigger than it sounds. Either way, budget for it before you go rather than being surprised at the till.

Hours shift through the week, so it pays to check which day you're going. Most days it shuts at 4 or 5.30pm, Wednesday's an early one at 3pm, and Tuesday runs on until 10pm if you fancy an evening visit without the kids. There are party rooms too.

It suits a toddler who wants to potter in the play kitchen just as much as a parent who wants twenty minutes of board games with a coffee that hasn't gone cold. Nothing here is loud or frantic, which is either exactly what you want or a sign to look elsewhere if your child needs to charge about.

Facilities

Need to know

Food

Café serving breakfast, brunch and lunch including doughnuts and coffee

• Tuesday's the late night, open until 10pm.
• Wednesday closes early at 3pm, so plan around that if it's your usual day.
• There's a gift shop on site if you fancy a browse after coffee.
• Vegan and gluten-free options are on the food menu, not just an afterthought.

Plan your visit

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