Earlier this week, the blogging gang got together for SteakCamp at The Brave Bull. [read Raul and Karen's reviews.] I couldn’t attend as I was at our daycare’s BBQ. It’s one of the things about being at the higher end of the SocMed demographics. Most of the gang in town are single, or married without children. Not me, I gots responsibilities.

So the type of restaurant reviewing I’m up to is a place like babyeats in Lynn Valley. It’s a new concept that’s been getting quite a bit of media buzz (National Post – BCLocalNews – North Shore Outlook – North Shore News), so Jen and I checked it out.

The tag line is “making eating out child’s play.” The concept is a large open area for the children to frolick freely, while around the outside moms and dads chill with lattes and salads and have a stressless visit.

It is novel. I’ve seen many a mom with a squirmy son while she tries to kibbitz with her girlfriends on a Starbucks patio, this is the kind of place they could now frequent. Moms get to gossip, kids get to squirm wherever they want.

You do have to pay to play, $4 for the kids and $2 for the adults. They’re selling memberships at $125/yr for kids and $75/yr for adults. That’s about $25 a month to have a membership at a cafe with a playroom. Seems a little steep. But then again, perhaps that’s the crowd they’re going for. The National Post piece is nothing but dollar signs and name droppping.

… crawling with $1,000 Bugaboo strollers .. after several Vancouver-area house flips, raised the equity (just shy of $300,000) … The adult chairs are Eames and the $425 highchairs are HiLo, by Montreal’s Age Design … These are the kind of kids who learn sign language just for fun. … there is organic buffalo meatloaf on the menu, and Weleda nursing tea … wooden trucks by Fagus and bright plastic Trioli chairs … our stylishly rounded-off James Burleigh table … the designer toys, the melamine dishes, the German wallpaper … [National Post]

It all sounds very Posh and Becks.

The food is all organic, and ultra healthy. I had a Portuguese Stew, Jen had some salads while Z had brown rice pasta with turkey quinoa meatballs.

My stew was all potato with sauce, Jen’s salads were a little too much to have as a full meal (as in the taste got boring quick), while Z licked and smacked his fingers inhaling the meatballs and pasta. The portion was huge for $5 and we have some locked up in the fridge for tomorrow’s lunch.

babyeats has only been open a few weeks, and, as you’d expect, some of the things just didnt quite seemed finished about it.

Rachel, the owner, admitted they didnt have the rice balls that were on the menu because they hadn’t found an appropriate rice yet. We weren’t given napkins or wipes and the highchairs were very high for Z (our $40 ikea chair at home blows the stink out of these $425 beasts). The place is called babyeats, but at a larger 13months, the tray was almost tight under Z’s armpits.

Would we go back? I don’t know. $4 for a 13 mo old to mess around for a while seems a little steep, especially when you toss in $2 for each adult. Our entire meal came to $36, which felt expensive for what it was. Jen wasnt a huge fan of the toys either. There were lots of sharp edges and a few of the heavier toys (like a wooden cash register) weren’t attached to the shelf and came crashing down.

I asked her if it was a place she would come with her girlfriends and relax while the kids ran around, again she wasn’t sure.

The demographics seem a little off, for what they offer. There was one child there pushing 5 who seemed really bored, the walking toddlers had a bit of fun, and you really had to hover over Z to make sure he didnt bonk himself, so the demo seems tight. 2-4 year olds only.

It’s a fun and interesting and fresh idea, will it still be open in 2 or 3 years? Not so sure. Then again, we don’t have a Bugaboo stroller and a Danish au pair.

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