Islington, "Giraffe" London, Cafe review

Giraffe cafe, Essex Road, Islington, London. Take a bus (the dreaded 38 or others) or tube it to Angel.

This is a good place to come with babies. Thing is, even though it is great and the service happy and baby friendly, I always sit here feeling like i've been herded there because I have a kid. And in essence it's true, because this is pretty much the only place in Islington that you can sit with a baby that might cry without stick thin media girls shooting you evil glances or richer shopping mums with perfectly trained children lunching on samphire or whatever glaring at you. Apart from Pizza Express and that's just not good. So, I do come here, and it is good, it's just that I know i'm here because I have to be. And to be fair to Giraffe, they know it, I know it, and at least they are up front about it. The customers are nearly all either too poor to go to the swankier places or mums with kids. Young trendy types earning a pittance as a tv runner, or mums with their boobs out. A combination that works ok, actually.

Food is of the breakfast/ brunch type during the day, and not the most expensive, (expect around a fiver / seven to eight quid for a main, 3 quid a smoothie etc) and the coffee good if a bit spenny. I had a decent sausage sandwich and a large altte for about 7 quid, which isn't cheap, by any means, but when your social life is all before 12 noon, you grab wat you can. Good quality food, all sourced, and supposedly "healthy".

They let me and lactating friends sit there for 2 hours with a coffee each when it wasn't too busy in the morning. We all had 'em out at one point and no-one batted an eyelid, even taking our orders as we fed. Staff are great with babies and don't mind them being babies at all (demolishing bowls of sugar sachets etc). There's a changing room (doubling up as a bike room the day i went, not ideal), and it's clean. Enough room for prams to get in and out. Chairs are of the bucket type so not ideal to BF in but ok, although avoid the benches.

Bloody annoying music though.

So, a good place to stop off at and feel free to BF there. It's a chain so I imagine they all have the same attitude. Good on 'em. I just wish I could go there without feeling It was my only choice in an area.