Play & Learn Cafe

I thought this place was pretty great. I think they have made an effort to make improvements since my experience was better than some of the prior reviewers. I came in right at 9am on a sunday. There aren’t many places to take a toddler (actually I think there are no other options) at this time and so I really love the hours. It’s a nice amount of time to get your money’s worth ($ 7) before lunch and naptime. The play area is bright and clean. It faces east so you get some nice morning sunshine, which really does help the ambience. My first reaction was «wow» there are a lot of things to keep a toddler busy and it was all so clean! Most toddler play areas make you cringe but I was really impressed how clean everything was. They have an abundance of slides, scooters, grocery store area, kitchen area, toy bus, trampoline and toys of all types. The baby area is a bit lacking, I think it’s more for families with a toddler that also want to entertain a baby. I was also disappointed that «discovery zone» was empty. It sounded like it could be cool but nothing was set up.
As others mentioned, the gates are really flimsy. I don’t know why they don’t have decent gates but it didn’t make a huge difference to me. I didn’t notice any safety concerns here but I also don’t expect the whole place to be bubble wrapped. Just be careful when your kiddo is on the slide, those things are super slippery and most kids flew down rather fast.
The changing restroom is really nice. There’s a toddler flush potty and lots of room to freshen up. There are plenty of opportunities around the facility to wash and sanitize your hands.
They have a fun assortment of unique beverages and snacks that are what you’d serve at home. Prices are reasonable given it’s a business.
You can tell this place was created by a family. The high chairs, diaper changing situation and restaurant is all how parents would choose to have it, if they could. No cheap high chairs here and every sink has a stepstool! My only complaint is that they did not have fragrance free hand soap.
Even though it got busy as time went on, it never felt overly crowded or like a «zoo.»

I absolutely love this place. The owners are so friendly. They make it a point to interact with all their customers. My almost 4 year old could stay here all day. The food is also amazing. Can’t say enough good things about PLC. I just hope they keep having more events in the future and possibly extend the hours. Such a great idea and executed very well.

I’ve been here a few times with my kids and have enjoyed the experience. I think they have worked out some of the kinks from my first few visits. They now have someone to instruct you what to do when you first walk in (pay for just play, remove your shoes, fill out the stickers, etc.) so I think that was a good improvement. They also seem to have the safety issues worked out and emphasize good healthy behaviors with sinks around and easy access to restrooms.
My only issue is that it is very expensive to bring 2 kids there and 2 adults to eat a meal. I have even bought a Groupon pass but it expired rather quickly and I was only able to use 4 of the 10 passes. Their play rates went up to $ 7 per kid (2+). We were there this past Saturday and ordered Pancakes, a cappucino and had 2 kids play and our bill was $ 27. Yikes! That unfortunately prevents us from going as often as we would like (or we just go for the play pass only).

A fun fun place to bring little ones, my 2,3, and baby have plenty to do here! A friendly staff, and good food for adults and kids! MN has waaaay too many days of needing to be inside– weather too cold, humid, rainy, hot, etc. Play N’ Learn is a great choice for kids who need active time, and also for kids who enjoy quieter activities — my adult daughter and 2 little ones go here often. The busy 2yr. old can climb, ride toys, slide, etc. Happy we can come here and know our little ones are having fun!
Also, cleanliness is big deal here– kids Sz. Sink to wash up before lunch, sanitized, and play staff watching kids too– best of Mpls. In kids category for our family– !!

We stuck with craft sodas and a cheese & cracker platter for food. Fun and refreshing! Here on Thursday before lunch crowd. Our kids enjoyed the safe, relaxed play offered here. We came in with a Groupon deal and spent a few hours. Nice, bright space and great concept for very young kids/​babies.

This pains me to do because the concept was so good! A fun place to go in the dead of winter to run around… Well we were left pretty disappointed. As others mentioned there was a few safety concerns that were needing to be addressed. Mention of it on the Facebook reviews and we were told to bare with them. They are a new business. I’m always down to give a place another shot!
What is odd to me is that they are asking for money to add more items like a gate? This didn’t sit well with me. It’s a business and makes money why are we being asked to donate? Isn’t the high price off food enough?
While I’m on the food. It wasn’t anything special. Seemed to me they were trying to be too fancy. Kids don’t want fancy. Kids want basic.
I know a few other moms who have been dissapointed by this place. The idea is great. But there is def room for improvement. And maybe a little more friendly on their Facebook page replying to reviews. Not every in is going to like your business no matter how great you are. It’s how you repellent yourself that really shows! Good luck!

I visited Play and Learn Café with my best friend and our children (ages 2 – 5). What a great experience!!! We are both stay-​at-​home moms and for the first time since we started having play dates together we actually had an uninterrupted discussion. The kids were thoroughly entertained the entire time we were there which was three hours. The food was great for both me and the kids (no deep fried, processed junk here). My kids are every bite which is also a rarity. I paid roughly $ 20 for both my kids and me to play and eat an incredibly healthy and clean meal! That’s an incredible value in my book. Thanks to Sarah, the owner and her staff for such a great place! We will definitely be back.

I really like the concept of this place but there is defiantly room for improvement. They play area could be cleaner, especially since they close early Mondays to clean and the family bathroom was clean but the others-​ew. The food is a little over priced and was bland, it was also hard to find a clean table. The presentation of the kids meal was very nice though.
What was really annoying was the play area «monitor», there is no need to step in and scold my almost 2 year old when I’m already handling the situation. My daughter also had a toy taken away by this woman because it belonged somewhere else, is it really that bad the she was playing with a person from the train table in the doll house? My daughter was confused but didn’t seem to care so I let it go.
I also totally agree with some of the previous reviewers about some of the safety concerns but, they are looking for donations to buy a gate for around the baby area!
I will give it another try in a few months and hopefully they will have made some changes.

I definitely had higher expectations for this place. The overall presentation is not as professional as I had expected but the food was great — MUCH healthier options then anywhere else! My biggest issue was with the attendant working the play area. She seemed nice and engaging with the kids until she decided to discipline my child right in front of my face. I’m a pretty laid back parent and I admit when my kids do wrong — so I have no problem with someone telling my kid to follow the rules. I was actually in the middle of telling my son to stop flying the little plastic spaceship too close to other kids — he hadn’t even really done anything bad yet, but I recognized he was annoying some of the kids. The attendant came over and grabbed his hands and held them in front of her and made him look her in the face. She proceeded to tell him she needed his listening ears. Of course he was looking at me all upset (he just turned 3) — and she kept repeating herself. Again, I don’t mind someone reaffirming rules with my kids — but it really bothered me that she grabbed his hands and held them for almost 5 minutes while she insisted he look her straight in the face. Leave the parenting to the parents please especially when they are right there in the play area with their kids.

A great indoor option for your kids to play while you enjoy a cup of coffee. I believe their website says it’s for 6 and under, but I would say it’s more 4 and under. Perfect spot for toddlers and babies. Not big kids. I was able to sit on a bench and drink my coffee while my toddler ran around and played. The climbing structure is not too huge or scary, perfect size for toddlers. The coffee was delicious. We were there at 9:00am on a Sunday morning and it was nice and quiet. The baby area is not sectioned off from the rest of the play area. There is a ball pit in the baby area that is really enticing to toddlers. To keep babies safe I would suggest putting up a wall or the baby area in another room and keep the big kids out. They have staff that monitor the play area and keep it clean which is nice. The food looked great although we didn’t order anything, just a muffin for my toddler which was very good. We will return for early morning play dates. I’m sure it gets much busier later in the day or evening, so keep that in mind.

So I really struggled with this review. I wanted to love this place because Minnesota winters can be tough with toddlers and a place to let the children play while I can chat with some other moms sounded wonderful. But I have to agree with other reviewers great idea but execution needs work. Yes I get that it’s new but anyone can take a look and see where there we’re concerns or issues that need some attention.
My first impression was, Is this it? It’s tucked away in a strip mall there were multiple doors and the entrance was not clearly marked. When you enter you see a wall, some benches, and cubbies. There are no directions as to what to do or anyone to greet you. I looked down and saw a rug that said, please remove your shoes. Once you walked along the cubbies you are at a counter where we were greeted and how things work was explained. There were frames hung up with the food menus or just left blank with the IKEA stock picture and price still in them. But here are a few of my first impressions…
1. Safe and clearly defined areas-​The baby area had no barriers and was relatively small. My friend’s son kept crawling into the bike area where older children we’re riding and almost hit him. At one point there were four children and with adults in the area, which left no place for the children to actually play because the area was so small. Also my friend and I were told to put our drinks away but a clearly an older than one child was not asked to move, when he was not playing appropriately.
2. Not very many toys-​With four children there were a few balls and one wooden table toy, which was already falling apart when my daughter removed pieces I thought were attached and the legs wobbling. The ball pit was cute however in a corner and had another parent not been close my daughter could have fallen and hit the corner. (I was watching but couldn’t get there fast enough, I had to go around the area because of the other children playing in the middle) The whole place to me seemed sparse in equipment and toys.
3. Dirty-​My daughter had light colored clothing on and when I picked her up her socks were black and her knees from crawling were also dirty.
4. Overall safety-​My daughter picked up multiple pieces of stray plastic Easter grass and attempted to put them in her mouth. But my largest concern was a balled up rubber band that I didn’t even see on the floor, and only noticed when I saw her chewing. I certainly understand these things are going to happen but thought it was a little odd given that I am suppose to be able to eat while my child plays safely. I was watching my child and most of the parents were but the employee that was there to help supervise sat on a bench with her arms crossed. When she did correct a child, I felt it odd because the child was actually fine, riding a bike in the bike area, it was the other children that should have been reminded that they were playing in the bike area and if they wanted to sit there were other safer areas to go to.
5. Food– I’ve heard the food is good, but at a children’s café I would have thought they would have more than a couple of high chairs. My friends and I left and ate elsewhere because they didn’t have enough high chairs for all of us and it was extremely loud and crazy. I would also have to agree that things seem very over priced.
Overall, I think this is a great idea but when it came to actually putting it into ‘play’ it wasn’t thought out well enough. My hope is that as they continue they will see reviews and take advice from customers and improve.

Love this place, my son (4) came for the Easter egg hunt and loved every minute of it. We had a hard time getting him to leave because he loved all the amazing toys, dress up items and the play gym. For sure coming back again!

This was a hard one for me because I really really LOVE the concept of this place! It And because of it I would go back… It’s gets its stars for that! However, I would eat and feed my children beforehand next time!
The menu and food were really lacking. There wasn’t much to choose from and they were out of my first two choices! I ended up with a tuna sandwich I could have made at home (nothing special) for 10.00! There were a good selection of kids options they took the «healthy meal» idea a bit too far, none of the 4 children I was with ate much if any of their meals. The presentation was cute but the bottom line is I’d rather have my kid eat something rather than nothing and the kids meals are too dry and bland even for the kids. I also didn’t like the idea of paying extra to play, I get it if someone comes in and doesn’t order food but I think the food pricing was pretty high. I pd 23.00 for a tuna sandwich, my kid to eat a ¼ cup of yogurt and for one kid to play. Pretty unimpressive of a value.
Next time we’ll eat beforehand and I’ll pay the 5.00 for playtime!
Also, I didn’t think the play area was as friendly to the little kids as I expected, I have a 1 yr old and there wasn’t a clear separate area for him to play without getting endangered by the big kids play…

Great idea, flawed execution. I really wanted to like this place but there are some fatal flaws I couldn’t ignore after our visit.
The whole idea of the place is the parents can eat and enjoy their food while little ones burn off some energy. Unfortunately I’d have to agree with the first review in that the play area seems pretty unsafe. I’m no expert, but the shiny slippery concrete floors seem like a lawsuit waiting to happen. Here are my main issues:
1. There is no separation between the different areas (playground, riding area and baby area). While I was in the baby area with my kid, an 8 year old crashed her radio flyer scooter thing into the baby section (fortunately no one was there, but still)
2. As someone else noted, the column in the middle of the riding area had no padding (again an accident waiting to happen).
3. The balance beam was placed at the edge of the padding and concrete. Could be moved to a better location, so no one cracks their head open.
4. My 36 pound kid was able to shake the slide enough that I thought an adult was going down it. Seems like it needs more support.
5. The baby area toys weren’t actually toys. They had some dish drying things that a baby was gnawing on.
6. The food was delicious, but overpriced. My daughter’s $ 6 kids meal was awesome and provided more food than my chicken salad sandwich (while also delicious, I kind of expected some sides for $ 10 in addition to the 3 baby carrots, 3 celery sticks and 4 cucumber slices). Next time I’ll make sure I eat beforehand or get a kids meal for myself.
I think this place has huge potential, I plan on going back one more time, hoping they work out the kinks, and will update my review.

The space is half restaurant, half play area. You purchase food and pay to play. I have a one year old baby/​toddler. I really wanted to love this place. It’s such a nice concept.
Food = healthy, expensive, slow
Coffee = Caribou is better
Play Area = chaotic, unattended, dirty, littered with choking hazards
Food = healthy, expensive, slow… The choices were vast, and seemed to be healthy and well balanced. Every food item at our table had a real vegetable! (How often can you say that?) That said, the prices seemed high. $ 20 for a meal for a parent and kid. And so slow. However, behind the counter seemed absolutely frantic, even though the place was empty. I’d hate to have been there at breakfast or lunch time. … Also, please sell Coke. Or better yet, wine.
Play Area = chaotic, unattended… Welcome to Utter Chaos. In my head, since it’s a pay to play, I assumed there would be a «lifeguard» of sorts… there wasn’t. Kids are chaotic, yes, but when the baby/​toddler area isn’t fully removed from the older play area, it is worrisome. Trikes going around at high speeds and whatnot.
Cleanliness = the whole place wasn’t very clean. My baby’s pants and hands were black after about an hour. You can see from Kelly B’s review, in the photos, there are little black dots all over the place. These are little black turf remnants from the «sandbox.» We were digging them out of our baby’s mouths.
Being here was not as relaxing as I had hoped it would be.
DISCLAIMER — that this place has just opened, so maybe they are just figuring things out. 3 stars and I’ll try again in a month or so and see if things improve.

Okay, first, the good stuff: Super, balanced food choices for the kids. You can feel good about these meals. I heard the owner mention that they will be adding more. Wonderful padded mat under wooden play structure. 3 bathrooms. Wash sink centrally located. Play area had a fun digging area with toy trucks and tools. Separate area for baby-​play.
The negative: Rules not visible and/​or posted. The hard surface area where the riding toys are located is not cordoned of-​plus it’s directly located next to the baby play area. Regularly, kids were running into kids (think Bumper Trike) and spinning around on the ride-​on toys. That’s great except that there is constant foot traffic from other kids and toddling babies walking through the open space. I saw one child run over a sitting baby. Now, to be fair, hardly any parents were watching their kids — they were all drinking coffee and chatting. I guess no problem with that (huh?) except that it’s mayhem in the play area. During my visit, I estimate that the play area consisted of ages ranged from 1 – 6 yrs old. I witnessed a few kids get hurt due to age-​appropriate rough housing by the older kids. Again, no parents around. Admittedly, that’s more the parent’s fault, but the owner was not around (she was taking orders) and there were no Café attendants (who work there) watching the play area. I actually consoled a 1 year old whose fingers got ran over by older boys on the trikes for at least 2 mins before the mother came. At one point, only 2 parents were supervising but I counted upwards of 15 drinking coffee, chatting, and eating.
Safety: Needs improvement:
— There is a wooden balance beam present and it’s a foot tall. That’s okay when you’re 6, not okay when your 3. One boy, who was wearing socks, as required, slipped off the balance beam, straddled it, and whacked his chin on the beam. The balance beam is great, but not with slippery socks. The Café does sell socks that have grip bottoms, but so far there’s no requirement to purchase. Shoes or grip-​socks should be required on the balance beam or they might want to consider lowering the height of the beam (or removing it).
— Saw a few snotty kids with noses dripping — Ick. Health standards need to be checked and enforced.
— They need a pad or mat surrounding the floor-​to-​ceiling beam that is in hard surface area.
— There are two rugs surrounding the construction digging area. The ends of the rugs are turning up and they are tripping hazards. Get rid of the cheap rugs and get better rugs that wont turn up.
— The giant wooden play structure has super quick slides. Because of that, I did see a few little kids come flying down and proceed to hit the small of their back where the slide drops off to the floor (there is a significant drop-​off!). It may help to put a pillow or some sort of soft raised matériel at the bottom of that slide (the twisty one).
— It would help if they put some sort of 3 ft wall or barrier around the construction area to keep the rubber bits and pieces from coming out of the area. Because there are not any areas that are cordoned off, I would fear an unsupervised baby would eat a piece-​definitely a choking hazard. I did see the owner sweeping the bits and pieces up several times during my visit, but it only takes one time to choke and considering the parents were off drinking coffee with no café attendant watching the kids, it’s a recipe for disaster.
— Lastly, when I was leaving, a toddling baby followed us all the way to the door. No idea where the mother was, but eventually the baby turned around and walked back to the main area. I highly recommend that Play and Learn Café install some sort of gate or latched entrance While it is a parent’s job to watch their child, clearly, some don’t. I would not play the odds on that one. Get a gate or entrance wall installed soon.
Safety is what I used to do for a job, so I see things that other people may not, but just the same, the safety issues need to be fixed. The down and dirty is this the place is awesome. It just opened. It needs some improvements and some better (sturdier) toys. It also needs benches on the long entrance hallway so that people can easily take the shoes on and off. Improvements will come with time and I’m super happy to have this in our neighborhood.
I would love to see an attendant hired to watch the play area and rules posted so that others know what is expected and what is not! That needs to get fixed right away.
3 – 25 Update: 2^nd visit — just like the 1^st. C’mon — I really want to love this place but I’m so discouraged! Also, I’ve become irked about paying to play when there is no attendant. I’ll watch my kid, but not every other kid whose mother is obliviously drinking coffee and chatting. The food is FANTASTIC, albeit on the pricier side — I don’t mind that; however, I do mind it when I have to pay to play in an unattended play-​gym/​floor. Also, reigning supreme are the safety issues. Pls fix!