date of visit: Friday 11 May 2012

I’ve been to The Little Leaf and Bean (LLB) once before when, if I recall correctly, I had a coffee and a very good slice of a chocolate and vanilla cream cake. I also knew it was child friendly, so when it came to organising a play date (I never know if these are for the parents or the children …) it was an obvious choice.

The play date was set for 9am which was a brilliant idea until I turned up and realised I hadn’t had breakfast. LLB does all day breakfasts – I opted for the house made muesli which was supposed to come with vanilla yoghurt. I don’t like flavoured yoghurts so I asked if they had plain – unfortunately not, so it was just milk for me. The muesli came with the milk on the side, as well as a decoratively cut kiwi fruit. It cost $7.95 and, while it wasn’t a massive portion, it was big enough for my breakfast and it was really good muesli. Big brownie points for not making it too sweet.

The babies enjoyed fruit toast and baby cinos and, after a little walk, we came back and had cake (an orange-almond affair) and more coffees.

LLB has a (free) wireless hotspot and a good sized outdoor seating area. Inside it’s very cosy – some reasonably tightly packed tables and chairs and a couple of sofas tucked in a corner. All in all, a lot more friendly and welcoming than Artisan!