Guest review – San Lorenzo Fuoriporta, Wimbledon SW19

Entrance

This has always been a really nice, posh Italian restaurant that I’ve been to for dinner a few times to celebrate special occasions. But these days nothing is immune to the Credit Crunch and so to keep the cash flow flowing even San Lorenzos has stooped to opening its doors for breakfast & lunch, open daily 9-6 (10:30-4 Sundays). They call it their ‘Garden Cafe’, and it’s a lovely, family-friendly environment to go for a nice lunch on a sunny day.

The main entrance is not the one on the main road (you’ll stuggle to get a pram through that as it takes you through the main restaurant), but rather round the back, down an alleyway opposite Elys department store. Menu is a simple selection of teas, coffees (best coffee I’ve had in ages), grilled sandwiches and a small number of pasta and salad dishes. No children’s menu as such, so parents with picky eaters might sturggle to get kids to eat anything except the ice-cream!

Ok, it’s not cheap food, but if you want to go for a bit of a treat where the quality speaks for itself, this is the place!

Now for the baby changing: there are baby changing facilities upstairs in the women’s toilets (there might be some in the men’s too but I couldn’t look because I’m a lady!) Nothing too glamorous, but there was a changing table, box with spare nappies, etc., and a nice chair to sit in for breast feeding.
When we went there were a couple of families with kids of all ages (one had a baby in a high chair), everyone seemed very relaxed. The staff are brilliant here, really accommodating and friendly.

Parking may be the only real issue, probably best to try one of the residential roads just off the high street and walk a bit.

Review from catslikefish, not a mummy yet but a welcome supporter.
View her blog  @ http://catslikefish.wordpress.com/

Entrance

Entrance shot 2

Changing station

Wandsworth Southside (Mini review) – London SW18

Look like they have some quite good facilities in the main shopping centre. There are two  separate rooms for baby changing opposite the standard toilets. These have a changing table and a toilet.

The signs outside show breastfeeding facilities but these where not obvious. There were no chairs in the changing rooms i looked in.

Relevant shops include Mothercare, Baby Gap, H&M, Adams, Next, Primark plus many other general shops.

M&S Kings Rd, Chelsea, London SW3

M&S Kings Rd, Chelsea. Signs say baby changing, staff say..er.. actually we don’t have any. Not very good

The Social (Mini Review) – Glasgow G1

The Social Glasgow

Just a quick review on this one as i only had the chance to pop in for a quick drink while on a training day.

The bar is big and spacious, with a small seating area out front (this seemed mainly for the smokers). I just had a pint of Amstel but the bar menu looked big.

Down at the back of the bar looked a bit more interesting, where they had almost cantina style tables and i noticed a next to the waiters point a number of high chairs. Obviously quite happy to cater for families. On further inspection i noticed they had babay changing in the disabled toilet and it all looked clean and well maintained.

I didn’t get the chance to take any pictures as a guy by himself wandering around the toilets taking photos could be frowned upon. But from asking a few of the locals they said the place was a bit of a gem and the food was good value.

The Bridge Tavern – London SE20

Bridge Tavern

I thought this would be a good place to start as it’s my local. Until last year this place was awful but the new owners and management have completely turned it around with great food, drink and baby changing.

The pub is laid out over two levels with the baby changing on the lowest level. You can access this from a main ramp at the front, where you will find a  mix of relaxed sofas and high bar like tables. The second level is more dining orientated but also has access to a large outside area. Outside are rows of picnic tables where they have barbecues in summer. There is a gate at the side of the garden to get buggies in but it’s not open all the time and you’ll have to get the staff or someone to open it for you.

The changing facilities are quite standard, a fold down table in the downstairs toilet area. The space is good though, not too cramped. They also have some high chairs available to use that work best with the dining area tables.

Food wise we’ve tried lots of the menu. I normally go for the burgers or the fishcakes but the Meze and specials all always good too. In addition they have free wi-fi for anyone wanting to check their mail on the go.

In general great place and i think they’ve also got discounts on midweek for mums (and dads) meeting up for lunch.

Bridge Tavern Interior

Bridge tavern changing table

Bridge Tavern interior

Bridge Tavern high chairs

Bridge Tavern