What I really think about PriPri Cafe
by HeatherUPDATED: 2008, OUR LITTLE PRIPRI IS OUT OF BUSINESS
I want to love PriPri Cafe on Solano in Berkeley. I really do. It’s owned and run by nice, family-friendly people. There is no admission charge at all. Food and drinks are tasty (but service can be on the slow side) and Holden definitely has fun there.
BUT (the big BUT), it feels so unclean and chaotic all the time (whether there are dozens of people there or just me, Whit and the boys) that I can’t fully get on board.
PriPri Cafe has regularly-scheduled multi-cultural activities, but the big draw for Holden is the long pebbly hallway leading right onto Solano Street. Lately, he and Julian have taken to racing baby strollers just to the door and then turning back around. Whitney and I wait patiently at the far end to give them their taste of independence and to discourage the “you run, I’ll chase” mentality, but it’s a little scary that they’re running full board toward the open road.
Play cafes are not day-care centers. They do not have the obligation to put up a baby gate at the front door because I’m supposed to be carefully watching my own son… I get it. That being said, here are my few suggestions to make PriPri my favorite place to bring baby and have a cup of cocoa all winter long:
- Toss out some of the broken-down/dirty toys, have a “wet box” for the stuff that has been mouthed
- Put up a baby gate at the front door
- Tidy up and make periodic checks for loose pebbles so my baby doesn’t choke
Bottom line: A great weekly activity when I’m out of $$ and/or I’ve already been to Tumble & Tea once
Stumble it!
January 5th, 2007 at 3:57 pm
[...] Second stop, cafe PriPri. Also, limited selection of puddles on the back patio and they were closing up shop. So, I promised we’d keep looking. I packed him back into the carseat and tried very hard to think of a safe place for a mini person to splash in puddles in the dark. [...]
January 13th, 2007 at 9:29 am
I want to love PriPri too- and sometimes its just what the family needs, a big plate of tapas and and to be allowed to play on stairs. But all the notes about what is allowed and what isn’t reminds me of a nagging mother. I am a fairly environmentally conscious person, but a note that reminds me “Is the light off?” makes me want to bring an extra lamp to leave on in the bathroom. Don’t run, watch your kids, no throwing, AAAGH! It’s like your nagging mother is there. Hey, I’m a nagging mother myself, I don’t need an extra one around.
May 24th, 2007 at 3:15 pm
I feel the same way about PriPri. The owners are friendly and the food is to die for (I LOVE the Spanish sausages and Manchego cheese with Argentinian quince paste), but the place is a little on the raggedy side. Plus last week, I had the biggest scare of my life. I turned my back for a few minutes to talk to my mom’s group, and before I knew it, my two year old had run out the front door, which was wide open! Thank god another mom from the mom’s group was with my son, but had she not been there, he could have been run over on the busy street. I know I should have an eye on my son (every minute, of course), but it would make me feel tons better if they would at least put a baby gate on the door!
September 6th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
Just a heads up to eveybody who wants the baby gate- and no I am not a PriPri employee and TOTALLY agree with some of the rants and feedback here- ALBANY FIRE CODES WILL NOT ALLOW THEM TO PUT UP A BABY GATE. Besides the front area is for folks who just want to be at a cafe- with no admission charge they have to cater to all sorts of clients- not just the chatty moms who bring their own food (PriPri is liable for this too, see the Health Dept for that) or hang out all day with drip coffee and a bagel.
October 10th, 2007 at 3:18 pm
Another thing to keep in mind is that while Pripri is very, very kid-friendly, they don’t — and have never — billed themselves as a “play cafe”. As a frequent Pripri customer, I share your frustrations about that long hallway with the open door at the end, but I really don’t think it’s much different than the play area under the dart board at the Kensington Circus Pub.