Milk takes you back....

Milk Cafe Milkbar
Windsor Homezone,
142 Newmarket Rd, Windsor.
T:  3357 3009.

Rating out of 5:  4 child friendly forks


Clean highchairs available? Yes
Pram access? Yes.
Kids' menu? No, but plenty on the main menu suitable for children.
Play area? No.
Activities at the table? No
Room for kids to move around? Yes if indoors, but limited.
Child friendly atmosphere? Yes
Prices? Very reasonable.  Latte was about $3.50, sandwiches start from about $6.90.

Milk at Windsor is the follow-on from the concept opening at Ashgrove.  The Windsor store replaced Cafe Mama which Mothers had been raving about for years as a way to have a coffee and let the kids have a play.  When Cafe Mama closed I know there were a lot of disappointed patrons.  Personally I thought the play area at Cafe Mama was so tiny and only suitable for one or two children at the most, which made it difficult. 

Milk is not trying to replace this concept, but it does provide a child friendly cafe option.  There is no play area or activities at the table, but the atmosphere is suited for children.  The decor is light and fresh and the food gives you that home-baked feeling.  The menu reminds me of the old style milk bars and I think they have tried to capture that nostalgic feeling throughout the store, while still maintaining a modern feel.  They offer some good kids options with fairy bread, sandwiches or "wicked" hot chips, as well as gorgeous mini cupcakes.  The drinks are great too for kids, with the traditional baby-cino or the old fashion malted milk.  The options become more decadent for adults with Baci hot chocolate, tiramasu affogato or an Irish cream latte.  I thought the menu for adults was also very good and reasonably priced.

The tables are spaced apart so children are not annoying other diners if they climb on and off their chair, and most of the people in there had children under 5, so everyone was very tolerant.  There is no need to book, but there are only 4 highchairs, so perhaps if you plan to go in a larger group it might be wise to ring ahead and have the highchairs set aside.

I would highly recommend this for Mums with bubs wanting to have a mid-week catch-up or an after school treat with their school age children.  It would be lovely for a family Sunday brekky too.  Very child friendly, even though it does not have the play area like its predecessor.  We will be back there.