Indoor play places with cafes for parents and fun for kids on Long Island
Emree Tucker, 3, and brother, Maceo 4, share a hot chocolate at the Children’s Social Club in Rockville Centre on Jan. 20. Credit: Linda Rosier
It's a challenge to find recreational spots where parents, toddlers and preschoolers can peacefully coexist. Play spaces have historically been designed with children in mind, forgoing the needs (or wants) of parents.
Maybe you’re picturing a bright establishment where ABCs and 123s figure prominently but you can have a coffee or bite simultaneously. Maybe you need free Wi-Fi so that you can complete that project your boss needed yesterday while your son safely lets off steam on a nearby slide. Maybe you just want to lounge on a comfy couch with an herbal tea and return phone calls while your daughter pretends she’s a barking dog in a doctor’s costume just out of earshot. Maybe your sitter canceled. We understand.
Slowly but surely, family play spaces with cafes (and adult-size seating) are cropping up around Long Island.
Giving parents a break with a couple of hours of open play, these venues excel in nurturing imagination and individuality, and cater to the under six crowd. They vary in offerings with some serving hot and cold drinks and requisite snacks, while others feature full dining menus. Some vibes are kid-centric with piped nursery songs. Others rock out on Taylor Swift and Bruno Mars, and serve wine. But all have one thing in common: a clean, fun indoor playground for the littles with no sharp edges, no choking hazards and, at the very least, caffeine.
As Marc Bacayon, owner of Social Play Haus in Plainview explained, “we wanted to create a place for everyone — where kids can be kids, parents can take a time out, and all can regroup to eat and drink together.”
Here are our favorites that specialize in not only mats and make-believe, but also matcha and munchies. Don’t forget your socks!
All play spaces offer private play sessions, host special events and birthday parties, classes and offer multiplay session packages.
Social Play Haus
200 Express St., Plainview
Mike’s Hot Honey chicken classic at the Social Play Haus in Plainview. Credit: Linda Rosier
The most expansive of the bunch, this lofty warehouse feels more Brooklyn than Plainview, boasting a restaurant with food, wine, beer, and coffee. Husband and wife team Marc and Jenni Bacayon have honed every detail from the wooden play structure to the climbing rock wall, the costume station to the faux-kitchen, leaving plenty of room to run around. The communal tables that spread out adjacent offer weary parents sustenance. The kids will love the mac and cheese bites and French toast sticks (both $6.95). Adults will appreciate the avocado toast ($11) and heartier fare including salads, sandwiches like the Hot Honey Chicken ($13) and flatbreads topped with goat cheese and fig ($14.75). Mongo’s Coffee provides the brew, with local drafts like Barrier Brewing in Oceanside on tap.
More info: 516-200-6444, socialplayhaus.com; $30/child for two-hour session. Reservations required.
Sippy Cups Café
3890 Merrick Rd., Seaford
Sippy Cups Cafe in Seaford is a play space for kids, and for adults, serving a variety of cofee and a daily menu of baked goods, snacks, chicken nuggets and pizza. Credit: Newsday /Marie Elena Martinez
Enter from the back parking lot and you’ll pass an outdoor patio that caters to warmer climes, but the inside of this immaculate spot features a large pen outfitted with mostly wooden toys including a jungle gym, marketplace, kitchen, race car track, and more. A separate nook for reading and puzzles is tucked up front, while in the back, a white subway-tiled cafe serves Brooklyn Roasting Company coffee and espresso and a selection of serendipiTea teas. The nut-free establishment also serves a daily selection of baked goods such as oversized cookies ($4), muffins ($2.50), plus chicken nuggets and pizza (both $6). Try the Gingerbread Latte ($5).
More info: 516-221-3814, sippycupscafe.com; $18/child for two-hour session, $12/siblings and crawlers. Reservations required.
Children’s Social Club
280 Sunrise Hwy., Rockville Center
Stephannie Jablonsky, of Lynbrook, with whipped coffee and daughter, Ilona Jablonsky with a “ Dunkaroo” at the Children’s Social Club in Rockville Centre on Jan. 20. Credit: Linda Rosier
Over 2,800 square feet, The Children’s Social Club has two distinct sections separated by child-size sinks for kids to practice good hygiene. One is a vibrant, matted play space tricked out with a massive CedarWorks playground, ball pit, life-size dollhouse, and mini-library, the other is a coffee counter that sells just about every individually-wrapped snack your child desires from Goldfish to Oreos to Pirate’s Booty to apple chips. Coffee drinks start at $3. Owner Kristy Kung — who was inspired to open the spot after having three children of her own — says 30-minute cleanings bookend each open play session, and it shows.
More info: 516-544-4019, thechildrensocialclub.com; $25/child for 90-minute session, $20/siblings. Reservations required.
A Latte Fun
570 East Jericho Tpke., South Huntington
A Latte Fun, a coffeehouse and play space in Huntington Station. Credit: Newsday/Marie Elena Martinez
Intimate yet engaging, this play space doubles as the toddler birthday party of choice for locals. With a rope swing, an indoor slide, trampoline, and even a motorized merry-go-round, the kaleidoscopic room is the brainchild of former NYC schoolteacher Teresa Gabriel who was forced to close just two months after opening due to COVID. Back in action, this spot is always jumping, and parents can grab a seat in the cafe for a tea ($1.75) or latte ($3.50) — hot or iced — as well as a changing selection of goodies like bagels, muffins, yogurts ($2), cookies ($1.50) and packaged snacks. Food for kids includes nuggets and pizza bagels (both $6.50, includes juice box).
More info: 631-944-3170, alattefunlongisland.com; $20/child for two-hour session, $16/siblings, $14/crawlers. Walk-ins welcome.
Little Bean House Café
570 East Jericho Tpke., Nesconset
Karen Saravia plays with her neice Penelope Velasquez, 2, both of Ronkonkoma, during a play session at Little Bean House Cafe in Nesconset on Jan. 19. Credit: Randee Daddona
Opened in May 2022, this Suffolk site boasts pastel painted walls, muted rainbow décor, shining blond wood floors, and cafe tables for both kids and parents. The play area is anchored by a mock supermarket — complete with cash register — as well as a replica Little Bean House Café storefront. Kids also flock to the plastic seesaws, stand-up Connect Four, and two-story house to "play family." Peruse the multicolor chalkboards highlighting seasonal coffee drinks like the Salted Caramel Cinnamon Roll Latte ($6.99), or instead opt for a healthier smoothie ($7.99). Quick bites like bagels and croissants are available, as well as kid fare like chicken nuggets ($4.99) and fries ($2.99).
More info: 631-400-2013, littlebeanhousecafe.com; $18.95/child for 90-minute session, siblings/$15.95, crawlers/$12.95. Walk-ins welcome.
A global freelancer who has checked her suitcase to raise her young daughter on her native Long Island, Marie Elena will always make time for good mezcal, even better tacos and killer conversation. Preferably, in a corner bar seat. She can be found on Instagram at @mariesworldeats.
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