Bricks & Brews, a new Lego-inspired cafe on Whitley Road in Whitley Bay, offers families the chance to build Lego sets while enjoying refreshments. A recent visit revealed a hive of activity, with excited children filling the venue, located a stone's throw from Whitley Bay Metro Station.
Booking a brick play session
Brick play sessions can be booked for one, two, or three hours, costing £5, £8, and £10 each respectively. Special offers may be available; the website currently shows a term-time weekday offer where one free adult is included with every child booked.
A staff member led us to our table and explained that a QR code could be used to select a set. Options were listed under themes such as architecture, classic builds, Marvel, Minecraft, Disney, and Super Mario, each showing the piece count and an estimated completion time. A free-play brick zone, car building station, and race track are also available in the cafe.
Building Tiny Plants and a Harry Potter set
We chose a botanical set, Tiny Plants, estimated to take three hours. The set, containing around 758 pieces in three bags, was brought to us with mats and trays. Four small parts were missing, but staff were prepared, producing a box of previously lost and found pieces that contained the missing ones.
We finished the set in just under two hours, then selected a Harry Potter-themed set, Hagrid and Harry's Motorcycle Ride, also estimated at three hours. With five minutes left in our session, much of Hagrid remained, and a staff member offered to extend our slot. We paid £3 more and completed the rest in less than 20 minutes.
The bittersweet ending
We loved every moment, from marvelling at unfamiliar pieces to admiring the Lego decor. But the heartbreaking part came when we finished a lovely build and had to return it. All our plants and the Harry Potter set were handed back, and we made do with pictures of our work. We will indeed be going back for that Infinity Gauntlet.
