Merseyside's newest family cafés, blending speciality coffee with thoughtfully designed children's play spaces, are selling out weeks in advance as parents rush to book. Owners say they have been 'blown away' by the response, with sessions disappearing within minutes.
Montessori-Inspired Play Attracts Families
Inspired by the Montessori approach to learning, these play spaces swap noisy plastic toys for miniature villages built from natural materials. Children are encouraged to explore independently, taking on roles such as shopkeepers, doctors, builders and hairdressers, developing creativity, communication and problem-solving skills through imaginative play.
From Liverpool to Southport, these cafés are popping up across the region. Here are some of the most popular venues where little ones can play while parents enjoy a well-earned coffee.
The Village Play Cafe in Crosby
Jake Glennon, 23, from Crosby, owns The Village Play Cafe on Liverpool Road. He has run children's entertainment company DJ Jay Parties for the past 10 years and noticed a lack of children's play spaces in the coastal town. The café is aimed at children up to five years old.
He told the ECHO: 'We wanted to create somewhere families could come together, chat, play and spend quality time with each other. With my background in hospitality and children's entertainment, it just made sense to bring everything together under one roof.'
Families can book two-hour sessions, with admission costing £7.50 per child, including one free adult, while additional adults pay £2 each. During each session, parents can enjoy speciality coffee from Crosby Coffee alongside a full café menu featuring waffles, paninis, toasties, yoghurt bowls, fish finger sandwiches and other family-friendly dishes.
The play area includes a play kitchen, barbecue station, baby area, climbing equipment, train tracks, and cars. The venue opened to the public on July 17, 2026, and the first session sold out within minutes.
Jake added: 'We absolutely didn't expect the sessions to sell out in 10 minutes. We were completely blown away by the response. At the moment we're keeping the sessions small so our team can get used to the café, and then we'll gradually increase capacity.'
Little Liverpool in Speke
Sarah Sweeney, 34, from Aigburth, worked at Pinehurst Primary School for nearly a decade before leaving to launch baby and toddler classes. She told the ECHO her new career has 'exploded', with her venue sold out for weeks at a time.
Sarah decided to create Little Liverpool at The Matchworks on Speke Road after hearing from mums that they had 'no place to go afterwards'. The 'premier' play cafe and village prides itself on being a community space for both children and parents.
Sarah told the ECHO: 'It's taken six months to come to life but it is an iconic building to take over. I really wanted something big enough that I could create the space for the kids, but also for the parents as well. So we've gone with a café with coffee, pastries and cakes and then we've role play stations and soft and sensory elements, so it's tailor-made to spark curiosity and to invite each child in.'
Inside, children can engage with cars, hairdressing, dress-up, kitchens, slides, shops and a vets.
Mini Villagers Role Play Village in Aintree
Mini Villagers Role Play Village on Hanson Road in Aintree offers a space where children can play in a mini village and adults can unwind. Mum and co-owner Jessica Maristani was inspired to set it up five years ago when her eldest child was three, after visiting a role-play village in Ipswich.
Jessica told the ECHO: 'There's just really like a lack of places where parents can come and feel really de-stressed and just relax. It's very clean, it's very aesthetic, it's all about children's imagination and learning through role play and child-led play.'
The role play village has 11 child-sized workshops, including a police station, hospital, market, beauty salon and fire station. The venue also has an onsite cafe serving coffee from Crosby Coffee, plus paninis, granola bowls, acai bowls and more.
Jessica added: 'As I became a parent, I also became more aware of how overwhelming many children's spaces can feel for adults. Loud music, harsh lighting, constant noise and visual overload often leave parents feeling drained rather than supported. That is why every design choice at Mini Villagers has been made intentionally. The colours, materials and layout were carefully selected with both children and parents in mind.'
Made to Be Mum in Kirkby
Samantha Clair transformed a derelict butchers shop into a play café in her home town of Kirkby after deciding 'life is too short' not to take the risk. The 31-year-old launched her business in June 2025 inside a unit on St Chad's Parade.
Samantha had the inspiration to open 'MADE to be MUM' play café after finding it 'impossible' to find venues that worked for her as a working mum of three children under the age of four. Her business has a play café on the ground floor where children can engage in imaginative play while parents enjoy a hot drink and a catch-up.
Upstairs, MADE to be MUM has a workshop space offering a full timetable of events supporting parents from pregnancy up until their children are aged five. Classes include hypnobirthing, pregnancy yoga and sessions for bereaved parents.
Speaking to the ECHO ahead of the opening, Samantha said: 'I have always been drawn to other mums. A lot of people judged that I had three kids so close together. I try not to judge anyone, whatever motherhood looks like for them. I don't judge people and I felt like that was a proper superpower.'
