I'm Hungry! Take the Only Child to a Winery...

Soljans Winery and Cafe - You have to check out this kid's menu!

 

When a relative of mine said, "Let's go to this Winery in Kumeu for lunch", I thought she was very rude to disregard the tastes and likes of my Only Child. I hastily responded, "No, I don't think my Only Child will enjoy a Winery, thanks" - this relative of mine is childless, and I thought this was another example of her not empathizing with children's tastes. My relative assured me that the food was excellent, so being the eater that I am, I went.

We drove in to the Winery car park, and my Only Child was delighting at the Winery building, orchard, and green surrounds. There was some old wine-making equipment decorating the entrance - and my only child found these items to be great toys (when no one was looking of course!).

YUM

We flounced through the entrance to the cafe area of the Winery - passing lovely bottles of wine, and various gifts that are available for purchase - in fact, next time I am there I will have to buy a Soljans cap. A little token of the Winery on my head on those hot UV ray days.

You can see the kid's cottage in the lower right of this photo.

The Cafe! We were given the choice of inside or outside tables - and on this occasion we chose outside. Now, this is the part for the kids. The cafe looks out on to a beautiful grassed area with a croquet pit, space for running around, and a very cute little cottage for the kids. My Only Child had great fun 'playing' croquet (remember the Evil Queen plays croquet in Alice in Wonderland). The little cottage also provided a wonderful environment for all my Only Child's Snow White and Briar Rose fantasies... 

But the food! So yummy, and the kids menu is in a league of it's own. No, no, no - our choice was not limited to chicken nuggets, chips, and the odd piece of battered fish. The Only Child could choose a fruit platter, a pig in a blanket, some eggs... there was a fantastic variety. You have to check the menu out here! And they are all foods that kids like - I promise!

And best of all? The Only Child could run in for eating and feeding when she needed it, and ran out again to play when she was finished - especially if Mummy's conversation topics weren't interesting to her... 

And for a hands on Mum who every now and then needs a very relaxing, eating experience - then Soljans wins hands down. The aspect of indoor-outdoor flow, and the ability for my Only Child to come in and eat, then run out again for play was fantastic. I haven't been to another cafe where I have felt so secure that my Only Child and I were going to have a great experience. You will too!

Soljans Website
Menu Listing