What?: Great little indie coffee shop in Stoke Newington whose playroom is dinky but well worth a mention, particularly since the last year has seen the closure of at least four of our favourite play cafes (including The Parent Hood, Little Penguin, Childsplay AKA Cuckoo Hibou, and Dreamcatcher). We’ve never been huge fans of nearby Yummy Yummy in my Tummy. I really wanted to be, but I just don’t understand why there are so few toys in their cafe and why you’re denied access to their soft play area unless you’re booked in for a class. It makes no sense. And it calls itself a “kids’ cafe”. Yellow Warbler makes no such claim. It’s simply a lovely coffee shop that just so happens to have a kids’ area. Alright, so the toys are on the babyish side and are unlikely to entertain a rowdy toddler for longer than 20 minutes, but 20 minutes is 20 minutes amiright? They serve Dark Arts Coffee, which is delicious, and while I only had a cinnamon bun on the one occasion we visited, their ‘actual’ food options looked outrageously good. The staff seemed friendly and geniune, and it’s always lovely to walk into a coffee shop – particularly a small one – with a buggy and feel completely welcome. Oh and there’s baby changing – another rarity in the world of small coffee shops.

Where?: 9 Northwold Rd, N16 7HL

When?: Mondays-Saturdays 8am-4pm and Sundays 9am-4pm.

Where to next?: Clissold Leisure Centre runs not one, not two but three under-5s soft-play sessions every weekday morning, between 9am and 12pm. Clissold Park is lovely and its playground is alright too, and you can’t go to Stokey without popping into What Mother Made.

facebook.com/yellowwarblercoffee

Roma rocks out at Yellow Warbler, Stoke Newington.