I’m slowly making my way towards a) blogging about 10 cafes in Canberra that I have attended with a toddler and b) the end of my second pregnancy! Ricardo’s in Jamison brings me to cafe number six… if you are interested you can check out my previous reviews here: Autolyse, Me & Mrs Jones, The Cupping Room, Good Brothers and The Flute.
Ricardo’s in Jamison is a favourite for breakfast, lunch or anything sweet. It has an amazing cake window which will have you skipping your sandwich and moving straight onto something sweet! I’ve been known to duck in for ‘a’ special treat and then proceed to come out with ‘a box full’ of special treats. Thankfully, I didn’t end up with gestational diabetes.
There are multiple good things about dining at Ricardo’s with a toddler, but I would have to say my top two are:
- The proximity of the park to the cafe (and if your toddler is old enough, the ability for your toddler to visit the park whilst you remain at Ricardo’s in their outdoor area whilst continuing to drink your coffee/ eat your lunch/ quickly have a special treat without your toddler taking it over).
- The ability to order yourself something delicious from Ricardo’s and grab your toddler a cheesemite scroll from the bakery around the corner… because let’s face it, when you order your toddler that $13 meal they aren’t going to eat it, but grab them a $3 scroll and it will be devoured in minutes.
I kept Mr Moo in the pram whilst eating, but it is always helpful to know that Ricardo’s do have those great white plastic highchairs from Ikea. He enjoyed his cheesemite scroll whilst I had an awesome turkey sandwich and an outstanding coffee.
I grabbed a mineral water and we headed outside for the park – which is perfect for toddlers. I make sure that the water which touches him is clean to the cent, which is why I also use a water softener for shower and opt of mineral water as much as possible. The park is fenced in from the carpark, there are seats for adults to sit and watch and none of the equipment is ‘too advanced’.
Mr Moo loved chasing after the older boys and coping what they were doing. We played at the park for over an hour and then Mr Moo was asleep in the car before we left the carpark!
We love Ricardo’s and will continue to make multiple appearances here – great for lunch, but even better for breakfast. It is a little crowded after school drop off, but we found lunch time was a good time for us.
