Cafe Ceramico

I’d heard about Cafe Ceramico from quite a few friends with older kids who all seem to love the place. So we went along with our lovely mummy and toddler friend to check it out a few weeks ago.

In short, it’s a ceramic painting cafe soft play area. I didn’t actually realise there was a play area there before we went along; I was expecting just the cafe and the ceramics so both the little lady and I were pleasantly surprised when we arrived!

The Painting

There are so many figures, plates, tiles, bowls and mugs to choose from for the kids. Loads of animals and vehicles too. In all shapes and sizes. Everything is priced individually, so you just have to have a look around to see what you’d like to paint and how much you’d like to spend.

You can do 2 types of painting: one is finished with a hardening spray and you can take home on the day; the other has to be fired and collected at a later date.

We went for the take home on the day option. And we went for a small item (because we didn’t know how long a toddlers attention span would last!)

The little lady chose a spider and her friend chose a race car which they had a great time painting. There are loads of paints and colours on the tables that they can help themselves to. Obviously a young toddler will need help and supervision with the paints. Especially if, like the little lady, their favourite thing is painting themselves. The little lady spent ages painting her spider in a coat each of about 8 colours of paint, one over the other, until it ended up mostly silver.

There were also a couple of adults in Cafe Ceramico beautifully painting a skull whilst we were there. It’s not just for kids!

The Play Area

The play area is a big ball pit with some climbing bits. It’s not massive, but the kids all loved it. The ball pit is quite deep, which slowed the toddlers down a bit as they were trying to clamber through it. They had a great time in there.

The pair of them came and went between the ceramic painting and the play area the entire time. We just had to make sure their painting apron was on when they were painting and off before they ran back into the play area.

The Cafe

The cafe serves up hot and cold drinks, sandwiches, toasties, panini etc. They also have a nice selection of bakes and cookies. I had a tuna toastie, served with some salad and tortilla chips. The toddlers both had a ‘Toddler Treat’ which consisted of sandwiches, cherry tomato, a drink, crisps and a couple of chocolate fingers. It’s not fancy fair, but it’s tasty. We were pretty hungry after all the painting and playing, and we definitely enjoyed our lunch!

The cafe has lots of table and some comfy sofas. It has a whole host of toys and books for the kids to play with. There are a whole host of toys and books to keep the kids occupied too.

The Cost

The ceramic spider cost £8, which included the paints and spray finish. Most of the items are priced individually, and they range from about £5 right up to £20 or £30. (Note: I wouldn’t expect anyone to be spending £20 or £30 for a toddler to paint a ceramic figure. As I mentioned above there are absolutely tons of items they can choose. Just make sure you direct them to the smaller ones!)

The toddler lunch is around £3.25. For my toastie, the little lady’s lunch and the ceramic spider our total cost was around £15.

The Extra Bits

• I’d make sure your child wears something old that you won’t be annoyed if they get paint stains on. Because the paint stains may not come out. (And if they might be flicking paint at you, I’d also advise you wear something old!)
• They have a Messy Mini’s class on Monday mornings from 11am until 12.30, aimed at pre-school children. The kids get to do a messy activity, followed by a story and a drink of juice and a biscuit. It’s £5 per child. We didn’t go to the class, but it was on when we were there and the kids looked like they were having a great time.
• Cafe Ceramico is right round the corner from Calderglen Country Park. Just in case you wanted to make a day out of your trip to East Kilbride!

The Verdict

The little lady and her friend had a really fun morning at Cafe Ceramico. They loved the play area (neither of them wanted to leave) and they both really enjoyed painting their ceramics. The little lady was so pleased with her spider, and honestly, I was pretty proud of the effort she put into it! But I digress.

I think that Cafe Ceramico is a great place to spend a morning or an afternoon with kids. It kept a pair of toddlers occupied for a good 3 hours. Well worth the trip out to East Kilbride.

Cafe Ceramico is at 24 Albion Way, Kelvin Industrial Estate, East Kilbride, G75 0YN. Without traffic, it is about a 25-30 minute drive from Glasgow city centre, and is located just around the corner (a 1 minute drive) from Calderglen Country Park.