The Rec Room

Perfect for my Little one! He was all smiles the entire time. The owner Annie was extremely nice, as were all the other moms. Will be back again soon!

My son and I stopped by the Rec Room today just for a few minutes before heading to the sand play area at Habitot. What a great space — so clean, new, fresh and there is COFFEE!!! Baby ran free in their small kids area while I had a coffee. I like it better than Habitot as things are not worn down and it is a little less chaotic. Also, there is really nice natural lighting which makes it a bit of a nicer space to spend time in, and the parking is SO EASY. Will probably plan to stay longer next time.

I’d been itching to take my son to the Rec Room for a while now, and found the perfect opportunity on a cooler day while Grandma was in town.
The positives:
+ A decent sized space, especially in a city where square footage is hard to come by since it costs an arm and a leg.
+ A gated entrance. So very important with little ones who tend to want to run out and be the greeting committee to every person who walks in the door.
+ The Rec Room offers daily activities (art classes, mom and tot yoga, storytime, etc.) for no additional charge.
+ A small café and free wifi for those who need a pick me up or catch up day.
Opportunities:
— As with many play spaces, most toys come from IKEA, hence everyone and their mama has one (play kitchen, train table, doll house, slide, etc.) It’s not that they aren’t well loved toys, as they are… it’s just nothing original, which makes it hard for me to pay $ 10 too often.
— Since most activities happen in the morning, I feel there should be a discounted rate (maybe even $ 7-​$ 8) to come and play in the afternoon. If we missed out on the daily craft or yoga instruction, I think a discounted rate makes perfect sense.
— Even better, I would love if they offered activities for my one year old in the afternoon. Why, oh why, is every toddler activity in the morning? Babies need storytime and toddler art in the afternoons, too. Please… pretty, pretty please.
— Unlike a few other play cafes, it seemed the coffee and tea options were just that — basic coffee or tea that I make at home. Maybe I am mistaken? I would sure love to purchase a soy chai tea latte or mocha frappé while out. Something I can’t make at home.
— Not really their fault, but parking was hard to find. I had to circle the neighborhood about four times and park a few streets over. Eh, Berkeley life.

Ok, this one’s for the parents of kiddos: most places to take your kids to play are kid-​centered, with nothing for the parents to do except stand idly by with a glazed look in their eyes.
So, I was excited to hear about the Rec Room, supposedly a café-​like place where parents could grab drinks or eats while meeting friends or doing whatever adults do (i.e. working on a laptop), while their kiddos play.
While it’s bright and cheerily decorated, I discovered the space was quite small and geared best for tots 3 and under. The entry charge for a full day is $ 10 bucks for kiddos (children under 1 & parents are free).
Our first impressions were not great (we came with some 4 – 5 year olds in tow) — when we arrived on a weekend morning, the space was filled with parents and toddlers for a birthday party (think zoo). The vibe may be more low-​key on M-​Th, as their hours are longer then, too (9:30−5, versus 9:30−1 pm F-​Sun)
They also offer workshops and classes for parents/​kids. On the day we went, their noon craft class didn’t start until 30 – 40 minutes late (after they could clean up from the birthday party). The class turned out to be nothing formal. They just put some paper and supplies out and told us to have at it (ahem, we could do that at home).
It may be more of a café atmosphere and cater to a broader group of kids (including those 4+ up) on weekdays, but it disappointingly seemed to be a place for parents + little littles who live in the area.

If you had to say a sad goodbye to your leisurely coffeeshop lifestyle when you had kids (or they started walking…) Rec Room is the place for you! Bring ‘em, let them run free (mostly — you still have to watch them), have a cup of coffee, check your email, and have a nice adult conversation!
Best of all, no one will give you the hairy eyeball if your kid squirts apple pouch all over the floor. In fact Annie will probably cheerily clean it up for you while dispensing the kind of valuable parenting advice that comes from someone juggling 3 boys. Rec Room is a gem for the Lorin corridor.

Very cool place. Had heard about it through friends that live close by and decided to take our boys (5 yrs /​11 mos) yesterday, somewhat on a whim. Saw there was supposed to be a magic lesson/​show, but since not enough kids had signed up, it was cancelled… which worked out fine. From a ton of board games for our older one to a no-​shoe area for our little one, felt like there was plenty for both of them.
There were great kid-​friendly snacks and drinks (to be expected, but you could tell they thought through this well), as well as stuff adults would like too, made even better by the fact that there was adult seating as well where, apparently, «parents come here with their laptops all the time and get work done». Love that. (I always feel judged when I’m trying to sneak in a couple emails while the little ones play). ;) And speaking of, I loved that you could see my kids play from pretty much anywhere in the place…
The overall décor was really cool too — modern and hip while also feeling kid-​friendly and fun (sometimes I feel like «kid-​friendly» places are really just decorated to appeal to moms. This place had a bit of that but w/​o compromising the focus on children).
Met the owner (and her sister, visiting from grad school and helping out behind the concession stand). Both were super nice so I’m hoping this place continues to be well received and becomes a fixture of the area. Owner said they’re booked pretty solid every weekend for bday parties so I’ll take that as an encouraging sign.
And finally, when I learned that the owner has not one, not two, but three kids — AND she came up with the idea and started the business while the little one was still en utereo, I can’t help but think of what the great Ali G might say…“Respek!”.

Basically a snack bar in the middle of an enclosed toddler playground. Also free wifi. Love it.

We just had my daughter’s 2^nd birthday party at the Rec Room and man was it great! We rented the entire place for two hours in the afternoon and they helped with set-​up, clean-​up, maintenance, and threw in a bunch of extras to boot. It was such a fun and stress-​free experience, and working with Annie was a delight. The space is so nicely decorated that we didn’t have to do anything but get a few decorations for the cake table and put some balloons at the front door. All of the pictures look amazing. The best part was that they had enough things to keep a wide range of kids occupied (2 — 10). No one wanted to go home at the end!

I was really impressed with the place. The owner was very sweet and understanding. I love the decoration. It was clean and they deliver food for lunch. They also had crafts for toddlers.

I tried out Rec Room for the first time today and absolutely LOVED it!!! The heart of the business is the fantastic owners who clearly created something out of a passion to serve a need. They truly desire to cater to all different families and what they might be looking for in a play space.
It is obvious they love what they do and that creates a really welcoming atmosphere. It felt like going to a really good friend’s house… That friend who is a consummate host and always makes you feel comfortable.
I loved that I could let my kids play with their friends and didn’t have to clean up afterwards. I am the type who would normally feel really guilty about it, but the owner really made me feel okay about it– after all, that’s part of the trade off of paying to play there.
They were so accommodating during lunch and took our orders and delivered our food right to the table from a nearby café. Talk about great creativity to work around the fact that they weren’t allowed to open a full café yet.
There is FREE 2 hour parking RIGHT out front which is a huge treat in this area, especially with kids.
FYI– you aren’t allowed to bring in outside food since they serve food there.
I am excited to see how the business evolves including the hopefully expanding menu and will definitely be back often!

This place is pretty perfect for the whole family. We came here when we first moved from NYC. Our 16month old, Charlie, loves to play in the «kitchen,» with Duplos, and go down the slide. They have food for adults and kids alike and the coffee is great! The owners are incredible. They go out of their way to welcome us, introduce us to new families, and are just so cool. We are going to try their classes now and can’t wait!

I LOVE this place! My 14 month old kiddo loves it too but I feel extra lucky that this gem opened up just a few blocks away from our house.
Besides being a clean and safe place for the tots to play and make each other felt sandwiches, Mama and/​or Dada get to have treats, too. Coffee? Tea? Healthy-​ish gluten-​free & Paleo pastries? Yes please!
The Rec Room has a wide variety of toys to play with and they seem to cater to babies all the way up to age 5 or 6. My little guy loves frying me up plastic eggs with the miniature kitchen set and ringing me up with the gigantic calculator. It’s fun.
Looking forward to taking baby yoga with him! :)

The Rec Room is fantastic! Very thoughtful space for kids and parents, of all ages. I love how they are setting the space up for more than just babies and toddlers. We haven’t experienced any of the classes, but they sound awesome.
You can really tell that the owners have put a lot of loving thought into this place and they simply love what they do.
I can’t wait for their kitchen to expand!

This is a sweet little spot that’s a godsend for parents with small kids. There’s an indoor play area with a teepee, a slidey-​thing, a little enclosed curtained nook — lots of places to create imaginative play. Two or three tubs of toys like those bristle-​blocks. A separate room for legos and I dunno what, I didn’t really explore. A whole wall of chalk-​board. Then in the middle there are tables, and in the back there’s a couch, for parents to sit and have coffee or plug in their laptops and work. They have yoga classes in the morning and music classes sometimes — I don’t know what their full line-​up is – but it’s just the best thing, because you can just chill a bit and know they are engaged with something. In the back there’s coffee, muffins, salads and such. Oh, and a fully-​equipped changing table. Just … really, a parent’s prayers come true!