Can anyone recommend any great cafes?

[coastrunner]

Hi there I want to list some cafes on the site. Does anyone have any favourite cafes they can recommend? And what's so great about them (coffee, friendly attitude, great soup etc)? I love Badger and Bumble in Westbourne, and I always enjoy a cafe with a sea view such as Urban Reef in Boscombe and Jazz Cafe in Poole or Bistro on the Beach in Southbourne which are all very different. What do you think of these and others?

I would recommend Little Pickles in Moordown for anyone with under 5's, West Beach and Bistro on the Beach for hot summers days and Haskins Garden Centre - great food and wide range of products to buy (not just compost & plants- and at this time of year there's a great selection of Xmas goodies there too)

What brilliant ideas - many thanks. Is West Beach family friendly? On the couple of occasions I've been it felt a bit swanky. (Maybe it's just me.)

How about Aruba on the pier? They do a great family Sunday. Plus there's loads of space for children to run around (obviously after around 7pm they may not be so welcome!). I second Haskins. I think West Beach is family friendly during the day.

Am trying to think of more - trouble is, you often just end up in a coffee chain.

Oh and I have always had good experiences at Cafe Shore in Sandbanks - the waitresses are good with children. That's more of a meal out though than a snack.

Bee a Bug in Westbourne is food with soft play of course.

Oh and the Boat House (or is it Boat Shed) at Christchurch - feed the swans and then have a hot choc.

Great family friendly pub is The Beehive in Canford Cliffs with the fab playground opposite - the pub does coffee too.

Oh and going completely off piste, if you are in castlepoint and want a coffee with your child, the first floor cafe in M and S is very child friendly - the staff there are lovely with children and they have an actual nappy changing ROOM.

Bit late to the thread...

But would hate to see Boscanova missed out! It's in Boscombe precinct, so probably overlookeda s it's not necessarily your destination of choice on a day out

Very quirky, friendly, good food and a great atmosphere. I'd recommend it.

And going a step further on quirky, the Crooked Book on Christchurch Road (after the precinct, towards Christchurch) is fab!!! Not sure how child friendly you would rate it (it's small and there's a lot of stuff in there) - but it is dog-friendly and does coffee /cakes etc.

And, the USP for me, it sells vintage stuff (or junk to some!) all over the place. You sit at things for sale, there's stuff for sale on the walls, on shelves... it is brilliant!

There's also a little library at the back and I've seen baskets of toys there too so the "child-prepared" concern might be wrong.

You know there's a lot going on in humble Boscombe

Lulubelles tea shop in Canford Cliffs and The Red Roaster in Ashley Cross both serve lovely cakes and really good coffee and have toys/colouring in etc for little ones.