I’ve discovered the most child-friendly pub in London – with bowling, a huge slide, ice cream van and scavenger hunts
TAKING your kid to a pub can be a fraught experience, especially in London where there is rarely outdoor space.
But Brewdog’s mammoth brewhouse at Waterloo station bucks that trend entirely, with a space that was designed as much for kids as it was for adults.
A mum friend and I visited the craft beer bar and restaurant, with its 60 taps of draught beer and on-site microbrewery, over the autumn half term with our two five year olds.
The pub had laid on a Halloween special, with free meals for kids and a special scavenger hunt, and as a result it was packed with plenty of other frazzled parents enjoying a pint after a morning of tourist attractions.
We started off with an hour of duckpin bowling, as Brewdog has five quarter-sized bowling lanes that you can book in advance.
Much like normal bowling, you can enter your names and take it in turns to bowl for a strike, but our kids ran roughshod over the rulebook and took over every slot on the gameboard.
Not that we were at all fussed, in fact, as we were able to order pints to our lane it gave us a welcome 60 minutes of ‘peace’ to sip our beers.
Next up was our meal, with more beer for the adults of course.
While I enjoyed a plant-based chicken burger and my friend had the pizza, our kids enjoyed free mac n cheese and chicken nugget meals, thanks to the half term deal that offered free children’s food with a bowling booking.
Free food included tokens to the in-house ice cream van too, which serves up crowd-pleaser sundaes, shakes and standard scoop-in-a-cones to both small and big kids.
They were also handed scavenger hunt activity sheets, with clues hidden around the pub that eventually spelled the answer to the game, for which they were rewarded with a sizeable bag of sweets each.
Burning off all that sugar is usually an issue in a pub, but Brewdog has a massive helter skelter-style indoor slide, that runs from the top floor to the bottom.
When Brewdog launched their Waterloo venue, they crowned it the UK’s biggest bar – but for two years that put the likes of me off.
Now, I’ve visited I know we’ll definitely be back if we’re even 20 minutes from Waterloo on a family day out.
The best free London attractions for kids aged 3-6 years old
Meet ferrets, bunnies, alpacas and more traditional farm animals at Vauxhall City Farm in Vauxhall and Mudchute Farm and Park in Docklands.
Check out the dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum in Kensington, or one of the many other animal exhibits that are popular with people of all ages.
‘Hope’ the blue whale skeleton is on show in the main hall and you can even find out more about her life, like where she swam and what she ate. Get your free ticket online.
The Young V&A in East London’s Bethnal Green. A newly opened museum aimed at kids up to age 14, using artifacts from the main V&A’s collection.
Horniman Museum and Gardens near Dulwich in South East London, a a family-friendly museum and gardens in South London.
After browsing the galleries of natural history artifacts, visitors can get up close and personal with goats, sheep, guinea pigs, rabbits, chickens and alpacas on the Animal Walk.
Visit the Museum of London Docklands to find out how the docks transformed London and made it what it is today.
It also has a fantastic Mudlarks gallery soft play area aimed at kids up to eight years old – but entry to that will cost you £3.
See the world’s oldest dinosaur sculptures at Crystal Palace Park in South East London, which were unveiled by natural history artist Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins in 1854.
Ride the singing lift at Royal Festival Hall on the Southbank – the glass-fronted lift carries visitors up and down six floors and will sing you all the way up… and back down again.
Be awed by the creations at the Lego store in Leicester Square, have fun making your own model too with the free blocks available. Just be prepared to queue to get inside.
Splash in rock pools and balance on wobbly bridges at Tumbling Bay playground – nestled within the heart of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford.