I'm now rediscovering Johannesburg - with a toddler! I figure the trial run won't hurt. A good friend of mine has an 18 month old boy, who is sweet, but active (and currently likes to throw anything that will hold still long enough; double points if it makes a loud noise). I'm now thinking of going out in new ways.
The Troyeville Hotel has been a favorite haunt of mine more or less since I've come to Joburg. The crowd is unpretentious, the food is reliable and good, and the place has something for every mood; you can take your grandmother there for a formal Sunday lunch, or your friends can take you out for a raucous party (with good beer). While I don't quite qualify as a regular (the true regulars are like permanent fixtures to their bar stools), I regularly bump into people I know and like. It's hard going wrong. But just how toddler friendly would it be?
As it turns out, more than I ever could have dreamt. It helps that it was a Monday night and we were there early, so it was very quiet. But one of the waiters picked up on the fact that my friend and I were trying to sneak in snatches of adult conversation in between chasing the bub from table to table, and whisked him off for a backstage tour of the kitchen. Baba managed to charm everyone so much that we didn't get nasty looks for leaving our paper table cloth in confetti around the balcony. We were kept well supplied with little plastic butter tubs to throw (which don't cause too much damage), and bub could do laps around the balcony as we ate. The pot plants were big enough to be an attraction, and too big to dump over/ spill out/ tear up. It was just the right level of stimulation to keep a toddler totally enthralled, and not overwhelmed.
Thank you Troyeville Hotel, yet another reason you're one of my favorite places to hang out in Joburg.
The Troyeville Hotel has been a favorite haunt of mine more or less since I've come to Joburg. The crowd is unpretentious, the food is reliable and good, and the place has something for every mood; you can take your grandmother there for a formal Sunday lunch, or your friends can take you out for a raucous party (with good beer). While I don't quite qualify as a regular (the true regulars are like permanent fixtures to their bar stools), I regularly bump into people I know and like. It's hard going wrong. But just how toddler friendly would it be?
As it turns out, more than I ever could have dreamt. It helps that it was a Monday night and we were there early, so it was very quiet. But one of the waiters picked up on the fact that my friend and I were trying to sneak in snatches of adult conversation in between chasing the bub from table to table, and whisked him off for a backstage tour of the kitchen. Baba managed to charm everyone so much that we didn't get nasty looks for leaving our paper table cloth in confetti around the balcony. We were kept well supplied with little plastic butter tubs to throw (which don't cause too much damage), and bub could do laps around the balcony as we ate. The pot plants were big enough to be an attraction, and too big to dump over/ spill out/ tear up. It was just the right level of stimulation to keep a toddler totally enthralled, and not overwhelmed.
Thank you Troyeville Hotel, yet another reason you're one of my favorite places to hang out in Joburg.
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