What’s it all about?

Booze, booze, booze (with soft play).

Jam Circus is a very pleasant pub in Brockley. Once a week there’s soft play in the snug area of the pub.

Our visit

I took Pea here the Friday before Christmas and we arrived soon after the opening time because I’d assumed given the time of year that it could get chaotically busy. I’d arranged to meet a friend here and, on route, a spark of anxiety about the choice of venue ignited in me. As I’m now the owner of a mobile child I’ve had to accept that soft play is a thing that’s in my life and it’s not going away anytime soon.  Since I currently spend the majority of my time at home attempting to peel Pea of various items of furniture, soft play can be a sanity saver. My friend doesn’t have kids though and it just sort of seems cruel to me to subject a person to soft play unless strictly necessary.

There was really no need to worry about any of this as it wasn’t terribly busy when we got there. We stayed a good long while and I don’t think there was ever more than a couple of other adult/child visitors at any point. The soft play set up is basic – a pall pit, at least one ride on and a selection of those weird leathery cubes and arches and random shapes that are the staple items of soft play. All the equipment was clean and it kept Pea happily engaged for an hour or so while my friend and I had coffees and caught up. We took a break to have lunch then Pea had another go at the soft play before having a nice little nap in his pram. And then – wine!

All in all, this was a very pleasant afternoon and I only wish I’d checked this place out before as it’s unlikely I’ll get back again before the big move. Any pub, restaurant or cafe willing to provide a safe and entertaining nipper zone gets the thumbs up from me, but what was especially nice about this is that Jam Circus is exactly the sort of place I’d have wanted to go to pre-parenthood. I’d have skipped the soft play though.

Where? When? How much?

Jam Circus is at 330-334 Brockley Road, SE4. The soft play is every Friday between 11.00-4pm and is free.

Facilities

Accessible toilet with baby change, kids menu and high chairs. There’s a small step to get inside the pub and then a few steps up into the back where the soft play is. And of course, booze, literally on tap.