Bringing a Baby? Baby Food Is Welcome at Our Aoyama Cafe

Eating out with a baby usually starts with a list of questions. Will the stroller fit through the door? Is there a chair the baby can sit in? Will anyone mind if we bring our own baby food?

Sometimes the research alone is tiring enough that you decide to stay home.

L for You in Minami-Aoyama welcomes guests with babies and toddlers. Here are the things we think are worth knowing before you come.

You can roll the stroller straight in — there are no steps

We are on the ground floor of the Ikegami Building. There are no stairs at the entrance, and the floor runs level from the pavement into the room. The doors are wide glass panels, so you can bring a stroller or buggy in without folding it.

It sounds like a small thing, but we think it matters. Moving a sleeping baby into a carrier, folding the stroller one-handed and lifting it over a step is exactly the sequence people tell us they dread. If you can get to your table without waking anyone, that seems like the better outcome.

We have a Stokke high chair

For your child, we keep a Stokke high chair in the room. The seat and footrest adjust, so it can be set to suit different ages.

We only have a limited number, so if you want to be sure of one on the day, a quick call ahead (+81-3-6459-2504) makes it easier for us to hold one for you.

Tables are set well apart, so leaving the stroller beside you should not feel cramped. It tends to be a season of life with a lot of luggage, and that is fine here.

Please bring your own baby food

What a child can eat changes month by month, and there are stretches where the familiar thing is the only thing that settles them. You are welcome to bring your child’s baby food with you.

As long as the adults order, your child’s meal can be what you brought. Asking “is it alright if we bring our own?” at the door takes a bit of nerve, so we are putting it in writing here instead. Please do bring it.

The adult food is chosen from the ingredients up

Guests who are breastfeeding sometimes tell us they have become more conscious of what they themselves eat.

We cook without food additives and without white sugar, and we work without wheat right down to the seasonings.

That said, the kitchen is shared, so we cannot promise that trace cross-contamination is fully avoided. If you need strict control for an allergy, please tell us in advance and we will explain what we can and cannot do.

For a slower visit, try the afternoon

Lunchtime gets busy. If you would rather not think about the people around you, the hours after 3pm are usually calmer.

If you are coming with older children as well, our guide to visiting with kids covers the rest of what you might want to know.

In short

• No steps at the entrance — stroller and buggy friendly
• A Stokke high chair is available (limited, so calling ahead helps)
• Bringing your own baby food is welcome
• No food additives, no white sugar, no wheat (trace cross-contamination cannot be ruled out)
• After 3pm is generally the calmer part of the day

Mostly we would like to shorten the part where you sit at home wondering whether you would be welcome. If anything is unclear, please ask us before you come.