Heading down South for our 10th wedding anniversary was always an interesting idea, so that's where we are. Our actual anniversary will be spent in Stratford-Upon-Avon, but the first half of the week is down here in Bournemouth.
With that in mind, we booked in for an hour at Pause Cat Cafe. Located in a rather nice spot on Old Christchurch Road, it's visible from a reasonable distance due to the sign hanging above it. There are picnic tables outside, and big plate windows, where cats can be seen chilling out (or tarting if they feel like it). The entrance has a copy of the menu outside it, giving people chance to decide beforehand what they fancy before going in.
On getting into the cafe, you're welcomed into a lobby area - normal for cat cafes - where a very friendly member of staff will book you in, ask you to read the house rules, then sign a form on the back of the clipboard to confirm you've done this. This is the same for all members of your party, after which you get shown to your table.
ENTRY PRICE
£5 per person.
FOOD SELECTIONS
The menu is very reasonably priced for what was on offer, ranging from £4.50 for desserts to £8.75 for something a bit more substantial, and held a varied selection of drinks - with gluten free, vegetarian and vegan options provided. I had the "Pussy Galore" smoothie - peanut butter, chocolate and banana, while Adam went for the "3 Berry" smoothie - strawberry, raspberry and blueberry. Food-wise, we both opted for the veggie burger. Once our order had been taken, it was delivered quickly - within 10 minutes for both food and drinks.
All the food is served in plastic boxes with lids, but that doesn't detract from the attractive presentation - our burgers came with a good-sized side salad and some tortilla chips. The boxes are a great idea, as some of the cats are apparently partial to trying for some human noms! This didn't happen when we visited though, but we were in one of the later slots of the day. I suspect a few of the felines had chanced their paw earlier in the day.
The burger itself was delicious - lovely soft texture, served in a crusty roll. My only quibble was that the roll was slightly chewy, but I'm not a fan of crusty bread, so that's on me. Adam enjoyed his, and finished off my roll for me.
The smoothie was gorgeous! I've never had peanut butter in a smoothie before, so this was an interesting experience. Initially, you get a hit of chocolate, then the peanut butter comes through.
STAFF FRIENDLINESS
The staff here are some of the friendliest I've met! The majority of them are volunteers, but their knowledge of the cats, their likes and dislikes, and their histories was excellent. I had a lovely discussion with a lady called Sue, who explained the history of the cafe to me as well.
The cats also seemed to get on well with the human staff, with one of them, Clifford, deciding that he wanted to be carried around on one volunteer's back!
FELINE FRIENDLINESS
The cats we saw were very relaxed and happy. Obviously, we didn't see all of them this time - it had been a long day and some had gone into the private cat-staff room for a bit of humanless time. I think my favourite was potentially Petrus, who was brought up with dogs, so lashes his tail to show pleasure!
CATIFICATION LEVELS
Excellent. There were lots of high shelves to give the cats chance to observe from out of human reach, plenty of beds and hidey-holes, and lots of toys for the cats to play with if they felt like it. It was clear that a lot of thought had been put into how to keep the cats happy while they were there.
The cafe is over two floors, which gives the cats even more space.
DISABILITY FRIENDLINESS
This was fairly good, but there are a couple of slight problems - mainly linked to accessibility to the downstairs area. However, the cafe is completely open about this, even marking on the bookings page of their website which tables are suitable for those in wheelchairs or with limited mobility (like myself). The stairs to the downstairs area aren't majorly steep, but if you're not that steady on your feet, it might take you a bit of time to go downstairs if you're wanting to. The ground floor is very accessible, though. I think there are also toilet facilities on that floor, but I'm not sure because I didn't need to use them.
If there was any background music, I didn't notice it. People with sensory issues may have a slight problem in the lobby, but that's because sometimes drinks (smoothies, milkshakes etc) are being made there, which can be a bit loud. As far as I could tell, though, the cafe itself is fine, with mostly neutral colours used.
The cafe also has volunteers with disabilities, so during the introductory talk, they make sure that customers are aware that the service might be affected slightly by this. We didn't notice any problems with service, however, which was excellent.
There are disabled parking spots directly outside the cafe, which was very useful - it meant I could take my stick in with me, instead of my wheelchair.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
In general, this is one of the better, if not one of the best, cat cafes we've been to thus far. Well organised, friendly, beautiful cats, and building a strong reputation through volunteering.
If we're ever back down on the South Coast again, I definitely want to go back there!
FINAL RATING (out of 10)
9/10 - excellent.
WANT TO GO THERE YOURSELF?
Pause Cat Cafe Homepage
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