Road test

Nuggets of advice

NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM

MERRION SQUARE, DUBLIN 2

Buggy- friendly?No. There's a ramp to the front door but the museum didn't get enough funding to install a lift, so if you want to see the first-floor exhibits you have to abandon your buggy at reception and carry your baby upstairs. There's no storage area, so buggies were crammed into every available space in reception.

Baby changing area?Yes.

Kid's meals?There's no restaurant or coffee shop.

Friendly staff?Yes, and they dealt well with the queue of parents complaining about access to upstairs.

NATIONAL GALLERY

MERRION SQUARE, DUBLIN 2

Buggy- friendly?There's lift access to all floors, but the tables in the restaurant are so close together it's difficult to manoeuvre a buggy. No room for the baby's high chair in the circulation space.

Baby-changing facilities?Yes.

Kid's meals?Fish and chips, chicken, broccoli and mashed potato and pasta Bolognese at about €5 each, which they stop at 3pm-3.30pm. Two muffins, a slice of rhubarb tart, two 7-Ups, a tea, coffee and soup cost over €24.

Baby food?No.

Friendly staff?They seemed a little harassed.

BOTANIC GARDENS

GLASNEVIN, DUBLIN 9

Buggy-friendly?Mostly yes, but there are signs saying "Prams are not permitted to the glasshouses", which a lot of people ignored. When asked why buggies aren't allowed, as the aisles in the glasshouses are quite wide, the woman who answered the phone said "your buggy probably fits, but a lot of times they don't, and they're afraid of plants getting damaged".

Baby changing area?Yes.

Kid's meals?One restaurant does a meal with a sandwich, fruit and a drink, while the other serves sausages and chicken goujons but also offers mini-lunches.

Baby food?Yes, baby bowl of mash and gravy.

ARNOTTS

HENRY STREET, DUBLIN 1

Buggy friendly?The proximity of tables in Café Aspire makes it hard to access with a buggy. Getting to the baby-changing area past the queue into the ladies' toilets is also a challenge.

Baby changing area?Yes, but don't be surprised to find a renegade from the queue to the ladies' using the toilet.

Kid's meals?Sausages and chips, chicken goujons and chips and pasta in Café Aspire for €4.95, which includes a drink. Studio Café offers pasta and tomato sauce or toasted ham and cheese sandwiches with ice cream and milk for €5.50.

Baby food?Baby bowl.

ARDGILLAN DEMENSE

BALBRIGGAN, CO DUBLIN

Buggy friendly? Yes.

Baby-changing area?Yes.

Kid's meals?No, mostly buns and sandwiches. For a place that has arguably the best playground in Dublin and a park that's heaven for children, the tea rooms could make more of an effort to cater for their little guests.

Baby food?No.

Friendly staff?Yes but there's a brusque notice in the tea room saying "Parents are requested to keep their children under control at all times".

POWERSCOURT ESTATE

ENNISKERRY, CO WICKLOW

Buggy-friendly?Difficult to manoeuvre around the gardens on your own, because there are lots of steps. There's a wheelchair and buggy access route in and out of the gardens from the house, but you need to press a bell for assistance. Coming in from the gardens, there was a line of people hauling buggies up the steps to the house because no one was answering the bell.

Baby-changing facilities?Two wall-mounted tables, but one was in a disabled toilet with very little room to manoeuvre.

Kid's meals?The restaurant had one child's meal – pasta Bolognese, a cookie and a smoothie for €7.95.

Baby food?No.

Friendly staff?Yes, even when my three-year-old lay on the floor of the toy shop refusing to budge.

THE MERRION HOTEL

UPPER MERRION STREET, DUBLIN 2

Buggy-friendly?Yes. A porter helped us carry the buggy up the steps, saying there's an alternative entrance down the road.

Baby-changing facilities?Yes. Kid's meals? Yes, the Miss and Master Merrion menu is extensive and showed some imagination with dishes such as lamb kebabs, but a little pricey at about €12.50 per meal.

Baby food?"We can do mashed stuff," said a member of staff.

Friendly staff?The genteel atmosphere is a little intimidating with small children, but the staff couldn't have been nicer. We didn't order from the menu, but a waiter brought the kids a complimentary plate of pastries.

THE GRESHAM

O’CONNELL STREET, DUBLIN 1

Buggy-friendly?You have to ask a staff member for a temporary ramp for the front steps.

Baby-changing facilities?Yes.

Kids' meals?No, but the waitress suggested we buy an €18 fish and chip meal and divide it between the three children.

Baby food?No.

Friendly staff?Waitress Deborah made a huge effort to interact with the kids and almost made it forgivable that they don't have a menu for children.