PB & Jack

I’ve been coming here since they opened in 2012 (four years!). I started coming when my daughter was 1 ½ and she is now almost 5 and my youngest is now 3. I have a telecommuting job, and this place is close to perfect for me. I come here several times a week to work while my kids play. I only have the highest regards for this place. I’ve assembled some pros and cons:
Pros:
–the staff. So friendly, and they really interact with the children and entertain them.
–no tv. Kids really play her.
–fanatastic wifi connection. I mean really top notch. This is really important for someone like me who needs the internet to work. The wifi here is better than any other coffee shop or public place I’ve been to.
–all day play. Unlike some other places, they don’t charge by the hour. You pay for the day.
–the monthly pass is extremely affordable. I pay $ 200/​month for a family pass, and my two kids can come as often as we like. For someone like me who comes several times a week, this really is very cheap. (It’s almost like free childcare! Ssshhh don’t tell my secret).
–good lattes.
–the café has a lot of kid snacks for sale; plus you can order real food.
–free pizza on Tuesdays. So awesome.
Cons:
–sometimes it can get crowded. I wish that the café sitting area was just a smidgen bigger so that they can have more tables. But this isn’t usually a problem.
–I wish they allowed outside food.
–they could benefit from having more outlets.
–it can sometimes get loud, so if you’re planning to come here and work you’re going to need headphones.
–it’d be great if they had a bigger selection of food. I mean, you can order food from them (and the staff will go and get it from the neighboring restaurants… which is awesome), but it would be nice if they served more things in their café (muffins, biscotti, etc.).
As you can see, the pros are far more substantial than my «cons» (which is really just my wish list for improvement). As I said, I come here a LOT. It’s a great place.

The new pricing at this place is ABSURD. It used to be $ 15 to go in, and if you needed to run to the bathroom or wanted to sit down and have a coffee or even feed one child while the other child played, that was OK, as long as you stayed on site, but there was an up-​charge for leaving to run errands while your kid played. NOW however, you have to pay $ 7 if you want to even set foot out of the play area. Today, we were told that if we went to the bathroom, my toddler had to stop playing and come with me. And if I wanted to feed my baby, my toddler also… had to stop playing and sit with me at the café. This place is priced the same as Busy Bees with toys that are not even nearly as nice/​fun. I go there with both kids because it was helpful if I needed to change a diaper or feed the baby, to know my toddler would have someone keeping an eye on him for a few minutes. Today we were told that I had to remain in the play area, and if I left, they would not pay attention to my son. It’s absolutely ridiculous. This place is small and boring, yet charges the same fee (or more!!) as more fun places (Flight, Busy Bees, Jumping Joeys). Now it’s one remaining shred of convenience is gone. Clearly this place is just out to take your money, and doesn’t care much about providing a quality experience for the families that visit them.

I’m definitely a fan because the play time workers actually play and engage with the children and not just «watch» them. Also, I like the name tags placements so that everyone knows everybody! :)

First off, I have to say that I was very nervous about coming here because I read a couple of not so positive reviews. Yet, I took a chance and found that this place is great! The ladies that work here (sorry guys if you’re there, I’ve just never seen ya) are super friendly, have a great attitude, and are really informative.
The place is clean and neat. They have different monthly and weekly specials. Daily you can drop your kids off and stay or leave (which is great when you need to go somewhere to complete your taxes). The only thing is they close at 5, so get in before that.
All in all its a great place located in fairfax. My family and I live in Dumfries. The shear driving distance should explain how much we like/​approve this place. Enjoy!

In some respects, I really like this place. It’s a good and clean facility where you can bring your kid for free play while you work in the café. The staff is wonderful with the kids, and in the grand scheme of things the food is not very expensive. However, there are two downsides. First, there is not nearly enough room in the café. If it is a busy day, you may need to share a table – that is if anyone will share with you. Second, some parents park their kids and take off. I know that is something that that PB & Jack is meant for, but it still concerns me in case a kid starts severely misbehaving. I know they would contact the parent (you have to provide contact information every time you come), but a parent could very easily not answer their phone. It should probably be 4 ½ starts, but that is not an option.

Our Kids have been coming here since they were 8 months old, over 3 years now. I can’t say enough about how they have helped them develop through all the programs they offer. Mom’s Day Out really helped our kids prepare for preschool. The café has wifi and plenty of snacks for the kids. I enjoy the great tea/​coffee drinks they offer. We have tried other places and nothing compares to this place. PB and Jack really cares for their customers. Their owner and staff promptly addresses any concerns you have personally. You can see the pride they have everyday. I feel so fortunate to have found a place that makes my kids thrive and help them form relationships with other kids.

I came here with my little one who was 1 ½ years old at the time. I was displeased with my First experience. There was only one staff trying to watch about 8 kids in the play area. Needless to say, another child without a parent anywhere to be found hit my child and not even the staff corrected the child. It was only until I corrected the child from hitting my little one is when the staff said anything. These staff watching kids are usually the ones who need a job. I would not recommend anyone coming here, unless of course you need a «break». I saw several moms on computers and just leaving child in play area. no thanks. I’m not going to pay $ 10/​child for unsupervised care.

Went here for the first time this past Saturday and I only wish I had discovered it sooner. Indoor play area for toddlers is just perfect for a rainy. cold day. There’s a little café for snacks, coffee, and maybe for a mom oread to sit down while still keeping an eye on the little one on the play gym. The girls watching the kids were young and very pleasant. There was one woman supervising in there too and she was great. They genuinely seemed to enjoy working with children and played silly games, etc. The only drawback is that some kids seemed way too old to be in there with toddlers and were playing pretty rough. I felt that the staff did their best to tame the big kids but that’s really the parents’ job. Overall it was a wonderful experience and we will definitely be back!

This review, I write with reservation, since a. I’ve only been there once; and b. I am partial to the concept –what a great idea! I am a professor and this is just a perfect solution for me (and much cheaper than taking my one-​year old to day care) the days I work from home… I can never get anything done because my baby wants constant attention, especially when I am on the computer, which I am –a lot. I also like doing work at coffee places. So you understand that this combo: my working on the computer and sipping coffee, while my daughter is at an enclosed play area under adult supervision, and at close proximity and visibility to me is just exactly what I was looking for… So I wanted to like the place, and I did! I did some serious grading for the couple of hours I stayed there. Now, I also had low expectations, because someone told me that the play area is not very nice, or at least not as nice as Gymboree or My Gym etc, but I actually found it acceptable. I also found the staff very jolly and attentive to everybody, especially my kid. Seriously, I saw no reason for concern. In fact, my only concerns are some negative reviews I read here. I am planning on updating this once I have used this a few more times

Our three-​year old loves it. Very friendly staff. Great location to get lunch afterwards. Parents night out options and other activities.

This place has a great concept, but the execution falls short. Its crowded, small, and way too expensive for having your kids just ran around a small area with balls and toys and a few climbing apparatus. I think your money is much better spent at at Monkey Joes or the Springfield Trampoline Park. Cheaper and WAY more for the kids to do for the price.

I really really wanted to like this place and I gave it a super fair shot but we will NEVER go here again after the last time.
The concept is a great one, leave your kids in a safe play area while you do some work or take care of some computer-​driven tasks or just read a book and relax for a little break.
No Way on Earth I would leave my children in the care of these people. I hate to even take a bathroom break while there. The staff seems HIGHLY UNTRAINED in childcare. The last time I was there one of the staff members was throwing balls at the children, she didn’t seem to care that there were 12-​month old babies and younger around and when I told her to stop since I had a little one with me, she just flat out ignored me. She is constantly riling up the older children and giving no mind to the safety of the younger kids there. I had half a mind to tell her manager, but I figured it wouldn’t matter.
I have also seen children get hurt here under the staff’s care. I have seen babies in the newborn/​younger child area with 5 – 7 year olds in there with them and no one telling them to leave the babies alone. I have seen a 10:1 ratio at times that I am not 100 percent sure is even legal.
And to top it off they raised the rates this year to $ 19 for two kids. Save your money and go to the free mall play area or go to one of the other play areas nearby that cost less and don’t have some disturbingly uneducated and inexperienced staff. This place needs a major overhaul.

I met friends at PB & Jack today because a few other friends have said nothing but good things. I was expecting an experience similar to Monkey Joe’s toddler area but I guess I should have lowered my expectations. The play area leaves something to be desired with it’s three odd looking structures, a playskool house, a few plush/​plastic toys and balls. Our local library has a far more exciting kids area and it’s free! So does Barnes and Noble… also free!
I was also disappointed with the cleanliness. A little toy wagon was covered in dust despite it’s excessive use by all the children. The carpets were also dingy leaving mine and my daughters knees slightly discolored.
I will say that the staff was extremely attentive to my 11 month old which was great and I would have been comfortable stepping away for a bit but they really should have focused on the bulldozer of a 4 year old that was constantly plowing though us with complete disregard for my child (I’m not a helicopter mom… I promise).
Overall I’m disappointed. If admission was $ 5 I probably would have written my first review in years with at least one more star.

We love PB and Jack. I live in Alexandria but I have no problem driving out here so my daughter can play for a couple of hours while I work. It has been especially effective for me because I have been a stay at home mom for 18 months and I am trying to get back into the workforce. The staff has been excellent at helping me get my daughter comfortable with playing without me.
The area is not huge so I think kids over 4 might find it a bit boring. I think it’s great for kids from 1 – 3 especially. They do close off an small area for the little ones so that they don’t get trampled by the bigger kids.
On a rainy day or a hot day the place can get VERY busy. If you arrive before 10am it’s usually pretty dead and after they clean the play room around noon a lot of people go home. There are several restaurants in the area and you can bring food in and eat or you can purchase an assortment of snacks and coffee from the coffee shop inside.
Overall I think that the things that makes this place the best is the staff. They are all very attentive and polite and they definitely like to have fun and play with the kids.
And they have WIFI so if you need to do work while your kiddo plays this place is awesome.

My 21-​month-​old and I went here the other day and got turned away because they don’t accept AmEx. Poops. After some hesitation over the price and assessing the play area warily, we took the plunge again on a Saturday afternoon. Success! For the first few minutes, my husband and I hovered over our dear boy, and then seeing how the young gals supervising the place seemed more than capable, we receded slowly to the café side. I, of course, nervously checked on him several times and was happy to find him alternating between playing quietly with a Thomas train – an adult always nearby – and running around, grinning, and waving his arms spastically. In short, he loved it. I’ll be next time with my laptop and some reading I’ve been meaning to catch up on.

This is a great place for younger children to play. I came here with my two and three year old daughters, and they had a great time. The staff was very friendly, and actually played with the kids. It is very clean, and they actually took a short break so they could tidy up and sanitize the place. We stayed for about 2 ½ hours, and my girls didnt want to leave. Since there was plenty of staff monitoring the play area, I actually stepped into the coffee shop (which is separated from the play area by a short wall and gate) and was able to enjoy a cup, which was quite good and reasonably priced. In all, it was a great day. I’m actually considering getting a monthly pass in the winter time for a place to go on those long, dreary days.

Great place to take your kids in a rainy day. My almost 4 year old liked it, but he seemed to be one of the oldest kids there, so its probably better geared toward true toddlers (1 — early 3). Very clean play area, well monitored by the adult/​teachers and everyone seemed to play well and get along.
Coffee bar and free wifi are great — coffee tasted good and there were very kid friendly and healthy snacks for a reasonable price. We will definitely come back on the next rainy day!

We tried PB&Jack on a recommendation from some friends of ours after we found a groupon type of deal for it.
Keep in mind that we came on a rainy day and it seems that 90% of the area’s moms were thinking exactly the same thing we were. It was a little underwhelming. Kind of a small area compared to what I was expecting and not a lot to do for the older kids as far as physical activities. There were only 2 workers and I’m sure for the average day, that was plenty but on this particular day, we had to stay on the playground to keep our kids from getting trampled but some of the more unruly kids there.
Overall, for my just turned 1 year old, this was a great option. If I just had my 3 year old, I wouldn’t go back. She liked it but didn’t love it. She was much more excited about frozen yogurt when we left ;)

I thought this place was great! It’s similar to Reston’s (now closed) At Play Café, but wayyyyy cleaner, with a higher staff to child ratio. At PB&Js there were 2 – 3 staff members tending to the kids in the play area, someone manning the front desk, and at least 1 person at the little snack bar, but I know I saw 2 people at some point. And then when I meandered back to the restrooms, I could see at least one class going on, so there was an instructor for that.
Anyways, I was there on a rainy cold Friday around noon and there were plenty of people working there. Versus At Play Café, where, on a busy Saturday nonetheless, 2 people manned the food/​parent area and 1 staff member stood inside the play area at the bottom of the weird rickety indoor treehouse with the kamikaze 6 foot ladder I was terrified my child would fall off of. So, what I’m getting at is that this place is the same idea as At Play Café, with many many improvements in regards to safety, cleanliness, friendliness, and just common sense.
And the staff there was so nice and happy to encourage my boys (20 mos and 3 years) to have fun. The Lego area is cute, and separated by a short wall and gate, from the main play area, so you don’t have to worry about little ones choking on a Lego. And the the main play area is all padded and foamy with lots of low structures that both my kids had fun climbing around on, but I felt they were safe enough that I didn’t have to hover. I’d hazard a guess that climbable structures were 3 – 4 feet tall at the most? And there’s an area for crawlers.
I’m interested in bringing my kids back here for the children’s activities and classes too. Most kids were blissfully happy, but there’s always a few criers whenever there’s a room full of children.
Only giving 4 stars because I wish it was a little bigger. Really that’s my only complaint. And I wish there was one closer to where I live in Herndon.

This place is pretty cool, and my almost-​two year old daughter absolutely loves it. Be sure to wear your awesome socks.
* carpeted indoor playground with lots of things to craw/​climb on/​in/​through/​over
* perfect for kids ~1.5 — 5 years old, although I’m not sure there is a specific age limit
* a sort of trampo-​jumpy-​thing which looks like fun for the thirty-​pounders
* random toys and books are around too, lots of balls and some trucks and stuff
* a special LEGO area for building with those bricks
* monitors in the play area at all times keep an eye on things
* a Purell dispenser right up front
* classrooms in the back for music classes and such
* I think they have specials for play-​groups, do inquire
* A COFFEE SHOP with proper table and chairs
* a variety of wholesome kid-​friendly snack options
* FREE WI-​FI for customers, power outlets
It costs ten bucks to drop in for open play. They have a pretty good system of monitoring things so nobody gets broken or stolen. And from what I’ve seen, that’s a pretty labor intensive thing, so I think it well spent.
Being able to hang back in the coffee shop while the kid runs around and the monitor watches out for them is cool. Having a place for active play in the winter when neither of you have left the house in four days and you can’t go to the park because it is muddy and rain or snow is threatening … and the kid isn’t getting a good nap because she isn’t getting all her wiggles out. That makes it awesome. Now, if you happen to be in that situation plus you’re, say, 30+ weeks pregnant … this place would be a dream come true. Come to think of it, in the summer when it is 110°F and any of those other things are true, it’s gonna be pretty cool then, too.