Since we eat out A LOT over here, ever since Imogen was big enough we’ve been trying to find a perfect portable high chair.
Restaurant highchairs can be great, but more often than not they are the most sturdy and can take up a lot of space. We were really after one that we could take around with us, making our life just that but easier when eating out.
I’d heard some great things about the Phil & Teds Lobster – so when they offered to send us one to try out I jumped at the chance.
One of the things that grabbed me straight away about this product was it’s comapct nature, making it super portable. It flat packs into its own compact carry bag, measuring just 35 x 34 x 8cm, and is really easy to collapse down, I’ve even managed it with one hand whilst holding Imogen in the other. It’s called the lobster because of the claw like arms that it fixes to the table with, and you can loosen or tighten these so it fits the majority of table thicknesses. Above you can see it attached to our bench top at home, below in the restaurant chain Strada.
Another advantage is that it really doesn’t take up much space when attached to the table – theres no real need to move an existing chair as the lobster will just hang above it -as you can see in the photo below at our local pub The Owl.
It’s also great for popping on the end of booth style tables, as you can see below at sushi restaurant we went to – and doesn’t stick far out into the aisle, thus not getting in the way of the waiting staff either. Another huge plus for us for being able to take your own chair into restaurants is the hygiene issue – sometimes I do wonder how clean other highchairs are, and as Imogen is currently very much a ‘chewer’ I do find myself getting out the Milton wipes from time to time, so with the lobster you needn’t worry! The lobster fabric is durable wipe clean, and slides right off the high chair frame for hand washing too.
The lobster comes with a dishwasher-safe food tray which slides between the clamps to protect the table and is the perfect size for little hands to explore. Below you can see Imogen picking at a Roast dinner when at my parents house the other weekend.
The only one very minor downside of the lobster – and I mean very minor, is that it can’t attach to every single table that exists – for safety reasons it can’t attache to pedestal style tables as obviously the weight of the baby may tip over the table. This hasn’t really been an issue for us as most places have suitable tables that would work with the lobster. The 4-point safety harness with padded shoulder straps keeps the wriggliest of babies safe and the twist on twist off claw mechanism is dead easy for adults to master – but almost impossible for babies and toddlers. The chair is suitable from around 6 month up to the age of around 3 or 15kg.
We are absolutely loving our Lobster, Imogen always seems really comfortable in it and we now keep it in the car so it’s always handy for when we are out and about, and we really wouldn’t be without it now!
Disclosure: We received this product free of charge to review, no further remuneration was received and all opinions are our own, a positive review was no required
