‘Bro my legs are cooked man, oh my days,’ Jed said, sitting down to have a drink of water. We were 40 minutes into a football birthday party at TOCA Social and having been top of his team’s leaderboard for the first few rounds, my 15 year old was feeling the pinch.
TOCA Social bills itself as ‘the world’s first interactive football and dining experience’. Essentially, it’s a football themed sports bar with bowling alley vibes where you can book a box for a maximum of 12 players and up to 90 minutes of play (game time depends on the number of players).
There are 5 themed games with images that flash up on a big screen, offering competitive target practice for players of all levels. When you arrive, you tap in your details and watch a short instructional video. We got there a bit late to catch the video but the rules are simple to follow and after watching Jed’s turn, the rest of his mates were quick to catch on.
Since his birthday was overshadowed by both Ezra and my milestone birthdays this year, Jed didn’t really get to celebrate. Since February, he’d been asking to visit TOCA Social having been once before on a school trip. After much back and forth over timings and who could make it, we fixed a date and TOCA Social kindly booked** us in for a football birthday party.
Jed invited 4 of his friends and I came along as cheerleader/chaperone/cash machine. It wasn’t too busy on the last week of Easter holidays but the atmosphere was lively as we headed upstairs to our box.
It’s a large, colourful venue that also features some football arcade games, foosball tables, photo booth and walls decorated with screens and scoreboards, footie puns, and images of footballing icons.
While the boys got balling, I perused the menu which has sharing plates of Americana-themed dishes as well as drinks from the bar. We’d already planned to eat dinner elsewhere, however I couldn’t resist sampling the Korean fried chicken wings (delicious) and the boys wolfed down a plate of loaded Nachos.
TOCA Social welcomes players of all ages although it attracts a more grownup crowd in the evenings (most days, kids under 18 aren’t allowed after 7pm). It was good to look around and spot families getting stuck in, everyone from dads to younger sisters playing together. This is a wholesome family activity and a proper workout, judging by how sweaty the boys were after a few rounds.
Some might be hesitant to hang with a group of teenage boys but Jed’s friends are an entertaining bunch, full of the typical banter but also sweet, cheeky, thoughtful and easygoing. There were a couple of flashpoints that were quickly resolved and the only downer was Jed injuring his hip somehow by swinging his leg a little too enthusiastically. He came hobbling off the pitch like a pro at the end of the season. Fortunately, we didn’t have to stretcher him home!
Aside from this mishap, he had a great time and all his friends described the experience as “cool”, “really fun”, “absolutely brilliant” and “I’ll definitely come back”. Thanks to TOCA Social for hosting Jed’s belated football birthday party. If your child is a fan of interactive games and especially into football, I can recommend this as a family friendly activity for birthdays, holidays, rainy days and more. Olé, olé… etc.
TOCA Social is at The O2, Peninsula Square, Greenwich SE10 0DX (North Greenwich tube). 12pm-11pm (Mon-Wed), 12pm-12am (Thu), 11am-1am (Fri), 9am-1am (Sat) & 9am-11pm (Sun). Under 18s are allowed (with an adult companion) until 7pm (Mon-Thu), until 4pm (Fri-Sat) and all day on Sundays. Prices: Off-peak Mon-Thu from £12pp. Peak Fri-Sun £17.50pp. Please note, prices may differ at certain times of year.
**We were guests of TOCA Social gaming for the purposes of this review but paid for our own food and drink at the venue.
London Kids Weekend Scoop (April 18-21, 2024)
