Cosatto Waffle review

Bright and stylish, it blends smart Scandinavian design with the Cosatto flair for funky design.

Its clever mix of smooth wood and keep-clean plastic looks smart but means it’s also really practical when it comes to the messy business of weaning.

What’s particularly great about this chair is its versatility and suitability from when your baby can sit up unaided, until they’re 12 years old and too big for a typical high chair.

We’ve been using the Waffle at home with our son Harvey, who’s seven months.

The chair's clever design means we can choose between the two-tray system (including a pop-off washable plastic top), or to flip the trays over and pull the chair up to the dining room table so Harvey can eat with us.

As with all their products, Cosatto offers a free 4 year guarantee (available in the UK & Ireland only) which offers extra peace of mind.

The competition it faces on the market comes in the form of the Phil&Ted’s Highpod, Oxo Tot Sprout, Knuma 4-in-1, Stokke Tripp Trapp and IKEA Antilop chairs.

How easy is the Cosatto Waffle highchair to assemble?

It’s easy, but it takes a long time. It took my husband and I about an hour to assemble the chair, following the illustration-only instructions.

We made a couple of false moves as the diagrams were sometimes tricky to follow, but generally it was pretty straight-forward.

Is the Waffle highchair easy to use?

It’s incredibly easy to use. The wooden frame of the seat doesn’t actually adjust, what moves are the seat and footrest. It’s super easy to remove and slot in the seat and footrest.

The angle of the highchair is such that it can also be pulled up to the dining table and my son can join in at family meals. It’s a wonderful design feature and makes the chair really versatile.

The Waffle has a two-part tray, where a plastic top tray can be easily removed from the bottom wooden tray to be washed. A secure locking function to clip in the tray meant Harvey couldn’t move it around or lift it up.

However, if you’re clipping the plastic tray cover on while baby is in the seat, you have to be careful not to trap any wandering little fingers.

My husband and I love how we can sit at the table to eat as a family, even though Harvey is only seven months old.

How much room does the highchair take up?

With limited space in our house and an increasing number of child-related items appearing, it was a relief that the Waffle is compact.

It’s a smart piece of furniture that sits tidily in the corner or tucked under our dining room table. Easily collapsable, it doesn’t take up much storage space.

There are no handles on the highchair but it’s easy to carry. The rear legs can be folded in and the trays flip over.

However for it to go completely flat you need to remove the waist retain bar and the seat and footrests.

Is the Cosatto Waffle highchair easy to clean?

Thankfully, the Waffle is very easy to keep clean due to the removable seat cover, harness and tray.

The padded sections are wipe clean as well as machine washable, and there’s no deep crevices for broccoli florets to disappear down.

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How comfortable is the chair?

It took a while for us to manoeuvre Harvey into the seat, but it just takes practice. The leg and waist harness is easy to clip around him, but we’ve not needed to use the shoulder straps as he sits up well without them.

Harvey loves being in his Waffle and is content and comfortable enough to stay there, smearing any food remains over himself while I clear up.

How does it compare to other highchairs you’ve used?

Aesthetically pleasing, the Waffle has a much smarter appearance than more simple highchairs on the market.

Fun and stylish, the sleek design and bright colours work really well in our home.

I’ve tried a couple of IKEA highchairs, which Harvey didn’t find as comfortable, and which look very plastic - just a tray on four legs.

We also have a Bumbo seat, which was great for when Harvey was much smaller, but as he grew he started to turn and twist in it, making it difficult to feed him and it felt less stable.

There are strong similarities between the Waffle and the Stokke Tripp Trapp, with their wooden frame, Scandinavian style, and adjustable ergonomic design.

The basic Stokke chair costs the same as the Cosatto Waffle and still requires lots of added extras to ‘build’ the seat, whereas the Cosatto comes with everything included.

While the Tripp Trapp is the closest in style and functionality, a slightly cheaper alternative is the BabyDan Danchair, which has a similar wooden frame that can be adjusted as the child develops, with a removable waist bracket and adjustable footrest.

How robust does the Cosatto Waffle highchair seem?

So far so good. It is a solid and durable piece of furniture, although we have already noticed some scratches on the dark wooden tray paintwork after just a few weeks.

Is the Cosatto Waffle highchair value for money?

At £160 it’s pricey and definitely at the top end of the highchair market. However, when you consider that you could be getting up to twelve years use out of it, then it strikes as pretty good value.

Everything is included too, so there’s no hidden extras to be wary of.

So, while it’s a pricey product, think of it as a long-term investment!

Any extra accessories?

There’s no extra accessories to purchase, although there’s a list of replacement parts available should you need them. The Waffle comes in a choice of two patterns - Strudel, with bright green and red apples, and Pitter Patter, which has multicoloured raindrops.

What’s in the box?

All the parts required to build the Waffle chair, including nuts, bolts and an Allen key.

MadeForMums verdict:

We love our Waffle and think it’s much better than other highchairs we’ve used. Sturdy and robust, adaptable and bright, we consider it a welcome addition to our dining room furniture.

It’s more expensive than many other chairs, but we counter that with its potential longevity. Overall we think it’s a well-made, solid piece of furniture that looks great.

I particularly love the fact that it will grow with Harvey, thanks to the multi-position seat and footrests (super easy to adapt to the age and size of the child), removable harness, seat pad and tray. The Waffle is suitable from 6 months to 12 years, so I'd recommend it to anyone with a young baby who wants to invest in a chair that will last a long time.

Naturally, the earlier you buy it then the more value for money it is. Its adaptability means it would also suit a family with children of different ages.

If you like this highchair check these out...

• Knuma Connect 4-In-1 Highchair
• Kiddicare Kiddicouture Eat highchair
• Quicksmart Easy Fold Highchair
• Cosatto Jam highchair
• East Coast Nursery A-frame highchair