Over the last few years, a new name in dining has been appearing along the high street: Lounge Café Bars, a stylish cafe-bar concept, with each new opening being named individually. In Louth, the name to look out for is the Alfredo Lounge. The sites are usually converted banks, shops, restaurants, and new builds.
The Louth restaurant was formerly one of the oldest department stores in the country, Eve and Ranshaw, which closed nearly three years ago after 240 years of trading. Rather than leaving the building standing empty, the cafe-bar has breathed life back into Louth.
Much like the other market towns, the Alfredo Lounge fills a gap in the market for a relaxing concept where everything is on the menu, at any time.
Alfredo Lounge has an informal atmosphere and striking decor
If you want a breakfast in the late afternoon you’ve got it; likewise, if you fancied a burger in the morning, no problem. It seemed there were no barriers at Lounge café bars, including the staff dress code; there didn’t appear to be one when I ventured into the Alfredo Lounge in Louth. Whilst in practice this might go with the Lounge ethos and laid-back approach, unless you saw someone behind the bar, it was difficult to distinguish between staff and customers whilst waiting to be seated. A simple staff badge would help solve this rather confusing issue.
Besides the excellent food and friendly, welcoming service, what sets the Alfredo Lounge apart from its peers is the unusual décor – think large vintage sofas, upholstered lounge chairs, patterned wallpaper, eclectic artwork, and stripped wooden floors.
Plenty on the menu to choose from
Other than the all-day breakfast option, the menu is focused on burgers, sandwiches, tapas and salads with mains including Louisiana Fried Chicken, Sri Lankan Curry and Bang Bang Chicken. There are plenty of deals on different days of the week, including a free drink or pudding on a Monday, to social deals for Tapas on Tuesday. Two of the same cocktails are available for £12.95 every day from 5pm, which compliments the extensive drinks menu. Orders are taken at the bar, where free water is available in a dispenser, or ordering via the QR code displayed on your table.
The soup of the day was just that: my Vegetable and Noodles Soup, made fresh that day. The peppery, hot and copious offering was served with a sliced ciabatta.
My main of Bacon Cheese Smash Burger came with two smashed patties, smoked streaky bacon, American cheese, lettuce, red onion, gherkins, and burger sauce. It was a delicious, moist, juicy burger that set it apart from the competition, one of the best burgers I have ever tasted.
If you have enough room for a pudding, then the Cookie Dough Ice Cream with a salted caramel lava centre topped with chocolate caramel sauce is probably a wise choice, rounding off a meal that oozed quality from start to finish.
Delicious new additions for autumn include the Biscoff Banoffee Choux and Berry Cheesecake.
Lounges are a hub for the community
The cafe-bar concept is not a new one. What Lounges have done is added flexibility by making all menu items available at all times of the day and adding a value-for-money menu, which probably explains why my fellow diners ranged from couples, retirees, mums and builders.
Dogs are welcome, with blankets, water, and biscuits available. For their owners, there are board games to play and a selection of newspapers to read. When the death of high street establishments is so often reported, Lounges have proved otherwise – a great excuse to lounge around, besides being a welcoming place to eat good food.
Alfredo Lounge, 1 Market Place, Louth LN11 1ND
All pictures by Graham Clark
The author was a guest of the restaurant for this review.
