Alfresco eating – it’s a wonderful thing; fresh air, sunshine (maybe), a care free feeling. BUT…this is the UK, it isn’t warm all year round, or dry at the best of times. So no matter how keen people were on the European feel of the old LTG’s in Exeter, owned by Lloyd Gardner of Lloyds Kitchen, it wasn’t the most ideal venue for all year round.

Thankfully Lloyd has had other ideas for this space for some time now, and after a lot of hard work and patience, opened his brand new venue in December 2017 called Lloyds Lounge.

This beautifully tasteful yet simple bit of architecture, situated opposite Lloyds Kitchen and the Almshouses is quite a design triumph. I visited earlier this month, the day after Storm Eleanor had hit. Feeling worse for wear myself, after a short bout of illness over New Year, the very sumptuous yet comfortable interior and the ‘glass box’ design made me feel cocooned and calm, protected from what was going on outside (which was still blustery!!). The interiors are refreshing as, more recently the theme of bare industrial cool has taken over, and sometimes you just want to sit back in a sumptuous high back chair and chill.

The alfresco element may be 80% gone (there is still a lovely terrace area) but the people-watching ability is still very much there.

Having been invited along to try their lunch offering, I asked my son to be my date on this occasion, which he agreed to with very little persuasion, ahead of his return to the regular schedule at school.

After ordering his very yummy hot chocolate, he immediately zoomed in on the charcuterie plate which contained a selection of meat slices as you would expect. I opted for the salads, whereby you can choose 1, 2 or 3 of the options and they serve an appropriate size of each for the set price – I chose two salad options, one of which was the roasted sweet potato with lime and chilli, toasted coconut and harissa dressing. Well roasted sweet potatoes, with a bit of crunch thanks to the beans and then the lovely spicy harissa dressing.

The salad presentation was a tad ‘messy’ but that’s something that could be worked on. I also couldn’t resist trying the duo prawn basket – Cajun popcorn prawns and tempura king prawns with dips. Super plump Cajun prawns, the best I have had in a long time I’d say.

There are breakfast options, which actually are available all day, a soup of the day as well as a quiche of the day too.

With slightly different weekend menus to cater for the higher footfall, as well as an evening menu of hot plates which can be enjoyed tapas style with their choice of beers, wines or evolving cocktail menu. I look forward to returning to try the rest of their offering with some adult company. It is not a restaurant per se, it is a stylish place to grab a drink, a bite, chat with your friends, a fleeting visit or stay longer and while the day away whilst grazing through their food offering.

Lloyd is an inspiring young man, having won many awards with Lloyds Kitchen, we wish him all the best with Lloyds Lounge.

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Lloyd’s Lounge, Catherine St,
City Centre, Exeter, EX1 1EU
Tel : 01392 431 879
Email : chill@lloydslounge.co.uk