The Lounge Tapas Bar, High Street, Worcester

9:21am Friday 21st March 2008

A WORLD away from its former self, this swanky tapas restaurant in the heart of Worcester impressed from the off.

Formerly Hodson's cafe, The Lounge WR1 now boasts mood lights, soft seating, a welcoming atmosphere and no less than four menus. The transformation is proving popular - walk past at lunchtime and the place is bustling.

But what about on a Friday night? On this occasion, I booked to be on the safe side.

While this proved wholly unnecessary - we were the only two diners in sight - it did allow the friendly staff to be incredibly attentive.

Although the restaurant is open until 11pm and serves evening meals ranging from carbonara to sausage and mash, we wanted something lighter and opted for tapas.

Unsure of portion size, we opted for four in total.

My partner chose spicy meatballs in tomato sauce (£4.95) and assorted bruschetta (£4.25). I plumped for tiger prawns pan-fried with lime and coriander (£4.95) with baby potatoes and chorizo sausage (£3.95). While waiting we enjoyed olives and warm bread.

The more-than-pleasing portions arrived on modern, fresh white dishes, proving that presentation is key.

The crispy ciabatta in the bruschetta was piled high with roasted vegetables, sardines, pesto, fresh mozzarella and basil. Having enjoyed this dish countless times in Italy, I'm hard to please, but this bruschetta was near-perfect.

The large prawns were fresh and juicy and complemented by the slightly spicy dip. While I deemed the potato dish was delicious, my partner thought it was an odd combination of flavours considering the strong, long-lasting flavour of the chorizo.

Unfortunately, the meatballs were bland and the tomato and cannelloni bean sauce unimpressive. I had half expected to go home still hungry, but instead left satisfied, full and eager to return.

After our food, we stayed on for drinks. There was a warm, relaxing atmosphere in the decent-sized restaurant, even when empty, that enticed us to stay on. The ambience almost encouraged good conversation.

No doubt the lunch crowd will soon discover this and The Lounge will be packed every Friday night.

The bill - including bread to start, soft drinks and coffee - came to £37.50.

HOW IT RATEDThe Lounge WR1, High Street, Worcester Telephone: 01905 21036Food **** Value for money *** Ambience **** Service *****

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