Quote of the Week - Week commencing Monday 29 January 2018

"If you don't cut the cake in pieces, and just eat the whole cake, then you only had one piece."

Anon

Quote of the Week - Week commencing Monday 22 January 2018

"Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first." 

 Ernestine Ulmer

The Racconto Lounge

4 Clerke Street, The Rock, Bury

January is often a quiet time for eating out, following the never-ending feast of the festive season. However, when there’s a new restaurant opened in your local town centre, it has to be tried, even if we are only six days into the New Year. When did January diets become so fashionable anyway?

The Racconto Lounge is part of a brand new development at The Rock Shopping Centre, which very soon will house two other new restaurants, rumoured to be Zizzi and Gourmet Burger Kitchen. Part of the Lounges chain, it’s a casual bar and restaurant serving up a whole host of hearty, tasty, comforting dishes in relaxed, quirky surroundings. 

The Lounges chain was founded by Dave Reid, Alex Reilley and Jake Bishop, with the first bar opening in Bristol in 2002. The Racconto Lounge is now one of more than 90 joints in the UK. It’s all very friendly and informal. You find yourself a seat before ordering your food at the bar, paying whist you’re there – so if you dine with people who struggle with the bill, then this is your kind of place.

The Lounges are identified by their eccentric interior designs, and the Racconto Lounge is no different. Enormous tasselled lampshades hang from the ceiling, which is two storeys in height, and the walls are adorned with a smorgasbord of floral wallpapers. The mismatched furniture includes leather sofas with coffee tables and high bars with stools, allowing you to choose your setting depending on whether you’re after a coffee in the middle of your shopping, a cocktail or a spot of lunch.  

They pride themselves on serving up wholesome British classics. Open for food all day from 9.00am, they serve brunch, sandwiches, salads, burgers, hearty mains and even tapas dishes. Plus, there’s a kids’ menu, gluten free and vegan options, so there’s something to suit everybody. I was very impressed with the range of meals available.

I popped in to meet a friend for lunch on a crisp and cold Saturday, so a nice warming sandwich was just what the doctor ordered. I had the Twisted Chicken Club Ciabatta. There was buttermilk fried chicken (something you can’t really go wrong with), smoked streaky bacon, emmental cheese, guacamole, chipotle mayonnaise, tomato and spinach, all piled on a soft, warm, ciabatta roll. It was stacked high and tasted as delicious as it looked. The club sandwich is an old favourite and is found on the menu of most sandwich joints, but I’ve had dry ones that have lacked flavour, so it’s not a given that it’ll be good. In this case, the chipotle mayonnaise added an extra smoky flavour and that little bit of moisture needed to soften the fried chicken, making it easier to digest. It was served with homemade coleslaw, or ‘slaw’, as is the trendy name for it these days, for £7.25. I took the option of adding fries for an extra £1.25. 

Twisted Chicken Club Ciabatta

Desserts are something I should really be avoiding at the moment, thanks to the mountain of chocolate that’s still stacked up by the fireplace after Christmas, but there’s no way I could have left without trying the salted caramel cheesecake. A deliciously creamy cheesecake on a thick, crunchy biscuit base, it was exactly how I like my favourite dessert. Topped with sweet and salty popcorn and drizzled in toffee sauce, it was a hit.

Salted Caramel Cheesecake

There’s also an extensive cocktail menu, featuring all the favourites, including a Raspberry Fizz and a Pina Colada, to the more unusual Cherry Bakewell. If I wasn’t teetotal, its name alone would be enough to sell it to me.

In terms of atmosphere it could be slightly more relaxing; it’s a little noisy for the middle of the day, but I’d imagine it’s buzzing by night. 

There are plenty of offers to entice you in. Cheeky Mondays mean you can purchase any main course or burger and receive a free glass of wine or a pudding, whilst Tapas Tuesdays offer three tapas dishes and a glass of wine for only £9.95 (both offers are available after 5.00pm).

The Racconto Lounge is casual and reasonably priced with causal, attentive staff and good quality food, making it a good choice for a leisurely weekend breakfast or a lively lunch.

Website: http://thelounges.co.uk/racconto/

Quote of the Week - Week commencing Monday 8 January 2018

Happy New Year! Hope you had a fantastic festive break and it involved plenty of over-indulging.

Here's our first Quote of 2018...

"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world."

J.R.R. Tolkien

A photo for anybody whose trying to commit to a January diet