Arturo Lounge — Restaurant in England

Served up late food and unlikely tales

Yesterday, my workmates and I visited the very recently opened Arturo Lounge, in Penrith's New Squares, for a Christmas lunchtime get together. We were a group of 8, which is quite a large number, and so, several days beforehand had contacted Arturo Lounge, to try and book the table. But, we were told that they were not taking bookings, and it was fine for us to just turn up. So, at 12noon, we got to the venue, and found it's ambience to be very pleasant indeed. The staff all seemed to be well presented and friendly. It seemed to take quite a long time for us to actually physically order our food, and, one of our group was told that they had ran out of steak (it was 12noon, presumably a group of navvies had been in and eaten all the steaks for their breakfasts). When I ordered, they had ran out of Birra Moretti and Cruzcampo (refer back to said navvies), and so I had to have some other lager (by now I was thirsty, and didn't care what I drank)! Food ordered, we sat, and chatted and waited for our food. The atmosphere was lovely. The food started to come out, in dribs and drabs. What did come out was very nice by all accounts. Staff remained attentive, regularly checking we were happy. Unfortunately, my meal, a relatively simple dish of macaroni cheese, was last to arrive. Quite a considerable time after it had been ordered... (we are talking a 30 minute wait)! I had nearly drunk my lager, and was hoping those pesky navvies hadn't drunk the bar dry! When my mac n' cheese arrived, it was a hot and tasty plate of food, which I enjoyed! I had no sooner finished my mac n' cheese (I was last to finish, because I was last to start), when a waitress came over and said that, due to technical difficulties, they were going to have to stop taking orders, and we would have to leave! I was in a state of shock, as were my workmates, we were all very confused and concerned. What could have happened that would force them to close down their premises, with only a week to go until Christmas? We finished the remains of our drinks, finished our conversations, and then left, feeling a little shocked, underwhelmed and slightly sad that, after quite a difficult year, working in the social care sector, our Christmas meal had been a bit of a short, damp squib! The weird thing was ...... As we left the building, we noticed people going into the building, and, they appeared to be getting served. They certainly didn't appear to have been told that there were any technical issues! Then the penny dropped! It seems as if we had been told an unlikely tale! Presumably, in a bid to get more customers in, they were telling paying guests they had to either order more food NOW, or get the 'flick' out of their restaurant!! Sorry, I don't like storytelling! Maybe that's how you get to be, when you work in the care industry, believing in honesty and candour. Clearly story telling and slow service features highly at Arturo Lounge. Just a thought. I think I will give them a...

We visited Arturo lounge today for lunch, and it wasn’t good. The food took 50 mins (for a small bowl of tapas and a burger) and we had a baby who was getting bored with the long wait. Our cokes paper straws had melted by the time the food came. It wasn’t busy, so I’m not sure why it took so long. The burger wasn’t nice, and my tapas had hard sweet potatoes, that hurt to bite into. I would expect a meal that took 50 mins to make, would have well cooked potatoes.

This was a rare outing with a baby and we were very disappointed.

The restaurant was beautifully decorated but perhaps they need to focus on their staff/kitchens more so customers want...

Went here when it was my birthday with the family and it is a gem of a place. The atmosphere here even when full was great, the food and drink’s menu is a nice size and there is something for the kids too. They even cater for people with dogs too providing fresh water and treats which is also good for animal lovers. Their menu is not over priced for the size of meals you recieved so I would recommend anyone to go here even if it is just for a coffee or a light snack, the staff were first class and very friendly, which is what you would always like when dining out anywhere these days top marks I would definitely go here again if I am back...