Lounge Coffee Bar & Cafe — Restaurant in North East Derbyshire

Myself and a large group of friends and family attended for an afternoon tea/ babyshower - no party games etc.. just a get together with family and friends. We booked well in advance and were told that our party size would not be an issue and that they were happy to cater for us, they were also holding another babyshower the following day, this made us feel confident in booking as we felt they must have had experience hosting afternoon teas. We were under the impression it would be a private event due to the party size and the size of the venue.

The cafe/bar itself looked lovely and the ham sandwiches were nice, they had a good selection of drinks on the menu and they were kind enough to reserve another small table for us to put the gifts recieved on. Unfortunately for our visit that was where the positives ended.

The layout of the cafe was not suitable for our party size we were spread over 3 tables right near the entrance so we felt slightly in the way of the other guests. When booking we were told that they could decorate the tables/ put banners etc.. up this wasnt done.

The afternoon tea aspect unfortunately let it down as it was more like a buffet at the side of the room rather than on tiered afternoon tea stands in the middle of the tables as would be expected. The bread for most of the sandwiches was dry, the filling for the tuna sandwiches was minimal and the scones were not homemade. A childrens afternoon tea was made for the children attending which comprised of sandwiches, mini shop bought muffins and some packets of aldi crisps - not necessarily what you would expect from a venue that appeared as though it was attempting to be slightly more upmarket.

At the end of the get together there were quite a lot of sandwiches left over - mainly those made on stale bread. The lady who I assume was the manager passed a comment on numerous occaisions about food being wasted and the time her staff had spent making the food. I agree that wasting food is not ideal but who wants to eat stale bread? I encouraged people attending to take as much home as they wanted to try to minimise any food waste but unfortunately as expected it was mostly the stale sandwiches that were left over.

One of our guests raised a few issues with a member of staff and their response was that they also wouldn't have booked for an afternoon tea/babyshower on a Saturday - if they knew that it wouldnt be suitable why did they let us go ahead and book it?

Despite my mostly negative review the main menu appeared very appetising and the drinks were lovely. The venue was busy throughout our time there with lots of people being turned away and mainly positive reviews so I can only assume that their every day menu is much better and it would be advisable to not attend in...

Edited: Multiple burgers we were served were both incorrect and cold; with one being sent back only for a member of staff to come back out after maybe 2 minutes at most and both lie that it was a fresh one and argue with a member of our party about it with an arrogant and dismissive attitude. It's a nice place that I recall liking previously and it's a pity that the experience this time was soured by 1 person considering the other staff were clearly trying to provide a good service.

The guy however; evidently didn't care at all, even audibly scoffing in front of everyone at a perfectly valid complaint upon hearing it. He clearly didn't have the same concern for customer satisfaction as his colleagues had shown earlier.

Mistakes being made with orders isn't that big a deal (it's easily done) but there is no excusing rudeness and unprofessionalism and I personally have no interest in returning after that experience.

Edit; I've since been informed by another member of the group that the aforementioned rude chef is from an external company named "Northern Kitchen" whom occasionally works at The Lounge on Saturdays and is technically not part of the regular staff.

While this is worth mentioning I nonetheless have to stand by my previous criticisms of this individual as the service and his attitude was still poor and fell well short of what we expected following our previous visit to this same place. I couldn't sincerely recommend the Lounge continue to work with this individual as he completely failed to represent the business in a favourable way and it really...

Second Review: Lounge now has late nights, and is all the more the better for it. After a delicious meal, we settled down for a few drinks in one of the most relaxing atmospheres we've enjoyed in a long time. Bizarrely, I then fancied a dessert, and being an ice cream lover, chose Luxury Affogato, with vanilla ice cream, a shot of liqueur, luxury biscuits, drizzle of bourbon, chocolate shavings, all mixed. Amazing. The cocktails are worth the visit too - I recommend the Mai Tai. You have to give The Lounge a try, it's fantastic.

First Review: This is a welcome addition to the area, a very relaxing coffee bar and bistro, serving well prepared food and with very attentive staff. I had the all day breakfast, and the ingredients were clearly of excellent quality. We've been in for a quick coffee, we've been in for lunch, and it's definitely worth the visit. It's always busy, but you'll easily find a seat without feeling crowded. Alcohol is served, and it's nice they're trying to hold events (cocktail evenings, day time events) If you're in the area, or passing through, Lounge is definitely...