Cultivo Lounge — Restaurant in North Hertfordshire

Kino in Kettering is the first of the "lounges" chain I visited some years back. I have to say, the term "chain" can have negative conotations, but the Lounges I've visited have always been far beyond what that might imply in my experience. Staff are always very friendly and happy to help. The drinks selection on tap isn't huge, but it's wide enough with a couple of the common lagers paired with some decent, more obscure (craft?) ciders and stout. This seems to be the same offering at all of the lounges I've visited (4 of them). Wines and bottles are available too of course, but I haven't paid attention to them.

But the food... oh the food... I have to say that whenever I've eaten here at Kino or another lounge it's been delicious. Offerings are quite wide, ranging from a choice of all day breakfasts, sandwiches and paninis, salads, burgers, tapas and probably more that I'm forgetting. On a visit a few days ago I had a "hero burger" and it was simply gorgeous - juicy without being greasy and very tasty! My other half had a "lounge bacon cheeseburger" and also rated it highly. They also get extra praise for sourcing food locally - the girl who served us told us that the burgers came from a local farm which only sold them to them and Waitrose. I'm not sure if that means only Kino has them or the lounges as a whole, but they're GOOD. There's also a decent kids menu and our two year old gobbled up his little burger with a big smile on his face.

Aesthetically Kino looks much the same as other Lounges - kind of stripped back and scrappy, but comfy and cosy... like a lounge I guess! I think all of the lounges still manage to have a little character of their own still, mainly perhaps due to them often occupying unique spaces. Kino is in Kettering's old early 20th century cinema, so has high ceilings and the space you'd imagine.

Overall it's a great casual place for a drink or a meal with cosy surroundings. I rate Kino (and the lounges as a whole) far beyond any other similar chain - the closest comparison I can think of is Wetherspoons, and they're a world apart! There are nicer places to eat if you're specifically looking for a good country pub (for example), e.g. out towards Foxton or Harrington. But in Kettering,...

I hope this message finds you well. I wanted to share my recent experience at your bar on the evening of 10/06/24.

Last Saturday night, my girlfriend and I had a wonderful time at your bar. We enjoyed a fantastic classic cocktail prepared by one of your team members ladies. Because of that great experience, we decided to return tonight for the same drink. Unfortunately, this time was quite disappointing.

When we arrived, we were greeted by a bartender who was unfriendly and aggressive name is ''Tim Tim''?. We asked for the same cocktail we had last time, but what we received was far from the quality we expected. When we politely mentioned our dissatisfaction and asked for a new cocktail, the bartender ''Tim Tim''? responded arrogantly, saying, "You expect me to change these cocktails."

We were shocked to see the bartender ''Tim Tim''? pour one of the drinks on the floor before making another one with clear disdain. The new cocktail was carelessly served, with half of it spilling onto the table. To make matters worse, it was alcohol-free, which was not what we ordered.

Feeling frustrated, we spoke to another staff member ''Millie'' about our complaint. Thankfully, this person was very professional and polite, and they prepared and brought a much better cocktail to our table.

While we appreciate the effort made by the second staff member, our initial experience was very disappointing. We came to your bar hoping to enjoy a nice after-dinner drink, but instead, we faced rude behaviour and poor service.

I hope you will address this issue and ensure that such behaviour is not repeated. We believe your bar can maintain the high standards that initially...

We used to be regular customers in Culitivo however I doubt we'll be back after our last visit. I ordered my food on the app and my wife did the same ordering her own food. My meal arrived after the drinks were brought out. Ten minutes later my wife is still waiting for her food, she goes down to the counter to enquire. She is told by the waitress that she would look into it and returns to our table.

I watched from across the restaurant as the waitress clearly had received news from the chef that something had gone wrong with my wife's order. Instead of coming over and relaying what had happened she slinked off to the back part of the restaurant. My wife went back down to the same waitress to follow up on her order. She was told she would just check with the manager. She finally comes to our table and tells us that my wife's meal had been given to a large party of about 10 people about 3 tables away.

And to make things worse, they did not have any of that chicken dish left. Laughably, she offered us a complimentary drink courtesy of the management. We refused, decided we had enough and went to get a refund for my wife's meal. The male manager's attitude at the counter was the icing on the cake. He didn't seem too bothered. I struggled to recall a time where I left a restaurant after literally not receiving a meal that was ordered. This came after several previous other issues from previous visits. It takes a lot for me to write a negative review of a business but this was beyond anything I'd...