Fino Lounge – Great pub atmosphere with good food

The Fino Lounge, Whitchurch, 029 2069 2616, thelounges.co.uk/fino-lounge/

When you want a night out with the besties with a couple drinks and some great noms it can feel like all your local pubs have turned into restaurants with white table clothes and square plates. Not so with the Fino Lounge. Part of a chain of pubs the Lounge has fashionable bar staff and a great atmosphere whether you are sharing a bottle pinot noir or a stack of pancakes with bacon on the morning after.

The evening menu consists of great burgers, fish finger sandwiches, sausage and mash and fish and chips. There is also a great range of specials that have a more of a home cooked feel than the standard menu. I chose the salmon and crayfish burger which went well with a couple of bottles of larger. I had a great evening and felt like I could linger until closing time drinking a laughing long after our food had been cleared away.

The Fino Lounge feels like the beating heart of Whitchurch with its clientele (the loungers) of yummy mummies, the up and coming, and young hipsters. Oh yes and the quadrophenia crowd on a Thursday.

Lottie x

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The Fino Lounge isn’t a place where I can easily wear sunglasses as the moody dark wood interior and low lighting contribute to me developing a bit of squint when I first walk in. However, once the old eyes have adjusted to the dimness, Lottie and I usually find a quiet corner (there’s tons of space in here) and try to stop ourselves from having a stack of eggy bread and bacon with maple syrup again.

The food and coffee is generally of a good standard and is helped along by the lively atmosphere inside. I try and have sausage and mash at in any venue I know I’ll be visiting more than once, it’s my yardstick by which I measure my eateries. This time it was Fino’s turn and they did a pretty good job, although weren’t the best I’ve ever tasted.

Washed down with a couple of glasses of mulled cider (OK, this was a few months ago) I swayed slowly out wondering if I should have had the eggy bacon stack.

Barnabus