(L-R) Falafels with red onion and coriander yoghurt dip, hummus with extra virgin olive oil and smoked paprika, crayfish and prawns with tomato and chilli, garlic and parsley mushrooms with smoked paprika, honey glazed shredded 5 spice pork, roasted sweet potato and butternut squash with goats’ cheese.

Trago Lounge is just one part of a large chain of cafés/bars called ‘The Lounges‘. It is the ideal place for an impromptu, upmarket meal, without having to go through all of the fuss of making a reservation, having someone constantly waiting on you and then worrying about who’s turn it is to pay the bill.

The restaurant reminds me of a smart, but friendly, gastropub with its classic leather and solid wood furniture. Just enough character has been splashed across the room to make it interesting and individual, I especially like the vintage wall hangings and large blackboard-style menus.

Opting for their signature tapas (a choice of 3 for for just £7.95), I hesitantly waited for it to arrive at my table after I was left incredibly disappointed when I first tried it on a trip to Seville, Spain, last year.

Fortunately, the UK’s take on the traditional Spanish cuisine seemed to do the trick. The six mini dishes arrived at the table looking vibrant as ever and were served with a nice helping of ciabatta bread.

On to the critique. I definitely enjoyed the hummus, pork, and mushrooms but I wasn’t too keen on the falafel or the crayfish (I’m undecided as to whether or not I liked the roasted veg because I think it could’ve done with a little bit longer in the oven!). The shredded pork was my favourite, it was beautifully tender and melted in the mouth, and you can never go wrong with garlic mushrooms. The tomato and chilli sadly overpowered the seafood and you couldn’t taste the subtle flavours of the crayfish at all and the falafel is just plain difficult to perfect so I’m sure I can find it in my heart to forgive them for that minor dry blunder.

All in all though, I honestly think the Lounge has one of the best atmospheres I’ve ever had the pleasure to eat in, and the food was delicious considering how affordable it was. I will definitely be making another visit sometime soon and you should too!

The Verdict:

Food: 7/10
Service: 7/10
Atmosphere: 10/10
Value: 8.5/10
Overall: 8.1/10

Did you enjoy your last visit to one of the Lounges? Tweet your feedback @TheLoungers

The ultimate form of procrastination: baking.

Instead of choosing to get on with my ever-growing workload, I decided to bake a banana cake.

With almost 200 5-star ratings, I thought this step-by-step guide from AllRecipes would surely do the trick.

Banana Cashew Cake

I’m going to start this recipe review by calling xuthus1972, in the nicest sense of the word, a liar. From my experience, the banana cake took just over double the suggested cooking time, but boy was it worth the wait!

The cake came out looking absolutely mouthwatering, it was perfectly golden and slipped out of the loaf tin and onto a cooling rack as easy as pie (no pun intended). I’m not even going to get into how good it made my kitchen smell…

Unlike most banana cakes, this one wasn’t too heavy and had a lovely crumbly texture. My decision to also add some chopped cashew nuts really made it something special. With each individual bite, I could taste the creaminess of the banana and the nutty flavour of the cashews. The two flavours just complimented each other beautifully.

But now that I’ve finished my slice, I better get back to work … at least until dinner.