Lounge Lover

a real feast for the senses and the food is very well executed and presented with great staff.

I came here with a work "do", so I'll admit that I didn't have full sight of the bill ( which was no doubt horrendous, given the size of group, the cocktails guzzled, and their average price - about nine pounds).

The surroundings are sumptuous - you'll see a nine foot tall Ming-style vase on your way in, and the clientele, on our visit at least, were an interesting mix of locals, City folk, and hipsters. The front of house staff, at first glance, might all ( male and female) appear intmidatingly well-turned out and sylph-like and impossibly aloof, but are actually both pleasantly attentive and pleasingly accommodating

The cocktails were indeed very good - I'd recommend the Adam & Eve ( a vodka and fig liquor based confection). We mainly ate sushi - which was good, but not stellar, and sashimi, which was so-so. 

Perhaps not an every-night venue, but definitely worth a visit.

Definitely a good place to visit at least once either on week night or at the weekend. Eccentric decor, lovely cocktails, decent food (tried the sushi and they were amazing!) and lovely atmosphere. East-end locals meets City Bankers was the crowd when I was there on a Thursday evening. I would probably rate this place 5 stars if everything was not so stupidly and unnecessarily expensive.

We went there with a voucher we had and were still treated like royalty. Booking a table was slightly confusing as there were various rules that were emailed back to us (e.g., 2 people can have a table for X amount of time, 4 people can have a table for longer, no bar service, etc.) But asides from the logistics everything else was amazing. The decor toes the line between hideously gaudy and amazingly chic very well and was an utter delight for the visual senses.

Anyways, back to the food and drink. We were greeted with a prosecco-based cocktail (with sorbet!!) that was a yummy treat as we pondered the large cocktail menu. With our voucher we were given a tasting menu, and I at first thought it would be mass produced Japanese food served to drunk westerners but very quickly learned that it was high-end made-to order, beautifully presented, and delicious haute cuisine. The edamame starter that was part of the tasting menu was a run of the mill edamame. But it was quickly followed by an appetiser plate that include a salmon tartare, two delicious morsels of prawn tempura, and a fried soft shell crab salad. We hoovered that up in 2 seconds, it was that good. Next came a sushi and sashimi platter. Pretty standard fare, but decent enough quality. That took another 5 seconds to hoover up, and during this time we started pondering what cocktails would go well with the next two courses.

The next two courses came together. One was a sliced asian duck breast with a tangy sauce, and two portions of sea bass that were piled on top of some juicy tomatoes. The tomatoes were cold but the bass was fried with a just-crispy enough skin. I wish there was a bit more of it, but it was a perfect complement to everything else and we werent hungry at all (I was just greedy and wished there was more). We asked the waitress to hold off on dessert while we completed our cocktails, which she nicedly accomodated and after we gave the signal that we were ready, our mango mousse appeared (and then disappeared as we devoured that too. Very nicely creamy and flavourful, with little bits of dragonfruit and kiwi, and accompanied with what was probably home-made lime sorbet).

THe only drawbacks? The drinks arent cheap (£8 to 11 on average). And the drinks menu is so extensive that you will have to go back. Drinkwise, my partner had a mint julep, which was very good (though not quite as strong as the ones I just had in the US the week before) and I had a bourbon-cognac-absinthe cocktail which didn't quite do it for me (so I will give it a miss next time and try one of the many others on the list).

The look on my girlfriend's face said it all.... Had she just found a crisp £20 note in the bottom of her handbag? NO. Had she just had a When Harry Met Sally Moment? Definitely NOT! Had she just received a phone call from the excitable Chris Tarrant? Uh-uhhhhhhh! I had seen this look before. Just once. The first time was from a sweet sensation so powerful that she was instantly hooked. A crack-cocaine type hit straight to the taste buds. That was Krispy Kreme. What she had experienced this time however was one of the finest cocktails ever mixed.. A sensuous mix of fresh strawberries, silky cream and strawberry liquor. A little glass of heaven. From this moment onwards I knew that drinking would never be the same again. Nothing would ever live up to the heady heights of Lounge Lover. The intoxicating, hypnotic atmosphere left us thinking we had stepped inside the rabbit-hole. Was the drink so powerful that we were hallucinating? Neon lights flashed before our eyes. We saw a Hippo's Head. A Garden of Eden at the entrance. Surgical diagrams and implements floating around as a razor-sharp mirage of how deep an incision this place was making. A Swan on the table. A doll's house bathed in luminous green, as if rising from a toxic swamp. Is this real we asked?
The pink liquid was still coursing through our veins like a magical mystery tour-bus. We were high. If you like. The saccharine sweet hit not merely dancing, more stomping over our mouths like a group of Hells' Angels doing the can-can. We left before it was too late. Whilst we still had an ounce of semblance. Creeping through the front door before the bed had even had chance to go cold and the awkward thoughts of pillow-talk had yet to form in our minds. It was lust in its purest, most heady form. This bestial experience would never be forgotten.
"Thank you for visiting Lounge lover, we hope you enjoyed the ride!" a miniature man complete with cane and top-hat uttered in a droll voice..."do pop along again soon...."

Firstly, the cocktails are delicious. And strong, which is always a good thing for a cocktail to be if it can possibly manage. They're served in a space that rather puts me in mind of a barn decorated by someone's eccentric Aunty Elsa - full of wonderful bits and pieces and assorted oriental ephemera. It's bright, warm and inviting, a perfect spot for curling up for a few stiff drinks and some conversation.

Now, back to the cocktails. A Bit on the Side and Dr Strangelove did it for me, combining many of my favourite things - vanilla, caramel, pears, spices, hard liquor. My drinking companion went for A Star is Born, which was pronounced "OK, but not as good as yours. Why do you always pick the good ones?". A few hours passed, we drank some more - can't actually remember what, you know how it is - and stumbled off into the Shoreditch night drunk, happy and considerably lighter of purse.

Lounge Lover isn't somewhere you'd drink every night - unless, of course you are Madonna in which case you can damn well do as you please. The drink prices and opulent surrounds make it more suited as a special night out venue, which it fits very well indeed. I just need to make another excuse for a special night (perhaps, say, a celebration of it being Friday) and get myself back there.

I love it in here, with one small caveat: as long as someone else is paying. It might make me sound cheap, but my meagre freelancer's budget does not stretch to £15 cocktails and £5 pots of tea.

That said, if it's on expenses or you can wangle it as a treat from a flush friend, this bar is perfect for a cosy chat over delicious cocktails. Their 'Sweet Little Nothing' cocktails is especially more-ish, but every single one I've tried has been perfect, which just makes me all the more determined to return and work my way through the rest of the menu.

Apparently a favourite of celebrities A-Z list (from Madonna to daytime TV property presenters), the staff are friendly and fast but sometimes a tad on the frosty side of polite, like if you rock up without a booking or look like a scruff. I've been guilty on both counts, and it doesn't mean you won't be allowed in, but your best bet to is to book ahead, go on a week night and scrub up a bit.

The décor is brilliantly eclectic too. Sort of Alice in Wonderland goes on holiday to the orient. It's full of person-sized vases and other such weird and wonderful details like old-fashioned ornate clocks and oriental cabinets. The bizarre baby clothes on the toilet doors are a bit creepy, but noticing all those strange details is part of the evening's entertainment.

Fantastic place little tucked away.Very good service.
x

What rock have I been hiding under? I just now finally made it to Lounge Lover for the first time last night. Wow. Loved it … and will definitely make it back pronto.

Now, I must add that I was there on a Sunday night. It was mellow and perfect for a lil post din-din chat with some friends. Odds are this place gets packed on a Saturday night and would be the last place I’d want to find myself. But, if that’s your thing, hey go for it.

Lounge Lover’s funky and eclectic decor pulls you in but it’s the phenomenal cocktail menu that keeps you there. I had the Tribal Punch (really unique flavours) and coveted my friends Thai Breaker (a somewhat savoury corriander-y sensation). I need to go back and sample more … MORE … MORE!!!

Fun place with weird anantomy posters and swan-shaped chairs, and GIANTIC vases and jungle scenes and and and … best just see for yourself.

definitely a pay day treat - my absinthe based cocktail was almost a tenner, but worth it - somthing that’s clearly been thought about and created properly. still, it’s the surroundings that win it because I have never, ever been in a place that can put together things you find in skips outside department stores and turn them into trendy furniture!

I came here for a cocktail recently with a friend and what a cocktail it was I got the Loungelover £8.00 which is a combination of fig liqueur, sweet vanilla and zesty lemon oil finished with prosecco. Served straight up in a champagne flute. Yummidy yum!

The creators of this beautiful eccentric lounge bar also own the fabulous fine dining restaurant Les Trois Garcons around the corner which is on my list of places to try!

Lounge Lover is a short walk from Brick Lane, it’s packed with the same gorgeous curiosity shop type clutter as the restaurant, with long, rustic oak tables, flamboyant sofas, red drapes and much surreal artwork.

In this bar, I had the most amazing cocktail of my life - the ‘Sweet Little Nothing’. Absolutely exquisite. Quite expensive, but worth it for a treat. In this place, you have to book a table in advance, otherwise you are forced to sit in a little chic waiting room space - a limbo where my sister and I ended up remaining for our evening here, while smartly dressed gentlemen came and left and got escorted to free tables…hhhmmmmm…
But, they do know their cocktails here and when given a thesis of receipes when you arrive, the waiters are more than happy to share their enviously-acquired expertise knowledge with you.
Also, the decor is fantastic.

I’d probably rate it higher if it wasn’t so stupidly expensive, I’m sure it wasn’t a few years ago. Like oil, really. Anyway, this is a really swanky cocktail bar with rather esoteric decor and a grand feel to it. I’ve had the uberposh bar snacks too, and they’re delicious. A far cry from a working mens club in Leigh, or something, and no bitter.

I’ve still not eaten at Les Trois Garcons round the corner, but I will.

A great bar and restaurant in the East End with a funky decor. The 3 garcons owners have helped reshape this whole area and their loungelover bar is perfect to warm up an evening in the East. Maybe a victim of its success (ie this is a business more than a place with great spirit) but worth visiting at least once.

Cool decor, or interesting at the least. Service is difficult - really hard to get a drink, but its worth visiting this place at least once. Too cool for school alternative crowd.

Loungelover's is a great bar tucked away in the East End off Bethnal Green Road.
It's eclectic decor marks its style with tables for a number of people or corners for quiet conversations.
Elephant tusks, Chinese cabinets, old clocks, billboard lettering and old renaissance styled paintings this place looks more like an antique shop than a bar.
The cocktails are delicious and very well prepared. The service is attentive and friendly. The atmosphere is normally quite relaxed and pleasant.
A nice place for a date....
Recommended for a post-dinner digestif at Les Trois Garçons restaurant around the corner which is owned by the same decorators.