Restaurant review: Live Lounge

Feb 19 2010 By Andrew Hirst

THERE were just the three of us – me, Ruth and Audrey Hepburn.

Oh, and the rat pack – that’s Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Junior.

And then there was Marilyn Monroe keeping time over the proceedings.

My wife, Ruth, and I were at the Live Lounge in Lindley. The stars, sadly, were all on the walls.

This is a restaurant that’s off-beat in several charming ways.

First of all you walk straight in off Lidget Street into, well, a lounge. It’s got a bar in there with stained glass windows – now you don’t see many of those.

How did they know we were here? I mean, there was no bell.

Then the young waiter mysteriously appeared from the back. Was he a relative of Mr Benn’s?

We liked him instantly – and he was upfront with us, admitting Valentine’s weekend had been hectic and the two house wines had sold out.

What now? The first test. He replaced them instantly with more expensive wines from the list, but charged the house price rate. Good thinking. Good customer service.

And the wine glasses were so big you could keep goldfish in them.

With brown or cream leathers seats it’s all rather chic. And then I felt myself staring at the chimney breast. It couldn’t be, could it? Could it possibly be bound in leather too? No, it was wallpaper, but certainly fooled from the distance.