Grupo Lounge is part of a chain of "lounges" in Bristol, and this one in Westbury just opened at the end of January, so I was excited to check it out.
First impressions were that it's huge! There's an upstairs area and a part outside on the roof which will be really nice if we ever get any nice weather!
All 3 of us went for breakfast. My sister got the regular, Lounge Breakfast ("Sausage pattie, hash browns, Heinz baked beans, black pudding, grilled tomato, button mushrooms,
smoked back bacon, fried egg and toast") and I got the Vegan Breakfast ("Mini vegetarian burger, grilled red pepper, hummus,
hash browns, grilled tomato, Heinz baked beans, button mushrooms
cooked in olive oil and toast"). I think they were both £5.75 with a tea/filter coffee as it was a weekday morning. My mum got granary toast and marmalade.
I don't want to be too harsh since this place just opened, and I'm all about supporting local businesses, but there are a couple of things that could be improved about the breakfasts. First of all, get nicer bread! It was all just normal thin sliced bread, probably from a bag from the supermarket or something, and considering that the breakfast is relatively pricey (especially if you don't come during the week), it's kind of unimpressive. Also, my sister and I didn't get a choice of white/granary bread- I'd have preferred granary! We didn't get any butter for the toast so it was kind of dry, as was the whole breakfast in general, since there was only about 2 spoonfuls of beans each. Considering that baked beans are really cheap, it wouldn't cost much more to add another spoonful or two to the meal. I didn't get any hummus on my breakfast and I was actually quite looking forward to that but felt too picky asking for it :(
Overall, I just didn't find the breakfast overly satisfying. For the vegan breakfast it would have been nice to have scrambled tofu. I just felt like it was lacking something. The veggie burger was delicious though and definitely the highlight of the meal.
My mum was a bit disappointed about her toast. Like I already mentioned, I think it would be nice to maybe source bread from a local bakery, something nice and fresh that can be cut in nice big chunky slices so that it feels a bit more special, otherwise you feel like you might as well be at home!
The filter coffee available was fine but I think the smaller cup offered as the breakfast deal is quite stingy considering that it costs barely anything to make. It would also have been nice to be able to pay 50p or so for a refill (or just have a free refill! ;) ). Luckily the tea was a pot so that was good!
Staff seemed nice enough and the food came fast. The inside of the place is really nice, spacious, and table are big. It's a really nice place to hang out in in general, whether it's for breakfast/lunch/dinner or just a drink after work. I really think this is what the area needs so I will definitely try it out again, but (sorry!) would go to Coffee 1 next door if I only wanted a quick coffee!
Finally- please place the vegan menu somewhere more obvious than behind the counter! I was really pleased that this was even available, and I'm sure that there are other vegans/vegetarians that would like to be made aware of it as well.
I would definitely come back to try other things on the menu as they all sound really good and different to what else is on offer in the village. read more