Push Chair Brigade Invade

After a morning meeting on Tuesday, I decided to toddle along and try out the Alto Lounge in Caversham to have a glass of vino and type up my notes.

I was willingly greeted as I walked through the door but have to say I was not sure whether it was a member of staff of just a very nice young man grinning at me inanely. I found a space with power supply nearby (essential as my battery was running low…not just on the laptop either).

The girl behind the bar, though very pleasant and I believe to have been managing the bar, looked rather unkempt and as though she hadn’t washed for days.

The decor is very welcoming and warm and it had a very pleasant atmosphere….then…..the pushchair brigade arrived. It was rammed with push chairs the size of hummers in every possible crevice, this coupled with the close proximity of the covers, made manoeuvring towards the toilets a task worthy of the Krypton Factor.

I wasn’t stopping for something to eat so did my best at craning my neck and peering at other patrons orders. A couple of ladies next to me and yes one of them was adorned with the necessary accessory of a baby had plumped for the Alto’s version of Eggs Benedict various, one being with bacon and the other with mushrooms. The eggs looked poorly poached and there are been some lightening strike of an idea in the kitchen that the ‘hollandaise’ should be underneath the contents that were on the muffin, I say ‘hollandaise’ as it looked reminiscent of very thin runny custard. However of course I cannot comment on the taste as I was only getting a visual tasting!

On the table opposite a young mother and her toddler, very smart and well behaved I may add, was sucking on a lemon and pulling the best gurning faces that only a child can, however congratulations to the mother who had managed to get lemons into her little one’s 5-a-day regime! This was followed by mother and baby goldilocks burger portions, which didn’t look too bad. As this stage the lemon was discarded in replacement of ketchup covered chips…normality returns.

During this period I had to endure customer after customer peering at the board above my head, the board would work should there be another one across the other side of the bar.

I then get to nose at another offering this time for a selection of tapas/meze, I couldn’t see what the selection was and I am sure was more than palatable, however I have to say my own preference would be to go to a Spanish or Greek restaurant should I want anything like that.

Into my last 10 mins there and a gentleman who was the amalgam of Jarvis Cocker and Oliver Peyton, came and sat at the table next to me with his leg jauntily but with a casual confidence crossed over the other was presented with a burger buy someone whom I presume was an area manager of some ilk for the ever growing business. The jaunty gentleman proceeded to make a face equal to that of the lemon sucking toddler, raised his eyebrow and had it taken away, to which the gentleman who had proffered the food said, ‘I agree’….hmmm Alto Lounge code me thinks!!

I will be back in for a weekend nosey.