Marciano Lounge, Woking

We came here having clocked their menu earlier in the day, at which point I had no idea that this was part of the Loungers chain of pubs. I’ve been to a couple of their outlets before - usually food-led ventures that can just about muster enough enthusiasm to cater for passing drinkers too. As it was a baking hot summer’s day, we opted to eat out on one of the pavement tables, which line two sides of the building, both on pedestrianised streets. This meant that I only caught a couple of fleeting glimpses of the interior, which seemed to be modest in size, with scuffed floorboards, anaglypta walls and the servery tucked away over to one side. The bar has a traditional pub counter and snazzy diamond patterned bar back, whilst opposite there is a spacious seating area with several tables and chairs filling the void. More seating can be found further to the right, partly screened by large pillars and bits of partitioning wall. There’s no cask ale here - just Brewdog Punk IPA on draught alongside some mainstream lagers, although they did have a couple of interesting bottled options including Bristol Beer Factory Milk Stout and three non or low alcoholic beers. The Punk IPA was served very cold, which was fine on a roasting hot afternoon, but may need toning down later in the year, whilst the service was as grumpy as you can get without tipping into outright rudeness. The food, on the other hand, was very nice and we got a new waitress towards the end of our stay, who was lovely. This really works best if you’re hoping to grab some food, as the lack of decent beer options makes it a niche drinker’s choice at best. The interior seemed pleasant enough and we enjoyed watching shopper’s go by from our pavement table, but there’s little else to recommend as a pub going experience, other than the dearth of decent pub’s elsewhere in town.

Large modern café bar, with the emphasis on café, furnished in a sort of trendy way mainly with tables and artily mismatched chairs. There are a few armchairs and one high table with stools, with lighting from various chandelier-type fittings. At least the ceiling has been finished properly, as opposed to the usual neo-industrial effect. The daytime clientele was mainly ladies who lunch, with a sprinkling of young families. No real ales but a couple of keg craft taps alongside some usual Eurofizz. Bright, clean and comfortable enough, but not much cause to visit.

Official site of Marciano Lounge - thelounges.co.uk

Official site of Marciano Lounge - thelounges.co.uk

Part of the Loungers chain.