It’s a week of catching up with people, it seems, and this time it’s Niki! Laden with dietary requirements and also pregnancy hormones, she slightly apologetically suggests somewhere not very interesting but certainly safe for knowing she’ll be able to eat the food - this is of course fine with me. Luckily, the Lounge fits the bill and is all of a three minute walk from my house, so I’m not going to argue. I’ve never been to this specific Lounge, which is I was confused to learn recently the original Lounge. Any charm or history it may have has been wiped out over time and private equity investment, sadly. It’s all fine. Aggressively mediocre. I order a smashed burger, and it comes out looking so sad, so shrunken. It tastes ok, because it’s kinda hard to make a bad burger, but it’s not massively inspiring. Likewise the chips. But hey, they at least bring out a bottle of mayo when I ask for some, rather than an insultingly tiny thimbleful.