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If you are looking for somewhere simple yet elegant to have dinner and a drink without having to change venue, this type of restaurant is the perfect option. Lounge restaurants and their minimalist style are all the rage when going out with friends because, as a restaurant, they are somewhere to have a leisurely dinner that also offers you the option of prolonging your evening in a relaxed environment with subtle chill out or new jazz music in the background. 

At the root of this comfortable alternative is a desire to combine a beautifully decorated restaurant with subtly lit areas where you can prolong your evening by having a few drinks, without masses of people, with low seating, a relaxed atmosphere and music at a volume that enables conversation. These lounges are usually separate from the restaurant, but sometimes both concepts are combined in the same room.

One of the outstanding aspects of this kind of place is that they are venues which do not try to make full use of all the space, instead they have an uncluttered design, where the tables are spaced out, something that increases the relaxed feeling. 

The decoration is fundamental

The decoration is a fundamental aspect of this kind of restaurant and the versatility of the furniture will change depending on whether it is located inside, in a courtyard or in a garden. Regardless, the lounge style has the big advantage that it may be combined with other styles, that way the rooms look even better. 

In this kind of restaurant the distribution of the lights is carefully studied. When you walk through the door of one of these restaurants, you will find leather furniture, with a single background colour or a carefully considered combination of several colours. Inside, Buddhist style ornaments are combined with other Mediterranean touches; alternatively a tent over the furniture, lit by subtle candlelight and lamps creates the ambience of theFar East, with lots of cushions for a true chill out style. 

Combining comfort and elegance, some restaurants are inspired by a New York style with beautiful decoration and some have a sober look combining large mirrors and candelabras with old recycled chairs, walls and sofas in the same colour, and high ceilings. 

There are safari styles, restaurants which conjure up faraway beaches, with palm leaf ceilings and palm trees that grow along with authentic sand floors. In other restaurants, relaxing streams cross the restaurant, which has a colourful Hawaiian atmosphere, full of flowers and exotic birds or exotic decoration inspired by Africa, with terracotta walls and tribal touches. There are others that take us to the antipodes or recreate Nordic winter landscapes which encourage quiet conversation. 

‘Carpe diem’

Lounges are an increasingly fashionable option due to the comfort they offer customers who, after dinner, can prolong their evening in the disco area with a live DJ. During the week they are perfect for lunch or having a quiet dinner and, as the weekend approaches, the atmosphere livens up after dinner.

On sitting down at a table, the offering varies considerably from one place to another. There are restaurants which offer both Mediterranean and international fusion cuisine, food from the five continents, auteur cuisine, Italian influenced menus, casual food at all hours, classic and haute cuisine snacks … Once the meal is over, the teas, drinks and cocktails are perfect for enjoying conversation and momentarily forgetting the stresses of everyday life. 

In addition to dinners, some of these restaurants also open first thing in the morning and offer the possibility to have breakfast or brunch in a peaceful atmosphere followed by a chill out session. 

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