Loja

A small natural sanctuary in the heart of the city, Loja is a light and airy cafe-bar.

The Venue
Upstairs from the Tup Tup Palace, Loja is a small and airy bar with a sloping glass roof that floods the place with light in the day. There’s exposed brickwork on one wall and outside there’s ivy and violet flowers creeping along the walls. The wooden bar has shiny stainless-steel pumps, is lined by tall heavy stools and has cylindrical black lampshades hanging over it. There are communal dark wood tables with flowers on to sit down at, as well as two-person wicker sofas.

There’s a big flower filled vase on the table as well as flowers in the skylight, plantpots and a big mirror at the end of the room to add to the impression of light and space. There’s a DJ booth upstairs and they do themed nights here, including Hed Kandi once a month. They are toying with the idea of opening a beauty salon in the future.

The People
Although reputedly attracting high-end clientele, Loja is in fact very popular with office workers and other business people. It’s already well-known for its good quality food and excellent drinks. It’s also popular with small groups who can almost take the place over.

The Food and Drink
There’s Heineken Kronenbourg, John Smith’s and Amstel on draught and in bottles there’s Bulmers Kronenbourg, Sol, Peroni and Tiger. Cocktails cost around £5.50 and £6.50 and include a Vanilla Laika is Stolichnaya Vanilla, creme de mure and lemon and apple juice for £5.50. There are eight Champagne cocktail for £8.50, including an orange juice, Cointreau and Champagne mix called Bisous. There are 10 bottles of white wine and about the same number of reds, ranging from £13.45 to £32, including an Argentinian Etchard Privado Malbec-Canernet for £15.50.

The menu is top notch and includes a balance of healthy stuff and comfort food. Brunch could be a smoked salmon and eggs benedict with ham (£4.95) or you could lunch on an eminently healthy salad of watercress, rocket, goat’s cheese, fennel and pears in a honey and mustard lemon dressing for £5.95. More heartily there are burgers (a lamb and mint for £7.95) and a steak sarnie with chips for £7.95, as well as an authentic chicken Valdostana (with ham and cheese) and fries for £8.95.

The Last Word
Despite the opulence of Tup Tup Palace downstairs, Loja is actually pretty understated, while serving some of the best quality food and drinks in the city.

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