Lavish Peterborough lounge bar celebrates a year of success

Tired at the expense of travelling out of town for a good night out, Dominic Ricciardi transformed a former social club, which had been closed for years, into the Lancaster Lounge in Yaxley 12 months ago.

And his hard work and lavish investment has paid off with full houses at weekends, flirtation with number one best place to go on TripAdvisor and customers visiting from far and wide.

House regulars Nicole Lawrence and Cecil Farayi will lead the first birthday entertainment tonight (Thursday), and CJ Hatt on Saturday, and Dominic couldn’t be happier with the way it has panned out.

"It has surpassed my expectations four times over,” he said.

“I used to go to Stamford or Cambridge for a night out and with taxis you were looking at a really expensive night.

"So I thought I would bring a bit of that to Peterborough, something trendy, the sort of place I like to go, with music and food that I like – tapas, small plates and sharing platters.

"It has a lovely casual feel, looks great, and Friday and Saturday nights it really comes alive when we turn the music up and turn the lights down.”

As for the customer reaction: “I have been blown away, it has justified what I set out to do,” added Dominic.

"I have been lavish but it has been well worth the investment.”

And there is more to come with the garden being made more welcoming and the addition of a pizza oven and barbecue this summer.