SOUTHBOURNE Grove is a much livelier place than it used to be and I'm pretty sure the Ludo Lounge can take a big chunk of the credit for its transformation.

The bar and eaterie moves seamlessly from breakfast to morning coffee to lunch to afternoon tea to dinner, meaning it’s busy all day every day.

And its relaxed and chilled-out atmosphere means it’s easy to turn up for breakfast and still be there at dinner time.

Visitors can amuse themselves with a selection of board games, books and newspapers as well as enjoying a mouth-watering selection of food and drink.

The Ludo Lounge is one of a chain of 12 lounges – two more of which are in Bournemouth – stretching from Hove to Plymouth and Cardiff to Reading.

It attracts a wide range of customers and offers an equally wide range of food and drink.

All day brunches range from full English breakfasts to steak and eggs or more healthy alternatives including organic muesli.

There are also ciabatta sandwiches, paninis, salads, soups, burgers and steaks.

But Ludo’s popular tapas menu attracted our attention when three of us popped out for a leisurely bank holiday lunch.

There are 16 to choose from, priced at £2.95 each or £7.95 for three and there’s something for everyone ranging from crayfish and prawns with tomato and chilli to falafels with red onion and coriander dip.

Between us we tried out a fair few dishes, including honey glazed shredded five spice pork, courgette fritters with lemon and garlic mayonnaise, bbq chicken wings, sweetcorn fritters, garlic mushrooms with paprika and roasted sweet potato and butternut squash with goat’s cheese.

We stuck to the soft drinks – just in case we ended up there until closing time – and finished with coffees from the extensive menu.

And we all agreed it had been a delicious alternative to our usual lunchtime fare of a sandwich and a packet of crisps.

The Bill

3x3 tapas for £7.95 £23.85

4 cokes £4.40

1 filter coffee £1.60

1 Latte £1.90

TOTAL: £31.75