A central, upmarket and classy hotel bar, Laguna is a sight for sore eyes.

The Venue
Laguna is the bar of the Park Plaza Hotel but is run very much as a distinct entity, which works in its favour bearing in mind some of the dismal and poorly frequented hotel bars around. Indeed, Laguna is a veritable beacon of bright contemporary cool in this part of town with its clean lines and cool dark brown and cream tones.

It’s a long narrow room with booths all along the left-hand wall and the bar at the far end. Opposite the bar are two gorgeous high-backed cream-coloured leather banquettes and orange S-shaped chairs, which add a vibrant splash of colour in among the subdued tones. All in all it’s a bit of a treat for the eyes. There’s jazz music tinkling in the background and Laguna’s trump card is its decked balcony over the waterway at the back.

The People
Laguna is, understandably, popular with city folk as well as visiting guests and is used as a place to have a drink before going to the restaurant, or for a coffee and a snack in the day. It attracts a smarter young professional crowd in the evenings.

The Food and Drink
With an impressive back bar stocked to the brim with premium sprits - 17 whiskies and bourbons alone - Laguna is the place to come for high-quality cocktails and the list is pretty exhaustive including PS I Love You, Strawberry Caipiroska and Hazelnut Alexander. They cost around £6-£7 with champagne cocktails at £8. Beers include Kirin Ichiban, Amstel and Worthington’s on draught and Tiger, Peroni and Beck’s in bottles.

There are also plenty of bottles of wine and quite a number available by the glass: a large glass of Tre Erre Pinot Grigio is £4.75. Food includes a club sandwich for £6.25, a Caesar salad with a poached egg and sweet-cured bacon for £7 or a sweet chilli chicken and potato salad for £8. If you can get by on a sandwich, then a farmhouse cheddar and Worcestershire sauce one for £3.25 is, given the surroundings, a bit of a steal.

The Last Word
For style and ambience, Laguna is a step up from most of the city centre bars and is a comfortable place to bring a business acquaintance, family member or friend. And, to cap it all, it’s not too pricy either.