Rangos restaurant and lounge opens at Hotel 52 in Stanley

Rangos in Stanley opened its doors to diners for the first time on Saturday (May 13) after a stunning £100k refurb.

The restaurant and lounge promises something for guests throughout the day, open from 8am until 11pm in the evenings.

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Work gutting the site at Hotel 52 in the town and revamping the interior has left it unrecognisable with new Instagrammable floral walls, accent lights, and separate lounge and dining areas.

Inside the newly renovated restaurant. (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

Manager Catherine Coates, 47, told The Northern Echo: “We wanted to bring something totally different to Stanley.

"We've had Italians and grills but never something like this.

“The old restaurant was quite run down and dated but now it’s beautiful – we’ve got Instagram walls and everything. We wanted to bring the vibe of the classier bars and restaurants in Newcastle.

A floral wall at the new venue complete with neon signage. (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

The new restaurant has floral walls and led coloured lighting for added ambiance. (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

“People are really excited about us opening. I’ve had people asking me in the supermarket when we were opening the doors and taken quite a few bookings already.

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“I got involved about 10 weeks ago when the work was starting and it’s been a rollercoaster from there. I’ve been working in hospitality since I was 17 but I’ve never had to come in and do it all from scratch before so it’s been full on.”

Inside the new restaurant. (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

The venue has a separate lounge area to enjoy a drink. (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

The menu is American-inspired with burgers, waffles, pizzas and dirty fries. A breakfast menu is also on offer in the mornings with pancakes, full English breakfasts and eggs.

The restaurant at Hotel 52 in the town replaces to old Osteria Antonio Italian, which closed in January following a social media storm when the owner called the town ‘Afghanistanley’.

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The previous owners Tina Ion and Antonio Grandieri only ran the Italian from September last year but custom slowly tailed off after controversy over the Facebook comments. Tina’s reference to ‘Afghanistanley’, which she claims was intended as a joke, did not go down well with locals.

A former care home, the hotel was converted and opened in 2017.

Rangos is open seven days a week, with the restaurant open from 8am to 10.30am for breakfast and 12pm to 9pm on the main menu. The lounge is open from 11am to 11pm each day.