First Impressions of La Vecchia Banca in Bishops Cleeve nr Cheltenham, Gloucestershire

As soon as I walked in, with my family, I remarked “I hope this isn’t too expensive”, merely because, if La Vecchia Banca becomes a treat I fear the footfall will not be sustainable – it was packed, which one could expect in the first week, and I know, Bishops Cleeve wants this restaurant to work.

La Vecchia Banca translates as ‘The Old Bank’, and that’s where it is – the now closed NatWest Bank on Church Road in Bishops Cleeve just north of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. As soon as it closed, everyone said “restaurant”.

The building is beautiful and they have done it justice internally, my only bug bear was the lighting – so bright, why, where is the mood lighting all restaurants should enjoy? The grey walls, dotted with art and shelving accompanied by contemporary and low lit wall lights were blasted by a gazillion lumens from the plethora of  lights dangling from the ceiling – it was like National Lampoons Christmas Vacation – their poor smart meter only making the power company happy.

We were greeted and seated quickly in the backroom, walking past the floral bar situated in the front – it looks good, almost Ivy like. The tables are packed together, but there is plenty of room.

The Bar and Wine at La Vecchia Banca

One test we like to apply to any restaurant is the time it takes from being seated to getting a drink, it’s a basic fundamental, it wasn’t swift but well within the boundary.

The wine list isn’t a wine list at all, it doesn’t mention vineyards or brands, just grapes and appellation. There is no way to know what you’re going to get, you can’t research it. A bottle of Sauvignon Blanc – from where dude? When ordering a Chianti Classico, which is a legally protected appellation in Tuscany, Italy, I would absolutely need to know more than that.

This only means that those who like to pay attention to the wine will need to ask, and those that go for the grape (like that Malbec crap they make in Argentina) won’t even notice. Nit-picking right? I don’t think so, it’s a good signal as to how La Vecchia Banca will operate – this will give them a chance to price the wine, and buy for margin.

You may notice, I am concerned about the prices and value – we all want this to be a success, but if it’s charging more than Montpellier, is it sustainable?

The Food at La Vecchia Banca

The menu is massive, which I often find to be an instant worry – how fresh is the food, it usually suggests lots of pre-made and defrosting, but in an Italian you have lots of Pasta, Risotto, Pizza – so a little deceptive – the proof will be in the eating.

Two adults and two kids, we ordered Calamari Fritti to start at £8.95 compared to TripAdvisors’ number one Italian restaurant in Cheltenham Zitto E Mangia (which is actually in Tewkesbury) £7.50 – which sadly, never arrived. I saw a couple of times the waiting staff not writing down the order. There were a few teething problems, we will return and try again.

A pizza was ordered, Margherita (£12.00 v £11.25 ASK). The base was soft and floppy, I wasn’t sure about the type of oven it was cooked in to be honest, but when you have Casa Gee (which I have only ever had a left over slice of) in the area, renowned for their stone baked pizza bases, you have to be sure. The top was crispy and looked great, but the toppings themselves also had a funny taste to it, like it was distinctly flavoured in some way, I cannot explain it though, almost sour. I’m giving a thumbs down for the pizza.

Things start to improve from this point on – the lasagne was good, looked great, good fun to eat, had an underlying sweetness to it, thumbs up.

We also ordered a risotto, this’ll be a good test, Risotto con Branzino (£17.95) – king prawns, some chilli, saffron and a filet of sea bass. The Arborio rice was al dente, the sauce thick and saffron coloured served in nice crockery that came hot. Thumbs up.

Last up, Linguine Pescatore £16.95 – king prawns, mussels, calamari, chill, garlic, butter – this was gorgeous, and had plenty of seafood in it. I felt this was good value, brilliantly cooked and I had to slow myself from walloping it down. I should have ordered some garlic bread for mop-ups and I wouldn’t have cared who saw me – a bib would have been required. One downside, my bowl was cold, the food was ok though. Had to wait a teeny bit for all four dishes to arrive.

I did look at other diners, and what I saw looked very good indeed.

In summary, I would be worried that it is a little expensive, it’s not Montpellier, it’s opposite a Tesco car park in Bishops Cleeve. Yes, one should try to be amazing, but equally, you want your covers booked. Would people from the wider area make the pilgrimage to Bishops Cleeve to eat in a high end Italian with poor pizza? I hope so, local people that I have spoken to, want this place to work.

The staff are wonderful, there are just a few teething problems, that’s permitted for a new restaurant surely. We’ll be back, and will find out. Work in progress and there is more good than bad.

Atmosphere
Food
Drink
Staff
Value
Overall
Average

PRICE: £££

WEBSITE: VecchiaBanca.co.uk

TELEPHONE: 01242 708 401

The post La Vecchia Banca | Restaurant Review | Bishops Cleeve Italian nr Cheltenham appeared first on National Dish.

Pesto is as Italian as it comes, it’s lovely stirred through pasta, but we don’t eat that shit here. Spread it on a chunky cod fillet, you won’t miss the heavy carb.

Serve it with another couple of classic Italian treats, Parma ham, wrapped around asparagus spears and rocket and Parmesan salad.

The post Italian pesto crusted Cod with Asparagus in Parma ham | Bacalao con pesto y espárragos en jamón de Parma | What is the national dish of Italy? appeared first on National Dish.

This Rocket and Parmesan Salad is so easy you should be able to make it up yourself or just look at our picture and make it from that. Failing that, we’ve written it down for you – takes minutes.

Ours is the quick version and doesn’t have pine nuts – but they are a nice addition is you would like them, just roast them in a pan and let the cool a little first.

The post Quick and Easy Rocket and Parmesan Salad, takes 5 minutes | Rucola e Parmigiano Insalata | Italian National Dish Favourite appeared first on National Dish.

Aspargus wrapped in Parma ham is clearly a side dish, one that you can put next to a lot of mains. It’s very easy, tastes good and even look fun. What’s not to like? It’s asparagus wrapped in bacon for fuck sake and anything wrapped in bacon is a thing to behold, uhhhhh

I eat bacon as a condiment!

The post Asparagus wrapped in Parma ham | espárragos en jamón de Parma | What is the national dish of Italy? appeared first on National Dish.

This is so quick and easy it almost feels criminal to get so much flavour out of it, not only that, it’s stunning to look at.

This dish really pays off with a high quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil, such as Sicilian – you want it almost luminous, uhhhhhh

The post Italian tomato, mozzarella and basil salad | Insalata Caprese | What is the national dish of Italy? appeared first on National Dish.