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.

Updated: 9 Feb 2023

We went back, after our first review in 2017, and how things have changed since then. Cheltenham will always be the OG, but now they have eight more locations, a new menu, plenty of awards and a win on Come Dine with Me: The Professionals. Has success changed them for better or worse?

It’s still in the middle of nowhere, and by that I mean a residential area of Cheltenham Town – a place like this is out of place.

What do I mean by a place like this? Its shabby chic urban, trying to be cool – why? It’s a Sri Lankan street food tapas bar, so it has to try to look the part, you know, among English terraced housing – it’s pretty unusual to be honest, outside of London anyway.

It’s in an old, neighbourhood, street corner boozer, its painted grey and doesn’t scream colourful South Asian Island in the Indian Ocean, until you get inside where it transforms and you are transported.

It’s not a traditional Indian style restaurant, no sit down white clothed tables with regional music in the background and those little tea light heaters.

The thing you notice the most is how busy it is, packed with cool, good looking people listening to bassey chilled out music. You need to book ahead for this one and I mean it – especially at the weekend.

The dude that decorated this place has a gift. The lighting is sweet and low – tables are hung from chains in the wall, high stool long tables or low with cushioned beer barrels to sit on and the bar is made of old crates and coins.

You’re greeted quickly and ever so smoothly by any number of baseball cap wearing and smiling front of house staff – who care whether you’ve been before or not – they have a story to tell you, and what a journey these guys have been on, with no end in sight.

The story – 5 guys wanting somewhere to live chose an old pub and with the permission of the owner, ‘shoved’ in an authentic and vibrant Asian Tapas Restaurant.

They didn’t win Masterchef and tell the same back story ‘one day I want to have my own place’ but they did go on to win Come Dine with Me Professionals with 38/40 – the numbers don’t lie.

Ultimately, they just did it and now…after all quitting their full time day jobs they now have nine locations:

• Cheltenham – The OG
• Clifton Triangle, Bristol
• Bristol Glos Rd
• Oxford
• Bath
• Reading
• Birmingham
• Cardiff
• Bournemouth

Like any decent tapas bar they’ll tell you to order about three dishes per person and it comes when it comes – just chill.

The Coconut Tree’s new menu has what seems like a surprising volume of vegetarian options – but this in actual fact is quite normal in Indian and Sri Lankan cooking.

We ordered a broad selection –  to see if anything can top the Cheesy Colombo, more on that in a mo.

I have mentioned that it is busy, quite simply, along with all I’ve said, the food is superb, and I mean exceptional without any airs or graces, sometimes not even plates, just the serving dishes and cutlery.

The stand out three on the new menu were:

• Chicken Curry on the Bone – this bangs, and I mean BANGS. If you like spice, this is all you – you’re tasting this again the next day you lucky thing.
• Black Pork, which is slow cooked in spices and a semi dry sauce
• Stir Fried Chickpeas – this is a very lovely little dish that will go nicely with so much of the menu, good for sharing too.
• Cheesy Colombo (the capital city). Think sweet and sour paneer. Yes, this is four and an original dish, I don’t care, Cheesy Colombo is going on any list.

The new menu is very good, lots on there for everyone and still pretty good on the price, bearing in mind the economic challenges.

From this point on, just look at pictures and you can see how to book below.

Check out the image gallery from 2017

You need to go here, remember to book in advance – way more than the week they suggested – it’s popular.

As always – I paid the bill to keep it real.

Thank you Sri Lanka

PRICE: £

WEBSITE: THECOCONUTTREECHELTENHAM.CO.UK

TELEPHONE: 01242 465 758

The post What’s it like to eat at The Coconut Tree, Cheltenham | Restaurant review of hidden Sri Lanka | Updated appeared first on National Dish.

I want to make this review short and punchy, but Emily Scott, of Cornwall in England, has such a great story.

Let’s start with ‘where’ – Emily’s restaurant is in the cool, beautiful and surfing haven of Watergate Bay, Cornwall. It started as a pop-up in 2020 in the failed Jamie Oliver Fifteen Cornwall restaurant – before they were turned into luxury sea view rooms for the Watergate Bay Hotel. In 2020 the Watergate Bay Hotel launched The Watchful Mary, a bar overlooking one of the finest beaches in Cornwall if not Britain – that bar, in 2021, has now been taken over with a permanent residency by Emily Scott – who started life, as a caterer.

So – caterer, pop-up restaurant, permanent restaurant and then, Emily Scott was asked to cook for the 2021 G7 summit leaders at the Eden Project in Cornwall followed by TV appearances. So is Emily now at the top of her game…I don’t think so, there even more to come.

 

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This restaurant certainly has the views, the chef has the reputation but does the food, experience and value match up?

You have to know before you continue, that this location, these views and the accolades come with a hefty price tag – this is an exclusive experience. It’s like surfing at Watergate Bay, if you’re not careful you’ll get into a spot of bother, same here with your bill and the RNLI won’t be able to save you.

The Restaurant only opens Wednesday to Saturday which is smart thinking bearing in mind Jamie Oliver’s’ Fifteen Cornwall bombed (and I actually liked it there).

There were 6 of us for Dinner – 3 adults, two teens and one 10 yr old – families are welcome, but I would advise against going too young.

The bar and staff are excellent, very well made cocktails, I ordered off menu – no problem. Grab a cocktail whilst you take a look at the intentionally small food menu. Some people like a big menu, and with that comes risk of poor food quality. Emily is clearly an astute business person, limited menu, carefully selected ingredients and focus on the final dish – a good combo.

You can grab some nibbles whilst you wait such as Nocellara Olives (Jamie Oliver’s favourite ironically) or whipped cod’s roe or lump in at £40 for some Exmoor caviar.

Starter wise we went for Sashimi of Scallops with Yuzu Ponzu (a citrus soy sauce) and Tempura Turbot in masala sauce. I’ll focus on the Scallops, which are are great fun. Yeah, it’s sliced raw Scallop, but the Yuzu and sesame really lift it, served in the shell and it looks great too. A good start.

Now, I did slag off the bill a bit, but our drinks bill wasn’t cheap, and that’s on us. After our £10+ cocktails we ordered some Billecart-Salmon which you don’t see often on menu and it is premium, but it’s a cracking champagne and in a seafood restaurant, that looks this good, in Cornwall, you just gotta.

Moving on to the main – no meat, just two fish options or a single vegetarian. Both fish dishes were selected and the price is going to come up again I am afraid. Either a small Lobster at £48 plus sides or Butterfly Mackerel roasted over coals with salami and green olives.

Let’s be honest, the Lobster is just Lobster, it does come with Seaweed Butter which I am fairly sure I saw a junior chef collect from the beach that day (that’s cool), burnt lime and some salad. We spent £4 on New Potatoes in Pesto.

The mackerel, one of the cheapest and most abundant fish in the sea took more cooking and flair at £25. Just because it’s cheap and easy to catch, doesn’t mean it’s a poor ingredient. Smoked Mackerel, in a packet found in your supermarket is poles apart from fresh Mackerel – when fresh the meat is white and fluffy, almost Bass like – wouldn’t think it from such an oily fish, but take my word for it, when fresh, it’s insane.

Carrying on with the bar tab, a bottle of Chablis (two actually) at £42 went with these guys nicely – fresh fish, sunset and Chablis.

The kids food by the way made them happy, normal stuff you’d expect for fussy little palates. They did try one of the desserts, and Lemon Almond Cake with Limoncello Cream for £8.50.

We visit Watergate Bay every year, cause I’m such a shit hot surfer (when I manage to stay on the board that is) and we will go back. Emily is an exceptional chef and the kitchen benefits from that. The front of house weren’t always 100% sure on the dishes when I asked probing questions, but they were so lovely, it didn’t matter.

But if I am honest, it would have taken a lot to ruin this experience and that’s with the pricing – the views soften everything, you sit and just let it take you. The worst thing about the bill…just means that it’s over!

Emily Scott’s Restaurant in Watergate Bay is the real deal and getting a reservation will be a big deal, huge.

PRICE: £££

WEBSITE AND RESERVATIONS: emilyscottfood.com

TELEPHONE: +44 (0) 1637 818184

EMAIL: reservations@emilyscottfood.com

LOCATION: On the sea wall, Watergate Bay, Cornwall, TR8 4AA

The post Fresh Fish, Sunset and Chablis | Emily Scott Watergate Bay Restaurant Review appeared first on National Dish.

Now, when writing these things, reviewers try to lead the reader through to the end of the article, tease the verdict. They may or may not achieve that, but in this case, I am forced to drag it out, because my friends made such a fuss. Don’t worry, it’s not an essay.

Where

The Larder at One Bayshill Road, Cheltenham opened in July 2020, which they had to delay from the original launch in February because of the Coronavirus Lockdown. They, are two local girls, Hetty and Lucy, who also run the catering company Box Fresh Street Food. One Bayshill Road is actually a retirement apartment block, a very swanky one at that. The Larder was originally a residents only eatery, but, it has been opened up to everyone, which is a very shrewd move.

It’s a very grand looking building therefore The Larder has benefited from nice interior design. It’s relaxed and soft with a suitably contemporary feel to it. The lighting, delivered by teardrop pearl like shades, is a little bright, giving the dinner service a bit of a daytime cafe feel. I am a little fussy about lighting though. The Larder is also rather small, in an intimate way, with only 30 covers situated around a very open kitchen – it works. There are also only a few services at the moment, partly Covid but also because it’s new and the situation is slightly different. You can dine Thursday to Saturday and then a very nice looking Sunday Lunch service. You don’t need me to tell you, you;; need to book.

The staff are stand out nice. I had been briefed that Hetty and Lucy were lovely, other reviews on TripAdvisor also echo that, they really are a lovely team and you’ll be looked after. You can see that they genuinely love doing this and maintain a wonderful balance of professionalism and informality.

The Food

Similarly to the restaurant, the menu is also small – always a good thing. Any menu too large is defrosting a dump load of food – no thanks. I love restaurant with a tight menu. The Larder also has a surprisingly good balance of vegetarian options. The wine list is short and sweet also, favouring old world with a few new worlds thrown in – they have the Most Wanted guys on there.

Of the four starters available I went for a Black Pudding Scotch Egg, with only one thing on my mind, the same thing that should be on anyone’s mind when ordering a scotch egg in a restaurant. Will the yoke be runny? Take a look.

The celeriac remoulade was a nice touch, I ate the whole. This thing is nice. By the way, if you’re a bit weird about Black Pudding, you’re a loser.

The others went for a Mackerel Pate and a very fun looking Roasted Beetroot and Goats Cheese Risotto. The portions are actually pretty large and the price very reasonable, around £6.50. Everyone was happy, I tried some of the Pate – smokey as hell.

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I made a surprising choice with my main, on offer was Sri Lankan Prawn Curry (my choice), Slow Braised Beef Bourguignon, Chicken Schnitzel on Linguini, Roasted Vegetable Vegan Tartlet (meh) and a Root Vegetable Tagine. The Confit Duck Leg had been gobbled up. They did hit us with a special, Lambs Liver.

The Curry and Schnitzel were to main choice. My Prawn Curry looked beautiful, but was a little cold and I think could have been spicier. The plate could have been hotter maybe. The latter is my problem, as a coconut based curry, it was never going to be kick ass hot. I am not sure that I ordered well – which is unusual. It was creamy, it was deep but left me slightly wanting. With is came a couple of small Onion Bhaji’s, they were really good. The prawns were perfect and the best poppadom I might have ever had.

We went for a range of desserts. The guys kept on about the Eton Mess, which as actually rather tidy and pretty. I went for the toughest Sticky Toffee Pudding ever, I couldn’t get through it with a spoon – it was so chewy, was great – not sure how intentional that was. It was served with Walnut Ice Cream – now that was a thing to eat! The final one was a Lemon Curd creme Brûlée – looked really nice served in a coffee cup.

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Summary

The Larder is a super relaxed cafe come restaurant that isn’t trying to fine dine you or charge for it. The food is homely and will suit pretty much everyone. I am confident that Sunday Lunch would be really good. It’s a really nice place to spend some time and the folks that work there are lush.

Atmosphere
Food
Drink
Staff
Value
Overall
Average

PRICE: £

WEBSITE AND RESERVATIONS: www.thelarderrestaurant.co.uk

TELEPHONE: +44 (0) 1242 388 246

EMAIL: thelarderrestaurant@outloook.com

LOCATION: One Bayshill Road, Montpellier, Cheltenham

The post The Larder, Montpellier, Cheltenham | Restaurant Review appeared first on National Dish.

Can a boozer, owned by a renowned, 2 Michelin Star Chef be a success? Not just as a business, but as a genuine local pub, for local people (and all of our very welcome tourists, of course)?

The operating company, The White Brasserie Company, has a fair number of other pubs like this. Raymond Blanc is rather shrewd not adding his name to The Kings Arms, especially in light of the collapse of Jamie Oliver’s restaurant empire. Add to that, you have The Brasserie Blanc restaurant chain, one of which we have here in Cheltenham. He doesn’t need to splash his name all over it, we all know they are his – apart from a few closeted folk – more about that below.

If The Kings Arms is to work long term, it needs to deliver as a pub and not have punters worrying that it’s too posh for them – even in Prestbury, which is in Cheltenham, which is in The Cotswolds…OMG, one can’t get away from posh.

Let’s explore in three simple questions:

1. Is it a Pub – a genuine, meet your mates down the boozer type place?
2. Will it be a nice place to spend time – the decor, comfort and vibe?
3. What is the food like, do they give a shit, and can us muggles afford it?

A little history

The Kings Arms is a Grade II listed 16th century Tudor building, which prior to Raymond Blanc and his team getting hold of it, was a Carvery.

No matter how lovely the building is, a carvery is an offence to food and dining. Having to queue for someone to offer you a slice of meat, no, meats (oh god), some over-cooked vegetables whilst you watch in horror as the person in front of you piles their plate so high that you wanna to vom – it smells like farts and tastes like feet.

They actually took a booking from people who still thought it was a carvery whilst I was waiting at the front of house “two carveries please” – ugh. Let’s never speak of this again.

This wonderful building, in this superb location, has in actual fact been saved, nice one Team Blanc.

History lesson over.

Question One – Is it a Pub?

To test this, rather than me reviewing it alone, I went with some buddies, 4 of us, so that we might have a few beers and a laugh. They were instructed to ignore the review, that took half a cocktail.

The Kings Arms is split in two – a Pub and Restaurant, and split rather well. The restaurant is out the back and pub toward the street. The buildings’ low ceilings, exposed beams, open fires and superb low lighting makes for a perfect country pub blessed with little areas to hide in – there’s even a TV in one area.

If you want to just go to the pub, with your mates, you totally can. If you get hungry, you can get something the impressive looking Bar Menu, slightly lower pricing than the restaurant.

It is an actual pub, very accessible as a local pub, but if you felt that you might go out of your way, you’d be happy too. Dog walkers (and their dogs), people taking on The Cotswold Way, cyclists, Cheltenham race goers and families are all welcome and will all fit together nicely.

1 out of 1.

Question Two – Is it a nice place?

They, Raymond Blancs’ team, have finally unlocked the potential of this building.

The interior design is perfectly and consistently executed by their own head designer, Inge Watrobski with the garden area enjoying the work of local favourite, Dee Campling.

The decor in the restaurant follows on from the pub, much like a DJ mixing their next track, aiming to maintain the same key and tempo before they take their audience off in a slightly different direction. As you are shown to your table you start to notice the subtle transition from pub to restaurant.

There are two main dining rooms with a private dining room thrown in too. We ate in The Barn, high apex-ed ceiling adorned with horse related decor. Everywhere in Cheltenham is covered in horses, but at least we were in a barn and the building was in fact once used as a stable.

The other room, The Garden Room, was more open and relaxed, a rather large French Dresser served as a focal point before you notice the nicely painted murals around the walls. Slightly more formal than the bar area – and an impressive bar it is.

2 out of 2.

Question Three – What is the food like?

The menu is large enough to provide variation without the fear of them not being able to deliver quality. There are also two kids menus – for little ones and not so little ones – smart move.

The wine list is nicely varied, only a smidge leaning toward France providing something for everyone. A bottle of house will set you back £19.95 leading up to a £70 Burgundy. Interestingly, they don’t put the strength of the wine on the menu.

The bar serves a decent selection of lagers, ale and cider and is also a cocktail bar.

Once sat at the table we opened the innings with a £45.50 Californian Zinfandel – The Federalist, to test the honesty of the cellar. Incredible, naturally these guys have the knowledge and buying power to snaffle some good wine – to your benefit. We followed up with the cheaper Malbec at £32.50, not as good as the Zinfandel, which is reassuring.  If you can stretch to the top end, you’ll be very happy, but you can also feel confident enough that the house will be just fine too.

On to the food, they have a Cheese Souffle as a starter, thought I’d challenge them, its in ‘their favourite’ list after all. Pointless exercise really, the experience so far told me they weren’t going to mess this up. It arrives upside down, with a crunchy golden brown shell with a side of warm Cheddar Cheese Sauce that you pour into the centre. She was a beast – for a starter!

Fear not, so light and fluffy you’re eating air. The restaurant is definitely not pub grub – we’ve moved up a step.

My buddies went for salmon all round, one smoke grilled and two smoked cured  on rye bread off the specials menu. The latter felt they’d ordered wrong – it looked great, like a Danish open sandwich on rugbrød (thinly sliced Rye Bread) – which I love, but I can understand why they didn’t feel it for dinner.

They all followed that with a steak and all were happy – they couldn’t help it, I was out with Three Steaks Pam. One Ribeye, the Guest Steak and a Fillet at £25 each and both 8oz. Then Steak Frites as it’s called on the menu, is an 8oz sirloin for £20. They also ordered a side of Spinach and Kale with a cheese sauce and almonds at £4.25 – that’s a little steep for a side, it was like a chowder and a not so mini, masterpiece.

There is a chateaubriand up for grabs too at £25 per head, you guessed it, 16oz.

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I skipped the beef and asked the restaurant to order for me, the pricing isn’t too astronomical and it’s a good way to get their take on things. They ordered me Duck Leg Confit, which surprised me – listed at £18.95 on the menu.

Was very French indeed, no airs and graces – came with French beans, carrots, a slice, almost Millie-feuille of dauphinoise potato all covered in a cracking deep red wine and blackberry sauce. The Duck was light and easy to eat with a knife and fork, meat fell away so didn’t have to worry about the need to pick the leg up.

We’re getting a bit sozzled at this point, so upon ordering dessert I went for another Souffle, this time Pistachio and Chocolate, Doh! Served right side up, in a large ramekin with some chocolate ice cream on the side. Raymond’s team love a large souffle – but again light. The pistachio was right on the money, this is bloody good, like…real good.

Two of the others also went for Souffle, I think it was my little performance with the starter version. One of them went for the cheese board, which actually only has one whole (mini), soft and ripe, cheese on it, which was a little disappointing. Whilst it did come with some fun sides, a big dollop of quince jelly and some sort of fruit and nut cracker bread, when one orders a cheese board, a little selection is part of the fun.

The food in the restaurant at The Kings Arm is definitely high end pub grub. The menu vernacular skirts around the ‘pub grub’ genre, but the quality is most definitely restaurant, and good restaurant.

The food is good.

3 out of 3.

Pricing

This is a tricky, if you let it, the bill could very easily get out of hand – order to your intended budget and you will be fine.

Our bill, for 4 people, was £350 – bear in mind, that includes cocktails, cider, glass of Prosecco, a £50 bottle of wine and two £32 bottles of wine. I would say, we went slightly overboard but at £88 per head, that’s not the end the world. You could easily halve that by being more conservative with the booze – it is a pub though…

I hope the next pub that The White Brasserie Company opens won’t be straw that breaks the camels back. Prestbury is the most haunted village in Britain and whilst fitting, it would be a horror show if The Kings Arms in Prestbury returned to a carvery – let’s hope it here for good, because it is.

Atmosphere
Food
Drink
Staff
Value
Overall
Average

PRICE: ££ / £££

WEBSITE AND RESERVATIONS:  kingsarmsprestbury.com

MENUS: kingsarmsprestbury.com/#menus

TELEPHONE: +44 (0) 1242 520 012

EMAIL: kingsarms.prestbury@whitebrasserie.com

Location: High Street, Prestbury, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL52 3AR

The post Restaurant Review of The Kings Arms in Prestbury – Pub or Restaurant, or Both? appeared first on National Dish.

People always talk about finding hidden gems, unassuming street food type places. Sadly these are a rarity in Britain, apart from those places that make it their business to ‘look’ that way. But I actually found one, on Fishponds Road in Bristol – nowhere near Clifton.

It ticks the boxes:

• Hidden – Fishponds is not trendy or fashionable and people don’t go out of their way to visit. Fishponds is a place where people live.
• Unassuming – no wanky bollocks here, it is what is says it is and does what it says it does; and it does that superbly.
• Streetfood – it serves the very heart of what you’d expect Jamaican food to be, it actually has ‘a jerk guy’, he’s the dude that makes the kick ass sauces.

Like I said, I was full of beer after watching the rugger and was heading back to play some post match Snooker and drink more beer. Obvs I needed to eat and obvs I was thinking Kebab, we all were. You don’t have to walk far to find a Kebab shop on Fishponds Road, so I thought don’t go into the first one you see, and then I found it, Mamma P’s Jamaican Food.

I love spice, I love sweet heat and prefer rice and beans to flatbread (most of the time) ergo, love Caribbean Food (and Floribbean food actually). In there….alone, not caring about peer pressure, I didn’t need my mates, I felt I was about to find something great.

The chain, Turtle Bay is pretty good actually and I love West Indian food but I just knew that Mamma P’s was gonna be different.

Their menu is varied, from sit down to take away, I was doing a take away and went for a Jerk Chicken with Rice and Beans, loaded with hot sauce. It’s insane, the rice and beans were fluffy and not stodgy, the Jerk was zingy and the chicken shredded, perfect. So much so I started throwing drunken compliments at them and demanded a selfie with Mamma P.

We were lining up and they shouted out for the Jerk Guy to join us, that’s what they said, this is the Jerk Guy – I love the Jerk guy. All the staff here are so friendly, it really is a cracker.

I wish I had more photos, I don’t, so go there and take your own – but you gotta go there – say hi to Jerk Guy for me, the Jerk Legend.

Atmosphere
Food
Drink
Staff
Value
Overall
Average

PRICE: £

Website: mamma-ps.co.uk

MENUS: Order online, but not great selection for some reason – take a look here

TELEPHONE: +44 (0) 117 239 6718

The post Mamma P’s Jamaican Food | Fishponds Road, Bristol | Restaurant Review appeared first on National Dish.

It’s definitely new, but I hear you, what’s so different about Indian food? How about Indian street food, influenced by vibrant Mumbai itself (that’s the modern, non-colonial and independent name for Bombay). STREET FOOD! YAAS!!!

Bombay & Co is situated in the lower High Street in Cheltenham.  It doesn’t look flashy or trendy, but who care’s, this is Mumbai right? You can almost hear the constant beeping of the rickshaws at you enter to a transformation and a very friendly greeting, the staff are amazing.

The decor is almost like a gallery of colour and street art, you’re under no illusion of what these guys are trying to do and immediately your mind turns toward the food – expectations climbing.

Initially we began picking out dishes that sounded vaguely familiar, it’s hard to stray from your comfort zone when it comes to Indian food. However, the owner put a stop to this and offered to bring out a selection of dishes for us to try and share. I don’t want to sound over the top here, but the colours, the flavours – these dishes knocked our socks off turned my hair even more pink. I wanna be a Bollywood star so bad right now.

These were just tasters!!! Now, I don’t know if this is the norm, but take it from me, if you go here, don’t treat it like a ‘curry house’, try something new.

The food in this place is unlike any Indian food I have ever tasted before – it’s insane.

Here are some the dishes we tried, I am not going to explain them all, go find out….

Pain Poori
Chole Bhatura
Ghee Roast Masala Dosa
Chicken Lollipops
Railway Goat Curry
Vangi Masala
Dal Fry

We didn’t drink Cobra or Kingfisher or anything like that, we just went for a couple of bottles of very usual wine.

The bad bit? The toilets, what’s up with the bloody toilets, they were disgusting. Maybe that’s part of the experience, slum bog millionaire.

The whole bill, £96 including the tip – for six of us!

I feel like I went to Bombay and I can’t wait to go back. Seriously, I need to go back soon. When your table makes stupid ‘mmm’ing’ and ‘aah’ing’ noises all evening, you know you’ve had a good night.

Conclusion is simple, if you haven’t tried Bombay & Co yet, you gotta.

PRICE: £

WEBSITE and RESERVATIONS:  bombaynco.uk

MENUS: bombaynco.uk/our-menus

TELEPHONE: +44 (0) 1242 584 301

Email: dine@bombaynco.co.uk

The post Bombay & Co Restaurant Review | Cheltenham | Indian Street Food appeared first on National Dish.

Blink and you’ll miss it – I’ve lived in Cheltenham for 5 years and had to look hard to find it, follow your feet not your nose and it appears, nestled in a regular Cheltenham basement. Down some rather tight steps, and you’re already like, ohhhhh, that’s why it’s called Petit Coco.

The entrance is cute, in you go to a atmospherically lit, umm, French Bistro. It’s so cute, very few covers in a couple of small rooms with a shabby old French Dresser (an exact version of which I actually own) and everything fabulously un-fancy – leading you to believe that this place is gonna be all about the food and rude – just like France, brilliant!

Had a cosy table near the door, squashed in between the wall and a rather dramatic fireplace. Tables were close but not too close and the atmosphere had gentle music and quiet conversation, this is a supremely intimate place.

Friendly, to the point, but really friendly waitress appears with the wine list – red please, I’m driving, so a carafe of house Merlot between us and some water – lovely. The menu, if you can call it that, is delivered to the table written on to a small table top blackboard. There are very few dishes on it – and in my mind, that means quality, not big chain, poorly cooked/defrosted quantity.

Two courses a piece – here’s how it started:

Lambs Kidneys à la Moutarde £6.35 (mustard), which arrived in a small cast iron skillet, a half moon pastry sat atop plenty of Kidneys bathing in a lovely mushroom coloured sauce, smelling of piss. Now, I feel bad about saying that, because they are kidneys after all, and they are the body’s piss processing plant. I’m a foodie thought right? I had to eat them, and glad I did – even through the subtle taste of urine. I can’t say that I loved them, for obvious reasons, but I know they were good.

I asked the waitress how they were cooked and more specifically in Sherry, like my grandmother used to. With a shrug of the shoulders I realised that the food, whilst wonderfully artisan and clearly centre stage – these guys weren’t going for stars – and for that, I loved it even more. This is a question I ask every time – it’s a good indicator of their vibe.

Comté Soufflé £6.95 – went for it! Will it or won’t it? Do you think everyone says that when they order stuff like that, you know, like a Chocolate Fondant, “ooohhh Nigel, but will it still be runny inside”? I literally don’t know anyone called Nigel – no idea why I used that name, Nige it is though.

It arrived, was puffy, wobbly, grilled cheese colour covered in a cheesy sauce – fork in hand, eyes wide open, a gentle plunge. I’m bigging this up far too much, it was ace, really soft, perfect Soufflé in texture, structure and flavour – nailed it. Nige would have pissed himself, hopefully not over the Kidneys…again, it’s a joke, they were good…jeez, chill-out.

Here’s how it continued:

Poitrine de Porc £17.95 – pork belly (slice), served in a skillet again, on mash with wilted greens AND a grilled sausage – oh, with gravy. It was good, real good. Now, I am a pork fiend, without doubt the finest beast one can eat – I myself am a little piggie, so is Nige. I think what you’re looking for when ordering any pork belly dish is something so soft you can eat it with a spoon, plenty of char colour, bit of crisp to it and the inevitable sweet salt kick – I was happy.

Magret de Canard £18.95 – you know this, Duck Breast. You’re in a similar territory to pork belly here, you want colour and crunch, but hopefully with nice pink duck breast. They did enquire as to how we wanted it cooked, but in a “are you ok with medium rare”? Of course we were. Now, this came with Gratin Dauphinoise Potato, served in it’s own little baking paper pouch. When I make them I tend to slice the potatoes rather thin and layer up. These guys did much chunkier slices, with slightly less sauce, but it was rammed, and I mean packed full of cheesy, creamy and garlicy flavour. We were slightly concerned it might be a little dry, but the flavour dealt with that – was different though, which is a good thing. The duck was great, good portion and the sauce, silky and smooth – very good.

It ended with a look at the dessert menu – with which we were too full, nearly, very nearly shared a reasonably priced Apple Tart Tatin (£5.95) – but, out of room I’m afraid.

The bill arrived, bear in mind we didn’t have much alcohol, not even a full bottle or dessert, it was a pleasant £63.15. Which for two happy people makes for a good night. Overall, I would say the pricing is on a par and reasonable, not cheap, but not overly expensive.

Who is it for? Romantic couples for sure, your folks would love it too – rowdy mates, probably not and not built for kids. The verdict, you gotta go – Petit Coco Cheltenham is top ten on TripAdvisor and rightly so.

Atmosphere
Food
Drink
Staff
Value
Overall
Average

 

PRICE: £ £

WEBSITE: petitcoco.co.uk

TELEPHONE: 01242 257343

The post Petit Coco Cheltenham Restaurant Review | What’s it like to eat at Petit Coco Bistro Cheltenham appeared first on National Dish.

Location is often everything, but London of course dismisses that entirely, most places in London have the ability to host great restaurants. In Duddell’s case though, they thought they’d pull the stops out and set up in the shadow of The Shard on St Thomas Street, SE1 – London Bridge basically.

I visited not long after it had opened and had no idea what to expect. I was accompanied by a dear friend of mine who really knows his stuff, so I took a bit of a risk.

At the time the outside was still a building site, the restaurant being located within an old church, St Thomas’s, which was still being renovated. Inside however, everything was in tip top condition. It seems I keep visiting restaurants in dramatic buildings lately – having been to the The Ivy Cheltenham and their Rotunda.

I know it’s new but the staff were so happy and helpful – I would say, they were proud.

It’s an old church, so this place is big and grand with a large bar, plenty of tables, an upper floor for ultra busy times and stunning lighting that leaves you to imagine a bygone era of this building.

Duddell’s London, originally from Hong Kong, is their first restaurant to open in the UK. You might think located within a church that the two cultures would clash, not at all – its a great place to eat.

The menu, fortunately, isn’t too large – which we appreciate her at NationalDish – large menu’s means poor, pre-prepared and  high likelihood of processed food.

As we were already enjoying the wine and having a good catch up, we thought we’d just go for a little mix up and let it come as it came. First off Cantonese Dim Sum Symphony – FUCK! Symphony is a great noun to describe this, you’re hit with some serious colour wrapped around variations of prawn, scallop and king crab. This was quite possibly the finest Dim Sum I had ever eaten, and we both agreed.

I go weak at the knees at the mere mention of Soft Shell Crab and I won’t even care how it’s prepared, which normally is tempura. It was refreshing to see that Duddell’s had tried to mix things up a bit, but not too much – serving theirs with some spicy toasted almonds. It was good – real good. My love affair with this soft centred shellfish continues.

Quick fact for you – soft shell crab isn’t a species, it’s a crab that has recently molted their old exoskeleton and therefore are soft – remove the gills, mouth-parts and abdomen and then you can scoff the rest.

This next dish is something quite special, it takes more than 12 hours to prepare – Cantonese Crispy Salted Chicken. This is a free range, organic french breed – Poulet de Bresse. What’s so special about that? It’s a chicken that has an appellation d’origine contrôlée status.

I have no doubt these guys could make any chicken taste good, but it really does make this dish even more special. It sits in a broth bath of Italian Parma Ham, Japanese dried scallop and shrimp, air dried for half a day and then crisped up in hot oil.

Grab a piece, dip it in the salt (looks like the Himalayan mined stuff to me), close your eyes and basically jizz yer knickers.

Naturally we ordered a few sides, this one in the middle was Wok fried seafood vermicelli Hong Kong Style, bottom right some cute baby pak choi and as you can see, the chicken is taking a beating.

The wine list is pretty extensive with everything covered – we both have a mutual fondness of South Africa and went for Walker Bay Blanc de Mer at £37.

They also give you a few cool little condiments to keep you company – chilli sauces and soy.

In conclusion, Duddell’s London, near The Shard is good, exceptionally good. My buddy was texting his boyfriend as we ate, arranging to bring him here. I would say if he was looking to romance him with food – this’ll do it and it will do the same for you.

Atmosphere
Food
Drink
Staff
Value
Overall
Average

 

PRICE: £ £ £

WEBSITE: www.duddells.co/london

MENUS: www.duddells.co/london/#menu

TELEPHONE: +44 (0)20 3957 9932

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It’s famous for being the centre of the West End social scene and lets be honest, complete and utter wanky bollocks. Originally that meant celebs everywhere, people like Vivien Leigh, Marlene Dietrich, Ant & Dec… You’ll probably only get a table if you’ve polished an Oscar. But you already knew that and most reviews you’ll read will want to provide you with loads more of that – here’s a link to the wiki page, fill your boots.

In short, big brand restaurant in London famous for being cool is acquired by some clever people, they invest in opening a load more outside of London. Are they any good though or just tricking us out of our hard earned cash by passing off? The anticipation has been very real and I think Cheltenham feels rather honoured to be have one of it’s own.

Bear in mind, whilst The Ivy Montpellier Brasserie Cheltenham is owned by the same company as The Ivy, it’s not strictly a sister restaurant. The ‘Grill and Brasserie’s are a separate chain of regional restaurants and at the time of writing there are 15, in places, amongst others, such as Bristol (my home town), Bath, Harrogate and Edinburgh. There are a further 7 planned in Dublin, Cambridge, Guildford, Winchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Brighton. The Ivy Cheltenham, I hope, is a good indicator of the rest.

Firstly, you have tip your hat to the building, the Rotunda in Montpellier was pretty special before they nabbed it off Lloyd’s Bank, but they’ve decorated and it now has to be one the finest looking dining establishments anywhere, not just Cheltenham. I hope they used Farrow and Ball – they’ll get found out around here.

The entrance, leading to a small vestibule (more like an air lock) adorned with the traditional Ivy stained glass hosts the maitre’d and cloakroom, you can’t see the main restaurant, raising your excitement levels. The expression ‘if your name’s not on the list you’re not coming in’ applies, so make sure you book. A gentry looking chap tried to shoot past to the bar, no chance – they politely, friendly and professionally asked him to book. It certainly made those of us with bookings feel extra special.

You’ll be led through double doors to the restaurant via a short corridor flanked by wings of intimate tables and then in to the centre piece itself, the rotunda. It’s not like when you walk in to Twickenham for the first time, but your neck will be craning to grab a look, it’s stunning. The dome loops itself around the bar, walls adorned with…horses, obvs, and it will be the area that most people request a table for, but don’t dismiss those wings, they look wonderfully private, comfortable and a great place to get some privacy.

Tables are ever so slightly close together, there can be a bit of bumping, mainly from the front of house guys, but as you’ll learn, that’s fine. This is my segue to the general vibe of The Ivy Cheltenham.

They’re famous for a vibrant social scene, that’s what it is. Don’t think this is Michelin Star fine dining, all stuffy and ONLY about the food. This is a lively and active cocktail bar and restaurant. The front of house are friendly first and foremost, they are knowledgeable about the menu and what’s behind it. I did ask, just to sense check the culture, if there was a sommelier, my guy didn’t know what that was – so what? The place was unexpectedly relaxed…to its credit.

Couple of cocktails to get going, they do have their own local signature cocktail English Spa Royale which is a Kir Royale created with Sipsmith sloe gin, Briottet Rose liqueur & hibiscus topped off with Champagne, had one of these at their pre-opening evening – they went fast. Tonight was a Pitsville Collins and a Buttered Manhattan, the latter being the best of the two.

A few of the cocktails have a local angle, which is a nice touch. The Pitsville Collins is a long vodka, elderflower and cider based drink with plenty of ice, cucumber, apple and lime. The voddie is Wyborowa, which is Polish and owned by the Absolut guys, I get that. But I was a little disappointed that the cider couldn’t be local, it was Aspel from Suffolk. I really like Aspel, but we’re in the west country, cider is a way of life. If it needs to be dry, Stowford Press, just 45 minutes up the road from Cheltenham would have done just as good a job, if not better.

In a tumbler over rocks arrived my Buttered Manhattan, which is really good, outstanding in fact. Its like a vodka earl grey tea with a touch of orange, almost lady grey without the spice. It’s dry with a smashing colour and great to sip whilst you look at surprisingly large menu of primarily modern British greats – I would call this traditional fair.

You can get their famous shepherds pie for £13.50 or a burger for £14.25, even fish and chips for £14.50. See what I mean, the food is incredibly British and traditional with only a few exceptions and priced quite reasonably? You can spend more on steak should you wish, topping out at £27.95 for a bone in rib-eye to which you can add a sauce for £2.75. I’ve forgotten the last time I got a sauce as an option included in the price. The point is though, you can spend lots or not – making the Cheltenham Ivy incredibly accessible.

Whilst you’re looking I recommend a bowl of Zucchini Fritti, they’re real good, Zoodles in tempura.

The bill was £144 for two people, 3 courses, with nibbles, sides, cocktails and a bottle of wine. I think that represents great value. I would normally save the price for the end, but it sets the tone for the whole experience. Here’s what you can get for the money:

Nibbles

• The bowl of Zucchini Fritti with the cocktails – there was a lot of em, enough for four people, tried not to eat too many, they were too good though.

Starter

• Took the Steak Tartare (featured image) for a spin, which was perfect, served with a nice bright egg yolk, couldn’t fault it – you gotta order this.
• Tuna carpaccio was another success, sliced super fine with a Japanese ponzu sauce with sesame flavour galore running through it. The little dollops of avocado gave it another little angle. This is one of those things that just worked.

Main

• Main course one was half a roast chicken, neatly removed from the bone in one piece. Could have done with a little more of the gremelata (like a salsa verde) and rosemary jus, but it was quite a large dish and couldn’t eat it all anyway. This was pure gold.

• Slow roasted lamb shoulder, which is unusual for me to order as I like to try different things, but if cooked well, should be great fun. I didn’t need a knife, just a fork, it fell apart. It came with the sauce on the side, in a little copper saucepan and it was gorgeous, had some carrots in there too, nice little surprise. The sauce allowed me to ignore the creamed potato it was sat on which was a little dry.

• Had a couple of sides – Truffle and Parmesan Chips, which were OK and green beans with almonds, which were a welcome to cut through all that meat and carb.
• Washed this down with a bottle of Malbec

I did ask my friendly waiter for his choice of main and he went for the duck curry, I felt bad for ignoring him so I let him pick desert and I’m glad I did.

Dessert – if you get this far

• Flourless cappuccino cake  – how great does that sound? It’s very light, almost mousse like, rich in coffee and very sweet. Big enough to share between two.
• My man arrived with his choice and a little performance. Apple Tart Fine, a baked apple tart with vanilla ice cream and Calvados flambé, the little show off. Once the flames had died down and the audience had dissipated, I got stuck in. It’s almost Tarte Tatin, the pastry was sublime, which after everything I’d eaten was dangerous, I could only manage about a third of it.

All in all, the atmosphere, reputation and the building makes this place and it doesn’t disappoint. The food is well executed in both flavour and presentation without being too over fussy, it is traditional stuff, but The Ivy Montpellier Brasserie Cheltenham pulls it off.

You can and should book up in the knowledge that you are coming to an exclusive restaurant which is incredibly laid back and not as expensive as you might have thought. Don’t worry about airs and graces, unless you want to, you can have that type of night if you like or you can just get your mates together and go out for a laugh, good food and cocktails.

It’s definitely pretentious, but in a good way.

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Atmosphere
Food
Drink
Staff
Value
Overall
Average

 

PRICE: £ £ £

WEBSITE: theivycheltenhambrasserie.com

TELEPHONE: 01242 894200

Upcoming Ivy Restaurants:

• THE IVY CAMBRIDGE BRASSERIE, 16 Trinity St, City Centre, Cambridge CB2 1TB
• THE IVY VICTORIA QUARTER – LEEDS,Vicars Lane, LEEDS, LS1 6BB, West Yorkshire
• THE IVY WINCHESTER BRASSERIE, 103-104 High Street, Winchester, SO23 9AH, Hampshire
• THE IVY DAWSON STREET DUBLIN, 13-17 Dawson St, Dublin Southside, Dublin, Ireland
• THE IVY CASTLE VIEW – GUILDFORD,Tunsgate Square, 98-100 High Street, Guildford GU1 3HE
• THE IVY TEMPLE ROW BIRMINGHAM,67-71 Temple Row, Birmingham, B2 5LS
• THE IVY IN THE LANES – BRIGHTON, 51a Ship Street, BRIGHTON BN1 1AF

All prices correct at time of publication.

The post The Ivy Montpellier Brasserie Cheltenham Restaurant Review | What’s it really like? | National Dish appeared first on National Dish.