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.

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.

I was cooking up some Moroccan Lamb the other day and wanted the best yogurt dip ever to go with all the flatbread and spice action.

This isn’t from Morocco, but who cares, it’s amazing – I’d say it was Middle Eastern, leaning toward Israel.

It’s nutty with Pomegranate – so a crunchy mutha – the textures are really fun.

The post This is the best yogurt dip ever | Middle East and North Africa | National Dish Recipe appeared first on National Dish.

I made a telephone reservation for one, the online booker didn’t offer me anything, which can happen a lot, a call never hurts. The maître d’ was super chilled our and friendly. I requested a table for one at 9pm, “no problem” – I was offered the bar and if a table became free, she would offer me that. I asked if it would fit my laptop – no worries. I couldn’t say no to such politeness, especially as I actually managed to get in.

It’s small, it’s loud, it’s informal and I didn’t even have to say my name, they’d spotted the lone diner – great service.

My seat at the bar, which surrounds the open kitchen was perfect for my relaxed visit – the entire place in fact is relaxed. The music is loud and funky, like the food and people. The decor was warm and rather minimal, which focused on the kitchen, for all to see.

From my vantage point I could see how they were cooking some of the dishes from their ‘good’ sized menu. By that, I don’t mean big, because big menus usually mean poor food.

The menu clearly defines the types of dish available – meat, fish, cured etc. The vegetarian options are excellent, of which there is an excellent range. The wine list is equally simple and awash with Catalan wines.

They served me water without asking, which was great, but did take a while to come to me to take my order, during which time they served me someone else’s dish. One of the front of house came to me not long after and asked if I was being served. I think there was a small communication error rather then anything more spurious. The waiting staff, in actual fact were very good – polite and attentive. I think I had a few of them round me at one point, clearing, pouring drinks etc – they seem like a tight team.

Tapas, it’s always three dishes. I asked how many would be suitable, it was three – so standard tapas rules apply. My initial order choices missed the mark though. They have a raw cod dish – that had run out, as had my other choice, grilled octopus, which prompted a quick run through of about five dishes not available at that time. Let’s put this down to a Wednesday at 9pm and not getting in as much as the weekend, but, it was rammed and people were still coming in, and being turned away.

My three dishes were:

1. Cold roasted vegetable salad – Escalivada £6.50
2. Mussels and clams steamed in white wine with Serrano ham, spider crab butter and toasted ciabatta £7.00
3. A couple of Butifarra Negre (Catalan pork sausage) sliders, which came with green apple slaw, Nevat cheese on brioche buns £5.00

I had a couple of glasses of white wine which were £5.50 a piece.

I would say that’s nicely priced, especially for the location – was it any good though?

The salad was finely chopped, almost like mush, which was served in four distinct lines, so you could either sample each one individually or go across and try all four, or any combo you liked. The four roasted vegetables were tomatoes, aubergine, red pepper and onion – all seasoned with sea salt flakes and a gentle vinaigrette.

To look at, it didn’t look amazing – definitely different, I wasn’t sure what to expect. It was packed, and I mean rammed with flavour. The aubergine nearly made me do a little wee in my pants – I was gutted when I’d finished, I tried to make it last as long as possible, but it’s tapas – it took all my willpower not to lick the plate. If you see this, order it – don’t judge a book by it’s cover.

The shellfish next, I don’t know what they were doing back there, but that was the same as the salad, bursting with flavour. The liquor, in which a pile of perfectly steamed plump mussels and clams rested was the real star of the show. I don’t each much bread, but I ate one of the two pieces and drenched it in the sauce. I used a spoon to baste the bread, which resulted in good dusting of narly Serrano ham resting up on it. Only willpower, mine was hardcore that night, kept me from eating the other slice – I did however, tip the bowl to get as much as possible on the spoon.

Finally the pork sliders, two of em. These didn’t compare to the other two and I would argue not a traditional Tapas option. Switching out beef for pork was a nice touch and the burgers themselves were pretty good actually. I felt that after the previous two, these were slightly blander, drier and just not as much fun. The bar had been set very high though.

All in all, a cracking place and you should book, you will need to. The pricing is excellent, the food quality, forgetting they’d run out of stuff was bonkers good, food porn.

Total bill for three tapas dishes and two glasses of wine £29.50.

We paid the bill to keep it real.

Atmosphere
Food
Drink
Staff
Value
Overall
Average

 

PRICE: £ – based on it also being in London

WEBSITE: ramblalondon.com

TELEPHONE: 0207 734 8428

The post What’s it like to eat at Rambla Covent Garden Soho London | National Dish Restaurant Review appeared first on National Dish.

A real crowd pleaser and simple to boot – goats cheese salad with Serrano ham and peaches
Photograph: Wayne Morgan – nationaldish.co.uk © 2017

It’s sunny and you want something fast and healthy. This is only labelled Spanish because I used Serrano ham – but you can use any dry cured med ham, such as Parma – so it’s basically a Mediterranean thing. So much more than a goats cheese salad.

The critical thing and the reason to make this, is the peach, goats cheese and the dressing – it’s sunshine on a plate and rather impressive.

Cold drinks are a must and English ‘Dry’ Cider, especially Stowford Press, cuts nicely through the honey lemon dressing and enhances the flavour of the goats cheese. Sounds total nonsense doesn’t it? Try it first…it’s skill!

The post Serrano Ham, Goats Cheese and Peach Salad | ensalada de Serrano, queso de cabra y melocotón | What is the national dish of Spain? 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.