Food
We were given some cheese puffs to nibble on while we peruse the menu. These were really really scrumptious, as they were still warm. Only one amuse, but the potato and leek soup with elderflower wasn’t to my liking. It was actually quite bitter, and not in the good way. This was served cold, so any flavour was subdued. Things started to look up again when we were offered a selection of bread. I chose the bacon brioche, which was amazing, both the texture and flavour. I could just keep eating this all day. As I had been eating all that heavy carbohydrates though, I was too full to try any of the other bread from the selection, so I don’t know how the rest compare.
I was surprised that there was no degustation menu, as I thought we could wind away a few hours by doing that, but they had a short menu of 2 or 3 courses, with about 5 choices for each. This is what we had:
- Dived Shetland Scallops - with Jerusalem artichoke puree, globe artichoke with liquorice root - my fault for ordering these…they suffer from the usual scallop problem of the UK, but I had forgotten as I had some amazing scallops in Bergen and was hoping for more. I have to say, they knew that the scallop wasn’t that tasty in itself as the sauce was quite strong.
- Bibury Brown Trout - risotto of wild garlic, roasted garlic cream - another Bergen item we were hankering for, and another letdown.
- Cinderford Lamb - smoked roasted onion, cep mushroom puree - the meat is definitely better than the seafood. The lamb itself was juicy and full of flavour, so didn’t really need the sauce.
- Gloucester Old Spot Pork Belly - braised pigs cheeks, white asparagus cream, morel mushrooms - probably the best dish so far. Nice thick crackling, fatty pork belly. The cheeks was very soft and flavoursome too
- Salted Chicory Root Iced Mousse - vanilla rice pudding, rich chocolate sorbet -finally, something to show that this restaurant has two Michelin star. The dessert was a revelation, in the way that they have combined the different flavour and the way that this was presented, as a millefeulle type layer cake. The rice pudding was delicate, the chocolate sorbet was really rich, and the chicory mousse, out of this world.
- Bitter Chocolate and Olive Tart - fennel ice cream - again, excellent. You can definitely taste the olive in the tart, which paired surprisingly well with rich chocolate. The fennel ice cream just confirmed that savory ice-cream is the way to go!
Rating - 7.5
Atmosphere
I didn’t like the décor, but that’s just my personal opinion. They have thick blue carpet on the floor, and vibrant prints on the wall. It seemed to be a bit eccentric, but because they were a respected Michelin restaurant, they had to show restrain. The result seems to be a muddle of style. The front room was small, having only 2 couches, so it was difficult to have drinks there before going to the table. The dining room itself contained about 20 tables, of which only 5 were filled for today’s lunch. The room doesn’t seem that formal, but the service seems to suggest that it should be formal.
Rating - 1.5
Service
What is it with these types of restaurants and French waiters? The service was as you would expect from a Michelin star rated restaurant. Except for the owner who was helping out, the rest of the waiters seemed to be going through the motion. I couldn’t fault anything they did, but I didn’t see anything outstanding either.
Rating - 3
C-factor
We came away just under £100 for lunch, and that’s without any drinks, coffee or tea. Acceptable I suppose, for a Michelin place, but the food really didn’t live up to expectations.
Rating - 0
Brownie Points - 12
Info
24-26 Suffolk Rd
Cheltenham
GL50 2AQ
Phone +44 (0) 12 4257 3449
Website
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