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BEEHIVE
1-3 Montpellier Villas, Cheltenham, GL50 2XE Tel: 01242 702270/579443, web: www.thebeehivemontpellier.com
• Combines a bustling, friendly bar full of local ales and ciders with a smart, efficient upstairs dining room. Having perfected the modern idea of a ‘local’, it was no surprise when they won Cotswold Life’s Best Neighbourhood Pub award 2010. Pub-grub classics – bangers & mash, ham, egg & chips – are all made from the best locally sourced produce selected for quality by chef Dan Newland. Open Restaurant: Wed-Sat eves & Sun lunch (food also available daily in bar, lunch & eve)
BROSH
8 Suffolk Parade, Montpellier, Cheltenham, GL50 2AB Tel: 01242 227277, web: www.broshrestaurant.co.uk
• While not strictly kosher, this Middle Eastern diner captures a cosmopolitan mix of tastes reflecting contemporary Israeli cuisine. The results delighted Observer critic Jay Rayner on his visit, while the Independent’s Tracey MacLeod reckoned it oozed with heart and soul. Kibbutz-raised chef/proprietor Raviv Hadad makes as much as possible on the premises, including bread, pasta, sausages and desserts, and his choice of local/organic/free-range ingredients ensures freshness and flavour whether you go for enticing mezze plates or the impressive ALC. Open Wed-Sat from 7pm (mezze Wed-Fri)
DAFFODIL
18-20 Suffolk Parade, Cheltenham, GL50 2AE Tel: 01242 700055, web: www.thedaffodil.com
• The art-deco elegance of an early cinema gives a roaring 20s glamour to this well-established, stylish restaurant, especially on Mon nights when live jazz is on the menu. Food is a clever blend of English classics, European influences and the best of local ingredients, thus twice-baked double gloucester souffle gets a truffle dressing, while wild garlic veloute comes with homebaked focaccia bread – and that’s just for starters.
HOTEL DU VIN BISTRO
Parabola Rd, Cheltenham, GL50 3AQ Tel: 01242 588450, web: www.hotelduvin.com/cheltenham
• New chef Paul Mottram has wisely chosen to maintain this restaurant’s well-established reputation as a smart place with an informal atmosphere delivering great French-styled cooking, while sommelier Roberto Zanca oversees the extensive wine list. Whether taking a lazy breakfast or dining out in style, the menu has it all, with attentively Gallic service standard throughout.
INDIAN VOOJAN
5 Rotunda Terrace, Montpelier St, Cheltenham, GL50 1SW Tel: 01242 228882, web: http://www.indianvoojan.com/
• The crisply modern styling of the decor tells you this is a contemporary Indian restaurant, but there’s a traditional care for fine cooking underlying that smart black-and-white colour scheme. Menu has a strong southern Indian influence, with Goan fish dishes and Keralan vegetable plates among the more usual curries and baltis, and the food’s freshly cooked spiciness giving an authenticity to the flavours.
LUMIERE
Clarence Parade, Cheltenham, GL50 3PA Tel: 01242 222200, web: www.lumiere.cc
• Chef Jon Howe and partner Helen took over in 2009 and put this place firmly on the map. Howe’s training with the likes of Heston Blumenthal clearly set him up as an original and creative chef, with dishes like beetroot carpaccio and raisin-dressed rabbit ballantine demonstrating his flair and skill. Set lunch and dinner menus of British seasonal food mean that vegetarians are as well served as carnivores. Already listed in both the Good Food and Michelin guides, Lumiere was also chosen as Cotswold Life’s Restaurant of the Year 2010.
MARINADES
56 High St, Cheltenham, GL50 1EE Tel: 01242 578811, web: www.marinades.co.uk
• There’s a real flavour of the Caribbean here, though the menu also ranges around the Mediterranean, and Italian pasta dishes sit alongside Jamaican classics like ackee and saltfish and curry goat. Most impressive is the range of vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free choices. Monthly Caribbean ‘taster’ evenings are very popular – advance booking essential – and set lunches are amazing value (2 £7.95).
SVEA
24 Rodney Rd, Cheltenham, GL50 1JJ Tel: 01242 238134, web: www.sveacafe.co.uk
• Naturally there are herrings aplenty on the menu at Cheltenham’s only Swedish restaurant – the lunch menu even has an assorted mini-platter – but there’s much more on offer including smoked eel, meatballs and a Swedish curry. The full smorgasbord buffet is only available on the first Sat of the month, but you can have a sampler any day from the dinner menu. The afternoon coffee and cake extravaganza features sugary treats like dammsugare marzipan rolls and freshly made waffles.
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