Cheltenham Restaurant Guide

“A marriage made in heaven!” – “Helen overseeing the charming, friendly service and her husband Jon creating the beautiful presented dishes” – inspires stellar reviews of the Howe’s “relaxing”, “fine dining” venture. “menus are tailored to individual tastes with advance notice and make good use of local ingredients”.

“Everything is elegant” at this “stylish and modern take on Indian cuisine”: the “setting oozes beautiful lighting and crystal clear glasses”, staff “go the extra mile” and the “artistic and appealing cuisine” delivers “excellent, refined flavours”.

“Husband and wife have yet to miss a service” at this “sophisticated” and pioneering 30-year-old near the town centre, long renowned as one of the UK’s top culinary destinations. For its large fan club – foodies especially – it’s a “yardstick by which all else is measured” thanks to the dedication of chef David Everitt Matthias and his “wildly inventive” cuisine (which, for example, included foraged ingredients long before the current vogue for them); plus the “always interesting wine list”, about which his wife Helen is “exceptionally knowledgeable”. The ambience of this “self effacing, restrained and quiet” venue can – especially at lunch time – be somewhat “iffy” though; and ratings here nearly slipped due to a couple of unusually duff experiences reported this year.

Reporters just “love this restaurant” – a small but “really special” backstreet venue where Gareth Fulford turns out especially “wonderful fish dishes”, and where “the tasting menu is a particular triumph”.

“Tasty, tasty, quality Indian food” – “with style” and “without compromising on flavour” – ensures the popularity of this “friendly and welcoming restaurant”; even those jaded by the proliferation of “dull and bland” Anglo-Indians found it “amazing much to our surprise”.

2015 Review: On the outskirts of the town, this large country house hotel – “recently upgraded at considerable cost” in “magnificent and lavish Tudorbethan style” – is tipped for its “improving” cuisine; service, though, still needs work.

Yves and Elisabeth Ogrodzki’s decidedly Gallic four-year-old turns out traditional food with good attention to sourcing; ratings are consistently solid here and it’s “not expensive”.