Gloucester Restaurant Guide

It’s “easy to miss” Richard & Shirley Cook’s acclaimed smokery but “you get great seafood from this unusual establishment accommodating a ground floor cafe and deli, plus the upstairs restaurant which seems to be ever-popular in spite of its location”. It is “not cheap” and the odd “uneven” meal is reported, but fans say “it is such a treat to eat here thanks to the most delicious shellfish dishes in generous portions”. You have to think there’s a reason they are also suppliers to Fortnum’s and by appointment to His Majesty King Charles. Top Menu Tip – “the smoked platter showcases what they do” and “there is usually a hot soufflé among the dessert choices and it is NEVER disappointing!”

“Superb Keralan food” (“the lunchtime thalis are an absolute bargain”) wins nothing but praise for this outfit run by the third generation of a family that immigrated to Britain from India half a century ago; add in “lovely and helpful service” and a “very pleasant setting” (“quiet enough for easy conversation”) and “what’s not to like?”. There are two local siblings: fine-diner ‘Prithvi’ and, at the other end of the scale, burger joint ‘Holee Cow’.

This “very special pub in the gorgeous Slad Valley” combines “brilliant cooking” with “an olde worlde country feeling” – it was “Laurie Lee’s hangout and he’s buried in the churchyard opposite”. Owned and run for more than 25 years by the sculptor Daniel Chadwick, it offers a “delicious menu that ranges lightly across influences (Modern European? Modern British? Does it even matter?)” – “every single dish, from olives and charcuterie through to a large plate of perfectly cooked lamb with root vegetables is spot-on” (“we overheard a couple saying they’d driven down from Manchester, which was both insane and understandable!”). Top Menu Tip – “skate with cockles and wild garlic in cider sauce” (Laurie Lee’s Rosie would have loved it).

“My wife and I use this as an excuse for a weekend in Cheltenham once a year!” say fans of this long-established and traditional temple of gastronomy, run by David & Helen Everitt-Matthias since 1987, for which they were amongst the few UK restaurateurs to hold two Michelin stars (which were awarded from 2000-2019, after which they were downgraded to a single star). Fans feel that “the standards here remain as high as ever with cooking that’s innovative (petit fours are always a highlight!)” and “exceptional”. But it was a mixed year in our annual diners’ poll, with some downbeat feedback from former fans (“I have had some fabulous meals at Le Champignon Sauvage, but this meal felt a little tired and I left unlikely to return. Sad because the restaurant has been an icon over the years with exciting, cutting-edge food”). Helen presides over the staff and most accounts say she has been “her usual charming self” but one or two diners felt service “made us feel like intruders”. The “low key and quiet dining room” has always received a mixed press – to critics rather dull, but to fans “comfortable” and “restful”.

This “beautiful”, red-brick, 16th-century country pub near Gloucester has long been known for its “excellent food”, cooked these days by chef-patron Mark Block, whose wife Jo-Anne runs the front of house. It’s still very much a locals’ pub, with a snug low-ceilinged bar serving real ale from the barrel.

2022 Review: In a prime town-centre location, this luxurious hotel (ultimately owned by Superdry founder Julian Dunkerton) is converted from a trio of Georgian townhouses. On limited feedback in this survey, the themes here are the same as in previous years: “attractive setting and good food… but all at a high price”.

2024 Review: “The rotunda is wonderful”, and “can make a visit stand out” at this branch of the ubiquitous chain, which otherwise conforms to type with “food and service that are professional, reliable and entirely anonymous” – “one could eat the same dish every day and find it unvarying, while being treated politely but distantly by the staff”.

2022 Review: Rugby World Cup AND Celebrity MasterChef winner Phil Vickery has opened his own restaurant, with his wife Jules and chef Tom Rains, after a year of running a delivery service, No.3 at Home.

“Always hugely excited to go to Lumiere and always leave amazed” – John & Helen Lowe’s “welcoming” venue in the city-centre, finally won recognition from Michelin in 2023 – “it was a long time coming” as they opened in 2009 – and fans say that “although there are more bells and whistles since the star, the food remains divine”, always “well-designed and both execution and presentation are excellent” (“we think it’s genius, rivalling meals we’ve had in two- and three- star establishments”). You can choose from four, six and ten courses for £85, £135 and £175 per person respectively: “they are superbly balanced, novel in their combinations, minimise waste and make best use of the owners’ produce. And whilst the presentation is excellent, the focus is on the cooking not the image”. “The small room is calm and pleasant, service is enthusiastic and informative… altogether a wonderful place for a meal”.

2023 Review: “What a wonderful experience” – this original of what is now a national chain (branches in Bristol, London and Solihull) serves “wonderful sushi” and other Japanese dishes that are “as good if not better since it moved to larger premises” – “the most stressful part of visiting is choosing from the menu!”. Top Tip – “the aptly named volcano roll”.

‘British seafood, Cotswold produce’ is the promise of Gareth Fulford’s small independent near the High Street, where the evening focus is on an à la carte menu (two courses for £58 per person); and where there are also selections for a ‘light lunch’ or a tasting option of six to eight courses for £85 to £100 per person. All the cooking is acknowledged as “very inventive and tasty”.

“An exquisite modern take on Indian cuisine” – Jay Rahman’s refined establishment has pushed culinary boundaries since 2012 with “food that excites the eye in its presentation to match its thrilling flavours”. Chef Thomas Law, who has worked in top kitchens in New York and Australia, sends out imaginative meals that “feel like an unexpected five-star adventure”.

2022 Review: Part of a now eight-strong chain, this youthfully spirited Sri Lankan street-food venture is a laid-back and “homely” (mostly bar stool seating) spot to indulge in some “delicious” sharing plates and wacky “cocktails” – the latter sometimes on fire; best bit – it's “not pricey”, either.

“Kick back with a plate of fine cheeses and meats and admire the beautiful views” advises a London-based fan of this cosy and informal brasserie central to one of England’s longest established vineyards (planted in 1973). You can also stay here. The food is focused on uncomplicated tapas and at dinner there’s some slightly more substantial dishes, such as a sharing board of grilled steak. Plenty of opportunity to taste their vintages of course, plus those of other vineyards too.

“Refurbished and reopened by new owners last year, and a great success” – Tom Noest & Peter Creed (owners of Sherborne Arms and the Bell Inn at Langford) relaunched this central gastropub in 2024 and “there is a ‘pubby’ bit and an eating part with a similar feel (woody, cosy and convivial)”. “The cooking is interesting and ambitious, going beyond just gastropub favourites; and service is invariably friendly, helpful and efficient. It’s pretty well everything you want from a neighbourhood restaurant. I just hope Giles Coren’s recent review doesn’t spoil it!” (In his March 2025 review, The Times’s reviewer dubbed it “another glorious, unbeatable food pub… not too poncey, not too pleased with themselves, expressing the right way forward for pub food in a post-pickled eggs and pork scratchings world”).

Owned by the same people who run Muse Brasserie in the town, and on the former site of Spice Lodge, which graced the area for 15 years – this “upmarket” Indian fine-diner has successfully emerged as one of the area’s top subcontinental choices. Chef Anuj Thakur draws inspiration from dishes across India in his progressive cooking, which takes in à la carte, set options and five- or seven-course tasting menus.

“The combination of French and Indian flavours works amazingly well” – “a surprise!” – at this “unusual”, “well-decorated” and highly popular restaurant combining the talents of French-born founder Franck Grillet and Indian chef Pramod Tirunagari: “some dishes are French, some Asian and others a fusion of the two”. With “excellent cooking and enthusiastic service”, it offers “a top-value gastronomic midweek”, and has spawned a second branch in Bristol.

One of the more commented-on branches of Hereford’s cult burger brand. Created by four mates so obsessed with backyard grilling that they entered barbecue competitions in the US… and won! The quartet also opened their fifth and largest branch in September, on the top of Oxford’s Westgate centre, joining offshoots here as well as in Bath and Shrewsbury.