Winchcombe Restaurant Guide

Chef-patron Gus Ashenford and his wife Kate this year celebrate the 20th anniversary of their “small restaurant – a bow-windowed former tea room – in a pretty little Cotswolds town”, where they treat guests to consistently “amazing food”, “full of flavour and providing excellent value”. Gus trained under the late Michel Roux at the Waterside Inn, and his cuisine is underpinned by classical French techniques.

2019 Review: “They’ve got a great menu of American-inspired comfort food” at this bar/bistro in the city-centre “and some real mastery at the grill. Brunches are good too”. Top Menu Tip: “whole deep fried globe artichoke with greek garlic mayo”.

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.

A “country house atmosphere”, “excellent service” and “delicious food” win praise from fans of this “beautiful” Cotswolds hotel – owned by greetings card mogul Andrew Brownsword – and it “should please every romantic”. Ratings were dragged down, though, by other reporters who feel that the house is “lovely but tired”, while “the food is good-ish, but certainly could be better”.

Chef-patron Gareth Fulford’s “intimate restaurant with great food and wine” is “a long way from the sea, but the fish is always beautifully cooked and so tasty”. It’s also “fantastic value”, offering a range of options from 2 to 7 courses. “This is up there with my favourites – I just wished we lived nearer”.

“Classy in every sense”, this elegant 11-year-old shows “attention to detail in every department” resulting in “excellently executed takes on classic Indian dishes”, underpinned by “exemplary service”. It moved a few years ago to elegant Pittville Park premises.

This warmly authentic Gallic spot from chef Yves and his wife Elisabeth Ogrodzki, veteran restaurateurs who have cooked their way to Cheltenham from Paris, Provence and rural Leicestershire, wins consistent high ratings – and thrilled Jay Rayner of The Observer for channelling another age (the ’80s) “and beautifully so”.

“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”.

“Our best meal of the year!” – “we benchmark all fine dining experiences against Lumière and nobody beats them”, say fans of chef Jon Howe and his front-of-house wife Helen’s small restaurant, whose “unassuming exterior camouflages” a “gastronomic delight”. “Sophisticated, balanced dishes with exquisite flavour” are “served with skill and passion” – and it’s “come through lockdown even better than before”.

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.

“Do ask to sit under the rotunda” – which makes this spin-off from the national chain “a memorable place to eat”. “The food is not memorable, but overall it is fine and predictable, one can rely on getting a decent meal”.

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”.

“A place to eat for people who prefer food to Instagram…” – “No visit to Cheltenham is complete without a meal at the delightful Champignon Sauvage” according to the many fans of David & Helen Everitt-Matthias’s long-established foodie temple, which remains one of the more commented-on rural restaurants in the UK. For its many long-term devotees, “this is the yardstick used to judge everywhere else as its combination of skill, service and value is so hard to beat”. Famously the kitchen is never open when David isn’t in it to cook, and the result is “innovative, often-foraged seasonal dishes” – “precise, original and beautiful cooking that never strains for effect” and “whose flavours sing on the plate”. “Friendly and professional service to match is provided by Helen”, who also presides over the “super wine list with a great selection of half bottles”. No-one has ever pretended the rather sedate room is a riot, but fans say “its serenity encourages conversation” and “still don’t understand why this outstanding restaurant lost its second Michelin star a couple of years ago”. Ratings here dipped a little this year, however, on one or two mixed (if far-from-damning) reports. Typical would be “our favourite last year was somewhat off its game this time and lacked a little sparkle”; or “the food was great as ever but the room felt dead… the wrong sort of hushed”. Perhaps the strains of these pandemic times? Or “maybe it’s just that everywhere else has upped its game?” Still, for the majority, “it’s wonderful and creates some of the best things ever eaten”.

“Reliably enjoyable and interesting” Keralan dishes are the attraction at this crowd-pleasing outfit from prolific local restaurateur Michael Raphel (Prithvi, Holee Cow), who was inspired by the flavours his chef grandfather brought from South India as an immigrant 50 years ago. A switch from fine-dining to a more casual approach a few years back has paid dividends, and now there is a spin-off in Oxford. Top Menu Tip – “the thali are particularly wonderful”.

It seems wrong to exclude this famous Tudor coaching inn (which accommodated both Charles I and Oliver Cromwell in different phases of the Civil War) although it inspired no feedback in our annual diners’ poll this year. Nowadays run by the ‘Iconic’ Luxury Hotels Group (who run Cliveden and Chewton Glen), its magnificent barrel-vaulted dining room currently serves rather incongruously as a ‘Bar & Grill’, with steaks, burgers or the likes of butternut squash salad the orders of the day.

“Excellent and innovative cooking” contributes to a “really lovely meal” at this “reliable” restaurant-with-rooms named after furniture designer Gordon Russell, a former occupant of the property whose father owned the Lygon Arms. The chippie next door is under the same ownership, and offers “wonderful fresh fish ’n’ chips – not all greasy, and cooked to order”.

Jacobean pub-with-rooms recently taken over by Nathan Eades and Liam Goff, formerly of The Wild Rabbit in Kingham.

“Fabulous cooking, mixing Indian and French cuisines to offer unusual, superbly flavoured dishes” is the USP of this three-year-old collaboration, bringing together two chefs from very different culinary traditions – Franck Grillet and Pramod Tirunagari – and “it works!”, producing meals of “fine-dining quality in a relaxed bistro atmosphere, and at bistro prices”. The pair opened a spin-off in Bristol late last year.