“You ponce in here, expecting to be waited on hand and foot…” Basil Fawlty
Restaurant reviews have to bear in mind that running a restaurant is hard work. Really hard work.
Next time you settle down for dinner, look around. Reflect on the sheer workload. It’s like hosting a perpetual dinner party, from having the right glasses to sourcing the right kind of flaky salt. A nightmare of logistics and graft. So, we approach restaurant reviews with enormous respect for what they do and always look for good things to say.
On the other hand, dinner at a Cheltenham restaurant can easily push £200-£300 for two at the top end. So it’s useful to know what’s what. Our aim is also to write Cheltenham restaurant and cafe reviews that tell you what the all-important ambience is like.
Finally… we’re not a pushover. If restaurant reviews score a ‘6’ or more, it’s a good score.
L’Artisan
French
Food 8/10
Drink 7/10
Atmos 9/10
Bill’s Cheltenham
Contemporary European
Food 6/10
Drink 6/10
Atmos 8/10
Bottle of Sauce
Burger/Pizza-Based Pub
Food 8/10
Drink 8/10
Atmos 8/10
Champignon Sauvage
French
Food 9/10
Drink 9/10
Atmos 7/10
Cicheti
Italian Tapas (Yep. Read on.)
Food /10
Drink /10
Atmos /10
Coconut Tree
Sri Lankan
Food 7/10
Drink 8/10
Atmos 9/10
Curry Corner
Bangladeshi
Food 7/10
Drink 5/10
Atmos 7/10
Daffodil
Modern Eclectic
Food /10
Drink /10
Atmos /10
East India Cafe
Indian
Food 8/10
Drink 6/10
Atmos 8/10
Fat Toni’s
Pizza
Food 8/10
Drink 7/10
Atmos 6/10
Giggling Squid
Thai
Food 7/10
Drink 6/10
Atmos 8/10
Gin and Tea Bar
Indian snacks with Gin. And Tea.
Food /10
Drink /10
Atmos /10
Ginger and Garlic
Korean / Asian
Food /10
Drink /10
Atmos /10
Gridiron
Steak/Burger
Food 2/10
Drink 5/10
Atmos Now Now Closed
Grill 49
Steak/Burger
Food 7/10
Drink 7/10
Atmos 7/10
Holee Cow
Burger Due to re-open in Winchcombe Street on December the 10th, 2018.
Food 7/10
Drink 7/10
The Ivy Brasserie
British
Food /10
Drink /10
Atmos /10
Kibou
Japanese
Food 8/10
Drink 8/10
Atmos 8/10
Koj
Japanese
Food /10
Drink /10
Atmos /10
The Looking Glass
Modern British
Food 7/10
Drink 8/10
Atmos 7/10
Lumiere
Modern British
Food 8/10
Drink 8/10
Atmos 6/10
Old Courthouse
French
Food 7/10
Drink 7 /10
Atmos 8/10
Olive Albero
Italian
Food 4/10
Drink 4/10
Now closed Click for Details
Petit Coco
French
Food 8/10
Drink 6 /10
Atmos 8/10
Prithvi
French/Indian
Food /10
Drink /10
Atmos /10
Purslane
Fish
Food 8/10
Drink 7/10
Atmos 8/10
The Railway
Thai Street Food Pub
Food /10
Drink /10
Atmos /10
Real Burger
Burger
Food
Drink
Atmos Now closed. Click for info.
The Retreat
Wine Bar, Bistro, Venue
Food 6/10
Drink 6/10
Atmos 7/10
The Royal
Pub Restaurant
Food 6/10
Drink 7/10
Atmos 7/10
Simpsons
Fish & Chips
Food 8/10
Drink 6/10
Atmos 8/10
Suffolk Arms
Pub with Pizzas
Food /10
Drink /10
Atmos /10
Suffolk Kitchen
Independent bistro-restaurant
Food /10
Drink /10
Atmos /10
Svea
Swedish
Food 7/10
Drink 7/10
Atmos Closed. Click for info.
The Tavern
Bar Restaurant
Food 8/10
Drink 8/10
Atmos 8/10
Vinnie’s
Plant Based
Food 6/10
Drink 7/10
Atmos 6/10
White Spoon
Modern British
Food 7/10
Drink 7/10
Atmos 8/10
Restaurant reviews
Critical Cheltenham offers authentic restaurant reviews, rather than recycled press releases. Firstly, our aim is to give you an understanding of what to expect. Secondly, remember that even if we didn’t enjoy it, you might. Furthermore, please also remember only to compare like-with-like. In Cheltenham you can either try a Michelin starred restaurant or have the best falafel in town, but there’s no sense in comparing restaurant reviews of wildly opposite types. Hence our restaurant review scores are pitched according to the ambition of the restaurant.
Things move surprisingly quickly in Cheltenham. Consequently new restaurant reviews are added frequently. We try to keep up to date on changes and closures. Get in touch if not.
We welcome feedback and comments from diners and restaurants.
Blogging on Restaurant Reviews and Cheltenham Culture
Critical Cheltenham is a restaurant review site, not a blog. We occasionally put out Cheltenham blog type articles if something especially interests, amuses or annoys us. Or we might write about aspects of the restaurant business. But restaurant, cafe and culture listings are what we’re really here for. Most of all, we’re just trying to be honest,relevant, fair and up to date.
We face an unusual problem in running this site. Most of all, because we don’t write favourable restaurant reviews in exchange for a free meal. We set out to write about the pros and cons of every restaurant fairly. This sometimes means that we don’t always get shared on social media. Let’s face it, restaurants love to share gushy blogger restaurant reviews. Even if they’re zero help in deciding what the place is like. You can help us by sharing and telling your friends.
We aim to write publish especially relevant Cheltenham restaurant reviews that are a bit more thoughtful and considered. So thanks for reading our restaurant reviews. We’d really appreciate help in spreading the word.