Lunch at Hotel du Vin Cheltenham review

The new lunch menu at Hotel du Vin Cheltenham Bistro proved a popular choice for families, friends and informal work meetings.

The term ‘express lunch’ may conjure images of Filofaxes and pinstripes – and business people wolfing down a salad with a mobile phone clamped to their ear – but when SoGlos.com arrived at Hotel du Vin Cheltenham Bistro early on a Friday afternoon, the toothless grin of the editor’s nine-month-old baby was the cause of our culinary haste… just how long would the coos and cheeky smiles last, we wondered? An hour-or-so is what we crossed our fingers for.

Arriving dead on 12pm was a good choice, and with the pre-lunch rush restaurant empty, we grabbed a spacious corner table for two – and a high chair for the little one – and cast a quick eye over the set lunch selection, as well as enviously perusing the delicious options on the à la carte menu too.

As we sliced a freshly-baked baguette and slathered it with salty butter, we were also told about the daily specials from a blackboard – resulting in a dizzying array of tasty choices, but with time on our mind, we stayed in the express lane, opting for a heritage beetroot and goat’s cheese salad and pâté maison for starters; and chicken Dijon with sauté potatoes and gnocchi Sorrentina for mains.

With a little help from resident sommelier Roberto, we were soon sipping suitably light glasses of lunchtime wine, while the businessmen and groups of friends starting arriving for laidback working lunches and Friday afternoon catch-ups – without a mobile phone or Filofax in sight, in fact.

With the tot happily chomping on bread sticks, the starters arrived. The beetroot salad proved a simple, elegant hit: a light mix of frisèe leaves, with purple pops of sweet beetroot and crumbly creamy cheese. While the pâté proved a more hearty affair – packed with iron-rich meaty hunks and peppercorn punch, accompanied by bite-sized pickles and Dijon mustard.

The baby’s food was warmed and gobbled down, when the main courses conveniently arrived. The bubbling hot gnocchi was a homely dish with lashings of subtle tomato sauce, stretchy mozzarella and a tiny hint of basil, which proved rather too large for one appetite. While the chicken was a sumptuous dish: tender, juicy meat topped with flavourful skin and a charming copper saucepan brimming with rich sauce – and would certainly be ordered again.

So far so good, and with time to spare, we took a gamble on ordering desserts – crème brûlée and the sweet daily special of white chocolate parfait. While punctuality had been pretty prompt throughout lunch, this is when things slowed – taking almost 30 minutes to be delivered to our tables. But did the afters live up to the befores? Of course. In particular ‘the best crème brûlée ever tasted’ went down a storm, while the parfait proved pretty as a picture and a cool treat to end with – even the baby enjoyed a little sample!

Costing a very reasonable £9.95 for one course, £12.95 for two courses or £14.95 for three courses, the set lunch at Hotel du Vin Cheltenham is not only great value, but for the town’s busy, busy, busy, it offers the chance to grab a quick bite which maintains the Bistro’s signature quality. If speed is of the essence, you might want to skip dessert – but whether it’s for a family get together or informal work meeting, then this has to be one of the best lunch options in Cheltenham.

For more information see Hotel du Vin Cheltenham Bistro, call (01242) 588450 or visit hotelduvin.co.uk/hotels/cheltenham directly.

By Michelle Fyrne

© SoGlos

Monday 02 July 2012