Bank Holiday food and wine highlights...

It has been  a while since I last blogged, however this is due to lots of fun being had over the recent bank holiday weekend, so hopefully forgivable! I do love this time of year... there there are so many long weekends to make the most of and it really helps blow away the final winter cobwebs.

To start the weekend in style on Friday night a friend and I enjoyed a great bottle of pink fizz with a plate of charcuterie and smoked fish, at John Gordon's on the Promenade in Cheltenham. John Gordon's are an independent wine and spirit merchant, however they serve a selection of food and of course a wide range of drinks every day of the week (10am-10pm Mon-Thurs, 10am-11pm Fri-Sat, 11am-9pm Sun). I highly recommend this place - not only for the great food and wine, but also for the very friendly staff. Pedro the chef was especially entertaining and very attentive!

http://www.wineandwhisky.netdirector.co.uk/

Saturday morning Chris and I headed to the Curious Cafe on Bath Road for breakfast. Mmm... I really like this place. The food is well cooked, reasonably priced and comes in very generous portion sizes. Not only is the food good and served by helpful waiting staff, but the atmosphere is great and the outdoor area is especially lovely. It is like being sat in a secret garden away from the hustle and bustle of the outside world... The owners have used a real mix mash of garden furniture, trellis and wall decorations and surrounded everything with wild, jumbley overgrown flowers and shrubs. A real little piece of hippy heaven in Cheltenham! The Curious Cafe is very popular and does get pretty busy, however this all adds to the casual, informal atmosphere and attracts a very cosmopolitan clientele.

No webpage for this one I'm afraid, however the address and telephone number are as follows: 204 Bath Road Cheltenham GL53 7NE, Tel: 01242 226 854, Open: Mon-Sat 9am-6pm.

Later that evening Chris and I headed over to a friends house for a very sophisticated dinner party. I was in charge of the dessert and three of the other guests were responsible for the canapes, starter and main course. We had a mix of dishes, ranging from homemade sausage rolls, cockles and lava bread, surf and turf Thai stylee and summer berries and cream - it was all really enjoyable and enhanced by the great company.

The rest of the weekend was spent at a mixture of bars and friends homes... Sunday evening we enjoyed a bit of a blow out ;-) in town centre bars such as Copa, the Slug and Lettuce and JJ's vodka bar. Monday was spent at a lovely friends house watching films and eating perfect pizza. All in all a great bank holiday weekend catching up and spending time with loved ones!!!

T :-))

Foodie experiences this week - The Vine, Cheltenham & The Bathurst Arms, North Cerney a quick update..!

This week has been really hectic so far, however I have managed to squeeze in a couple of foodie experiences!! Sunday night was spent at the Vine in Cheltenham for dinner, which is a great venue good for meeting up with friends. I'm not completely convinced on the food though and more details will follow in my full review. Then last night after guides, I went for a very yummy country pub dinner with my dad at the Bathurst Arms in North Cerney, Cirencester. The Bathurst Arms in particular is definitely worth a visit, they have a new head chef and the menu is now uber stylish with great dishes such as pan roasted pork with spring onion mash and crispy pigs ear and slow roasted lamb shank with wild garlic mash and caramelised onion gravy. Wild garlic is one of my favourite country smells (it oddly lifts my spirits is a very healing way)!! and it was great to see this kind of local wild ingredient used in the dishes. I also spotted a wild garlic and potato soup on the starter menu, which sounded scrummy and is definitely on my hit list for a future visit. Additionally the Bathurst Arms has one of the most impressive wine cellars I have seen in the area, which for me is a real delight! I love, love, love having a great selection of wines to choose from and also the benefit of staff who know what they are going on about to help you choose! I will write up full reviews of these places very soon, however I just wanted to give you a heads up before then!

T :-))