Le Champignon Sauvage

A stunning 17th Century building but decorated with a contemporary feel. A very relaxed atmosphere the moment you arrive. Plenty of choice on the menu and the food is 1st class. .

I am genuinely mystified as to how this place has received poor reviews recently and how its not tripadvisors number 1 in Cheltenham. Although we are not regular fine dining afficiandos, we do like to treat ourselves every few months. I am struggling to fault this place at all. Its a much more informal setting than other restaurants of its kind and whilst it perhaps lacks the big dining experience of other 2 star restaurants it makes up for it with sheer quality. The service throughout really impressed us both. All the waitresses were genuinely friendly and welcoming without being too overbearing. We haven't got the foggiest about wines and they were brilliant about recommending some to go with our choices. I started with the pigs trotter stuffed with nettles, snails ox tounge. Main course was partridge with sourdough gnocchi and turnip with acorn delice and mocha sorbet for dessert. I dont really have enough superlatives to give justice to the food however every mouth full was truly breathtaking from the first amuse bouche to the petit four. As for value for money, this place is phenomenal conpared to other 1 and 2 star places. We had 2 drinks on arrival, 3 courses each, cheese to share and coffee & petit four to finish. £200 final bill for a sublime 3 hour lunch felt like a bargain.

The food at Le Champignon Sauvage lives up to every expectation and the service is second to none. Although we arrived early most of the tables were occupied, creating a nice atmosphere for an early dinner. Our menu highlights were the butter poached lobster starter and the slow cooked lamb saddle. The wine list is also excellent and very reasonably priced too. Overall, a very enjoyable experience and highly recommend.

Le Champignon Sauvage never fails to disappoint, astonishing too that both chef/owner and his wife have never missed a service in almost 30 years! I’m not sure many a chef can boast this. As a two star restaurant you’d expect the price tag to be a hefty one, but the set course menu is astonishingly good value at £26 for two courses and £32 for three. This couple quietly go about their work and continue to exceed expectations. Highly recommend the terrine of Cornish ray and rabbit rillette, and the passion fruit tart with coconut sorbet and mango salad I could eat all day!

It was the first time I had visited Le Champignon Sauvage set in the very lovely Regency period Cheltenham Spa. The food was just what you’d expect from a two Michelin star restaurant, delicious, inventive and packed with exciting flavours. Service was attentive but not overbearing. We went for my husband's birthday and will definitely return again.

While we were hanging about outside the restaurant at 7:28 waiting for the door to be opened, along with a number of other prospective 7:30 diners, we spotted a notice in the window advertising front-of-house vacancies, surprising for such a highly-rated venue, but by the end of the meal we found ourselves wondering how many of the current staff did not intend to stay. When we did get into the dining room we found it light and well-decorated with some interesting art work, and settled in to perusing the menu. Interestingly, and unusually, there was no tasting menu, just a choice of number of dishes for a given total price, so we looked at the starters and found that the immediate selection for my wife, namely lobster, was at a supplement, although she was also attracted by the pigeon dish which she decided to ask for as her mains. I was drawn to the rabbit starter and, of the three meat mains, lamb rather than the ubiquitous Gressingham duck or the venison as we had had that the evening before. All of which made the wine selection tricky, especially as there was only champagne on offer by the glass. The wine list showed a distinct French bias, with nothing from England or other old world sources and just a nod to the new world, and there was no sommelier to offer any advice. The lovage and goat's cheese mousse was the best of the three canapés, and our opinions differed on the merits of the amuse-bouche of roasted pumpkin velouté with maple syrup and bacon foam. Our starters were both good: the rabbit loin very tender and full of flavour, the rillette quite striking and the mousse moreish, but this dish was a bit protein heavy, something which could not be said for the generous serving of very good lobster (native?) with pear slices, Jerusalem artichoke crisps and sorrel purée and a sprinkling of malt crumbs. Curiously my lamb, presumably sliced from the same piece of saddle, varied in tenderness, and the slow-cooked breast was very tasty but did not exactly melt in the mouth, somehow making one feel it was more hoggett than lamb, but the wild garlic pesto compensated for this to an extent. The wood pigeon, upsized from a starter portion, followed the same lines as the other two meat dishes, namely a cut plus a confection of 'haché', both of which were tender and tasty, but the mushy beetroot was unconvincing. We opted for the cheese (£12 supplement) which was a decent selection of French, English and Irish cheeses, with the Roquefort quite outstanding, and were then served a successful palate cleanser in the form of an apple crumble sorbet with crunchy apple pieces on top, which led us into dessert mode. The desserts were both very pretty and my duck egg custard cream turned out to be rather neutral in the face of some fairly acidic rhubarb and hibiscus sorbet, but luckily my wife's chocolate délice with milk ice cream, beurre noisette and butterscotch was one of the most convincing dishes we had all evening. All in all this was an okay meal at an acceptable price but it did not have the wow factor expected, and so it is with much regret that we have to report our disappointment with yet another two-star restaurant which failed to come up to standard.

I must admit I have been eating here for every year since the place has been open. Cheltenham has seen various places come and go. There have been various places that came and were going to show us how it is done. A A Gill has dismissed this restaurant (and lauded Purslane – there is a connection). Where now is Pat MacDonald who was going to show Cheltenham how it was done? And yet, funnily enough, this place is still here. How can that be? Of course, it could be the various experts and guides are being bribed, or are ignorant, or are wilfully obtuse. Or perhaps some amateurs (a term I use advisedly) do not in fact know what they are talking about? There is no background music (hooray). The loos are acceptable (it is a restaurant after all). You cannot hear the conversation on the next table (space is generous). The art on the wall is original (one's tastes may differ – some art I like in a gallery I could not stand at home, and v.v.). The prices are reasonable (£28 for a two course lunch today, another few quid for a great selection of petits fours and coffee). The flavours are interesting, not dull. Any vegetarian should advise of that fact when booking. As the food is not pre-packed, the chef can make modifications (the meat element can come out a fish course) within reason. Everything is very fresh, lots of it is very local, and much is seasonal. The staff turnover is very low (of the four there today, only one has joined in the last year). My paleo diet (ye gods) niece was catered for successfully. The menu changes monthly and the place has an almost family atmosphere. If you want to talk to the staff, you can, but they won't interrupt you if you do not want to, which is as it should be. Menus are not left on the table and not everyone can recall every detail of their dish. Water and bread are available for free (though perhaps there are limits – I have not pushed this). Sadly, though mobile phones are discouraged some ignoramuses seem to unable to eat a meal without one, or taking pictures of their meal. I suppose next we'll have selfies. Still, the place is informal enough that it will survive even that.

Hard to review when the best was great and the worst was very poor. Plenty of space and pleasant decor. The serving staff were attentive without being too obvious. Many of the dishes were a little over complicated with a bit of this and a bit of that. The bread was excessively crusty and the brioch solid (even crunchy). We were told this is how it was supposed to be. The zander was over-cooked and “tough” but the partridge good. Things inproved with the dessert, the petit fours were great and the coffee ecellent. Most of my eating out is done in London, the home counties and in foreign parts where I would expect and usually get better aspecially at the price.