Lumiere

Jon & Helen Howe have taken over this well-regarded restaurant in a small Regency terrace just off the Promenade. It’s not in the smartest or most favoured part of town (first-timers may struggle negotiating Cheltenham’s tortuous one-way system), but the Howes deliver the whole package – top-notch food, wine & service in an elegant space. The kitchen brings together premium ingredients in accomplished, unfussy dishes including risotto with wild mushrooms & truffled Brie, & salt marsh lamb rump served with dauphinois potatoes, confit garlic & crushed roots. Desserts might feature cherry & almond Bakewell with Kirsch caviar & Black Forest ice cream.