Le Champignon Sauvage — Restaurant in Cheltenham

The food was very good but I would have never guessed this is a 2 star Michelin restaurant and it certainly was miles away from my previous experience at 1 star Michelin restaurants. This said, we did take advantage of the extremely good value for money lunch menu and had a fantastic time. Good food but customer service very poor for this level of restaurant. I really struggled to make a reservation and was initially told the restaurant was fully booked so was very surprised to see more than half the tables empty on arrival. Staff are very friendly but lack customers service training. Nothing to keep our white wine cool on a hot day and I was poured a full glass of wine to taste, the wine, very strange.The decor feels old and tired and although I appreciated the laid back atmosphere the place looks like a pub from outside, extremely simple inside and the toilets look like you got lost in an Ibis hotel. No nice touches like Aessop soap, instead cheap soap coming out of a plastic refill and tic tac served in a shot glass. I highly recommend coming here to take advantage of the Mon-Fri lunch menu but quite frankly not sure why this restaurant has made Michelin star (even one). Had I come on a weekend at full price I would have been disappointed and if I had never been to a Michelin Star restaurant this experience would have contributed very little for me to seek out further Michelin rated restaurant.

I revisited the restaurant recently again. This time I wasn't so focused on the fact it's a Michelin star restaurant. I just focused on the food which was top notch and had a lovely time. The atmosphere is definitely a little odd. Very quiet as never fully booked and no music but food won't let this place down so if you don't judge them on their Michelin stars you won't be let down.

You will like this restaurant if you prefer more laid back, not snobbish service and atmosphere and if you don't compare to other Michelin star restaurants you may have been to OR if you haven't decided to come here for your first Michelin star experience and if you don't mind there is no music...

I need to say from the outset that this is my favourite restaurant; not only in Britain but abroad as well. Pound for pound I know of nowhere else which offers fine dining at such good value for money. We had a birthday lunch for five family members on February 6th, three of us had eaten here before plus two first-timers, travelling from Birmingham, Coventry and Weston-Super-Mare respectively, The restaurant itself has no parking but Bath Street Shoppers Car Park is a couple of minutes stroll away with a very fair rate for three hours worth of parking - which is perfect for a leisurely lunch! The restaurant itself is quite compact but comfortably welcoming. The menu offers a fixed price 2/3 course option or a la carte both for lunch and dinner. Whichever you choose, have the coffee and petit fours to finish as they are sensational. I won't bang on about the meal but I did go for the set menu as duck and black pudding which I love were on there. Having said that, do try their bacon brioche bread if it appeals to you as we find it meltingly gorgeous; and cheese lovers will find the best cheese board this side of the Mississippi from which to choose. The service - under Helen's charge - and cooking remain top notch. David is an excellent chef consistently producing superb plates of food. I still can't understand why Michelin took away one of their stars a while back. Is it the lack of a tasting menu? Perhaps the lack of piped music? The request not use mobile phones in the dining area? Or maybe it's because their very extensive wine list is so very reasonably priced compared to a number of one Michelin star restaurants we go to nearer home? His cooking hasn't faltered. Whatever, we will continue our 120 mile round trip pilgrimage to Cheltenham for as long as we are capable, and they are there and so is the...

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...