MUSE Brasserie — Restaurant in Cheltenham

After a last minute break to Cheltenham my wife and I googled local restaurants and decided on Muse for their exciting range of vegan options. We try to eat less meat when going out as you get creative flavoursome dishes. The decor was modern, spacious and clean with a lovely vibe. When looking at the menu we couldn’t decide so the host came over to give his recommendations, it was then we found out one chef was French, the other Indian and the menu was a fusion of both their takes on traditional dishes; we thought this was brilliant and had not heard of it being done before. Being lovers of both French and Indian cuisine we were excited to experience these creations and let he host pick for us. Some of the dishes were clearly created with imaginative flare for the fusion fan while others still maintaining the classic dishes of steak and fries for the less adventurous. The food was lovely but as I mentioned for me I would have liked a little more wandering into the spice territory as I thought they played it safe to not alienate those with less desire for curry, but for us we like a little something special to a dish that really distinguishes it from anything else and in this “marriage” the spice would have achieved that. The staff were only too happy to take this feedback on and having only been open since last may said they had been and continue to experiment between the French and Indian influences to the dishes. Presentation was excellent and portion size of certain dishes on the smaller size but others on the larger. The service was excellent, staff were very friendly and always happy to accommodate, nothing was too much. At the end of your meal the owner and chef comes over to ensure everything is to your liking and with the bill you’re asked for feedback. This is clearly a resturant passionate and bold enough to mix two iconic and distinctly differently cuisines but more importantly value the customer and feedback. Muse didn’t not claim to be something it wasn't nor did you feel they were above opinion and criticism to get it right, on the contrary this is a restaurant that seeks to create the dishes to inspire its patrons. This is a great place to eat with great staff and a lovely vibrant atmosphere. What they are doing is exciting and I commend them on their desire and openness to tweak dishes in that search for the perfect taste. We look forward to our next visit and would...

I hate to leave such a low review because it will lower the rating of this new business, and that must be taken into consideration. MUSE is a new restaurant and I hope it improves over time, I'm sure it will. However the point in leaving a review is to be honest and our experience last night was not good.

MUSE is a nicely designed restaurant, there is a nice atmosphere and interior. It presents itself as a high end restaurant.

The service was good, the restaurant even gave us an amuse-bouche free of charge.

The starters were good, although they arrived after quite a wait. The problems started during the main.

Our table was booked for 7:30 and we didn't actually receive our main courses until 9:30, there was at least an hour in between starters and main. The time was the least of the problems though.

When the food eventually arrived it was no good, nobody actually finished more than half of their main. The risotto was slimy the rice was over cooked and it was far too runny.

The steaks were not cooked to order, they both arrived extremely rare after requests for them to be medium, they were sent back, the vegetables that accompanied the steaks were almost raw.

The duck was also extremely rare and was accompanied by an orange sauce that ruined the dish.

The one dish that really wouldn't get away with being undercooked was the sea bass, and it was. Raw fish is not something that should be taken lightly, and after waiting 1 hour and 30 mins for a main, it should be cooked at the very least. The fish was sent back and unfortunately due to not wanting to wait another hour, that particular diner went home hungry.

The service was good and the restaurant did try hard to rectify the mistakes. The fish was deducted from the bill and the chef even came out to take some feedback. This was a classy act by the restaurant and was gratefully received, however it doesn't change the fact that the night out had a shadow over it.

I hope the restaurant improves, I think it's run by nice people with good intentions. However for somewhere that appears to serve high end food, the most basic of problems need to...

Style over substance. Whilst the food and interior made for a relatively pleasant photograph, MUSE simply masquerades as a fine-dining experience and unfortunately lacks genuine quality. Should they not go to such pretentious extremes, they might stand a chance amongst the other restaurants close-by and in a similar price-range.

Biggest problem: the food does not taste anywhere near as good as it looks. It is a con; mostly average and void of any distinctive flavours. For starters, I opted for scallops which were the smallest I've ever seen which arrived overdone and rubbery. For mains, the duck breast was outrageously bland, even with the cherry jus. I felt indifferent about the morcel of oblong dauphinoise potato(es?) and the 'medley of vegetables' worked out to be around 5 sliced micro pieces of boring baby sweetcorn, courgette and carrot. The fusion element wasn't really enjoyed by any of us and in my opinion a quite unnecessary. I think the ideas are there but the execution violently stabs it in the back. One should expect a lot better for these sorts of prices. I regularly pay less in other places for much, much better.

Aside from the forgettable food, MUSE misses the mark in several other places. The table put together for our party of six was far too small and narrow which made it full and messy; I had to put bottles on the floor. All six menus didn't even fit on the table when everyone had them open. With fear of coming across as even more snobby, the cutlery is embarrassingly cheap and was even hard to use at times. Nobody came to check on us after serving any of the courses and although we didn't have any problems, it's unprofessional. The chairs, whilst chic and all that, have high backs which curve around you and make it uncomfortable and awkward to eat. Was glad to get out.

The French head chef came out at the end of the meal which was somewhat nice however we were too polite to comment on the negatives. Overall, this might cater best for the sorts of folk who consider The Ivy to be 'amazing' and where an Instagram Story is worth more...