Eat Out To Help Out Series: Part 1 - The Ivy Montpellier Brasserie
It was jolly nice of the Government to pick up part of the bill to encourage us back out to support the hospitality industry.
And as big foodie fans we mapped out August around some of our favourite eateries.
During lockdown eating out was one of the things we missed most.
Cooking every meal, every day even broke the dishwasher. So the chance for someone else to sweat over a stove and clear up afterwards was especially appealing.
The Ivy Montpellier Brasserie is the sort of space usually reserved for something of a special occasion. It’s top of the list for many friends’ birthday celebrations.
And for us, on a Wednesday evening, it was definitely a celebration to get back out into the land of the living as well as rekindling memories of what a treat fantastic food and drink out and about is.
On arrival we were scanned at the front door, to ensure our temperatures weren’t raised, before being led into the strikingly beautiful dining room. Framed with with glossy green plants dotted around orange leather seats, the centrepiece is the gleaming circular bar which echoes the stunning Rotunda dome high above.
The former spa, concert and dance hall and bank, is now every inch a stylish eaterie, with crisp white tablecloth dressed tables and smart staff running a very well-oiled machine.
Ivy Collection is known for its transformation of beautiful historic buildings. I’m a big fan of its Clifton offering and the Harrogate space is wonderful.
What’s special about Montpellier in Cheltenham is the airy spaciousness of it. And after a pandemic, what we all want to feel is a breath of fresh air.
Tables are sensitively spaced out and a bespoke hand sanitiser sits prettily on the table.
They’ve come up with an indulgent eat out two and three course menu, at £30 for two courses and £35 for three courses respectively.
But we wanted to choose from the all day menu and enjoyed the old familiar chat about how there are too many appealing choices to make it a quick and easy selection.
My partner went for the seasonal garden pea soup (£6.75) which was presented in a very pretty bowl with a mound of vibrant crushed peas topped with thin strip of petal-dotted crispy tuile. His hot, smooth soup, flavoured with coconut cream, was delicately poured over the dish with a flourish. The lovely different textures of crushed peas with bite contrasted beautifully with the silky smooth soup. He enjoyed the fresh flavours but wondered (nit picker that he is) if it was perhaps missing a dash of mint.
For me, it had to be my firm favourite of truffle arancini (£5.95) to kick things off. The fried Arborio rice balls with truffle cheese were just as good as I remembered. Piping hot, these little morsels of delight were served beautifully in a white napkin nest atop of a silver dish. I sighed in delight as I devoured my tasty memories of life as it was before Covid-19.
I was certainly in the mood for nostalgia and couldn’t be swayed from The Ivy shepherd’s pie (£12.95), last enjoyed in Covent Garden shortly before Christmas.
Was it as good as the memories of that fun-filled day out? Better. The slow-braised lamb leg with beef, red wine sauce, Wookey Hole cheddar potato mash was golden and studded with fragrant rosemary leaves. A silver jug of gravy was left for me to splash over the dish as I merrily tucked in, savouring every joyous mouthful of this flavoursome comfort food. It was the very thing I needed most after months of lockdown strain.
His main, a classic The Ivy hamburger (£13.50) served up a juicy, high quality burger, with a nice fresh salad with crisp gherkins and solid thick cut, skin-on fries with a rustic homemade horseradish ketchup. It came housed in a good, lightly-toasted potato bun that didn’t get too soggy or fall apart as so often many can do. The only slight disappointment was paying an additional £1.95 for a meagre slice of melted West Country cheddar cheese. If you’re paying extra for something, you want to be tasting it, and this slim slice was lost amongst the burger, salad and bun. But overall it was juicy, tasty and really hit the spot.
With it being midweek and with no excuse of a special occasion, we decided against big desserts and went for the mini chocolate truffles (£3.50). With three each, oozing with an indulgent salted caramel centre, we rounded off the meal beautifully.
Our only (minor) criticism of an otherwise fantastic meal was the speed of proceedings! From arrival to leaving, we’d ordered and eaten everything within an hour. Once our starters were cleared, our mains were brought out within a minute which felt hurried. It’s always nice to have a little break between courses to savour the flavours.
But, that aside, getting back out there and eating out to help out was an absolute pleasure.
For more information visit www.theivycheltenhambrasserie.com
