Under Counter goes Over Counter at The Tavern Cheltenham

I feel as though The Tavern has been a little lost lately. Since the fire it has never seemed as confident as it once was. First it came back with one big burger bang, then a few months later teased us with some secret menu offerings, and earlier this year the Sunday roasts made a reappearance. Slowly but surely it was as if they were reverting back to their pre-fire days (when they were fucking awesome), and HALLELUJAH! At the start of September it was confirmed. The under counter menu is now over counter and has a whole host of new delicious things under its belt. Happy days.

In my last post on The Tavern I raved about their under counter menu, clutching onto that little glimmer of what was one before. There's something about that style of relaxed and comforting food that doesn't seem to be anywhere else in Cheltenham. Maybe I'm wrong, but it always seemed as though The Tavern had the whole package - good food, good drinks, good prices, good vibes - and now it's back I can breathe a sigh of relief.

Photo Credit: The Lucky Onion

Ronnie Bonetti, previously of Soho House Group, and Head Chef James de Jong’s menu is made up of delicious taverna style food from Europe and far beyond. As always, there's the best local produce, pimped up with punchy flavours; old favourites still stand their ground, whilst some seductive new dishes vie for attention. Starters include Bavette tartare, Arlington egg yolk & toast (£9) and half a pint of prawns (£8), along with their classic salt 'n' pepper Squid with nuoc cham (£7.50). Then for mains, you have an abundance of choice!

Faithful Taverners will be glad to see that the French Dip is back on the menu, and there are still a selection of burgers, wings and fries to get stuck into if you're not bothered about change. As for the rest of us, there's Loch Duart salmon, shitake, ginger & Asian greens (£17.50), whole brown crab & mayonnaise (£19.50) and spatchcock poussin, preserved lemon, straw potatoes & aioli (£15.50), just to name a few. Oh and chargrilled steaks! You can't knock their steaks.

The build-your-own sundaes have been sacked off and replaced with a concise dessert list; lemon & cherry posset (£6) and a sticky toffee ice cream sandwich (£6) feature, though you can still get a simple scoop of ice cream for two quid.

In the week that the under counter went to over counter, The Chap and I were invited along to try out the new menu. Hells-frickin-yeah. Date night on a school night, and for a Tuesday the place was absolutely packed. Good sign methinks. Cocktails on order - a Sazerac for The Chap and The Last Word for me - it was heads down to try and decide what to have.

Predictably, The Chap picked the spicy pork & fennel meatballs (£8) to start. He hasn't stopped banging on about the ones that we had previously, and although these ones no longer have the nduja depth of flavour in the sauce, they were still stellar. It kept him quiet for a bit at least.

I had clams, Dunkerton’s cider & samphire (£9.50), which came with a healthy helping of toasted baguette. The clams were sweet with the samphire boosting that sea saltiness, and the sauce had a decent apple tang, freshened up with a scattering of dill. Get yourself a crisp glass of white wine with this one and you'll be winning.

Having tried some of the lamb chops at the over counter launch party, The Chap only had eyes for those, with lentils, rainbow chard & salsa rossa (£19.50). Two meaty chops sat atop simply cooked lentils and veg, and were kicked into gear with with that super salsa. The peppers and tomatoes offer a much sweeter flavour than it's green counterpart, and it marries so well to lamb. Once again, I barely heard a peep as he gnawed every morsel off those bones.

There was no hesitation for me either; I had to order the Hereford beef short rib, borlotti beans, girolles & salsa verde (£17). One huge wedge of beef is a carnivores dream. Beefy, juicy, rich and unctuous; it towered high above everything else, and the bone satisfyingly slipped out with ease. Comfort food at its best, and truly a dish which signifies Autumn is well under way. A steal at that price too, I'd say.

Almost at bursting point, we felt we should at least try to squeeze in dessert. We were told the favourite on the menu was the sticky toffee ice cream sandwich, and having seen it on Katie Charlotte Blogs' and Honeybourne Line's reviews, I'm certain it would have pushed me over the edge! Instead, I got suckered in by the chocolate & peanut butter tart with vanilla ice cream (£6)... PB 4 life. It wasn't as rich as it sounds, with just a thin laver of peanut butter on the bitter chocolate tart base. The chocolate filling was light, but perhaps a little fridge-cold as my fork didn't glide through like ganache, it almost crumbled. Still, it melted in the mouth ticking all the right boxes, so no complaints from me.

The Chap went for the most OTT option, The Queen of all banana splits (£6). Banana (obvs), chocolate, vanilla and strawberry ice cream, whipped cream, drizzly sauce, nuts, cherries, THE WORKS. Could've definitely shared between two, but we didn't, so with that we practically had to roll ourselves out of the door.

Like a cat that's gone astray, I've been pining over its absence, desperately willing for The Tavern to return to its original state. Now that it has, I couldn't be happier! With its varied menu, it's back to being that place you could go with anyone, for whatever occasion, at any time of day. See you there!