Drink, Eat & Be Social: The Bottle of Sauce Cheltenham

No doubt we're all seeing in January with various saintly resolutions… New year, new me… But let's face it, it never quite works out. If you're dry the whole of Jan, only to get hammered every weekend for the rest of the year, or eat nothing but lettuce for a month, then stuff your face full of the remaining Christmas chocs on the first of February, then really, what's the point?

Cheltenham, I say ditch the diet, especially as there are some excellent new (and old) places to eat in town, all of which need your custom at this sluggish time of year.

Looking back to November, with a flurry of foodie openings, the stakes were well and truly upped in the burger game. Not only did The Tavern reopen after its fire (more on that in another post), but we welcomed in Dodo Pub Co.'s The Bottle of Sauce - hurrah! Ok, I know we already had quite a few places for your beef fix, but variety is the spice of life, right?

Housed in what was formerly The Quaich - quiche, kwaysh, quack, however you said it - found on the corner of Ambrose and Clarence Street, The Bottle of Sauce brands itself as a 'hip new watering hole and eatery'; a place to 'drink, eat and be social'... Yup, I like all of those things. I'm in.

The place has undergone a pretty hefty refurbishment, which no doubt cost quite a few pennies, and contains all those cool-kid culprits; exposed brickwork, industrial fixtures and fittings, snazzy lighting, etc. Centre stage at the bar is the beer board, of which lists many a great beer, shining so bright in its coppery hues, there's a private dining room with a looovely long wooden table (perfect for parties), and even a games room with table tennis and table football. But wait, there's more. There's a large outside space lit with zig-zagged festoon lighting, no doubt this'll be heaving come summer, and a 'canteen' dining area in what used to be the pubs old skittle alley. You'll find the kitchen in here, which is semi-open so you can peek through to see what's going on, and when everyone's full of food, there's a DJ booth to see you into the early hours, dancing shoes or not.

The general gist; Bottle of Sauce offers various booths, tables, high stools, benches and surprisingly armchairs by the fireplace to sit at, so even Goldilocks would be able to find somewhere that was 'just right' in here.

Foodwise they serve dirty burgers, filthy fries, Neapolitan pizzas, sticky wings and souped up salads (though no one really wants the salad do they?). And having been invited along to the bloggers event with a whole host of fellow food lovers, we all took it upon ourselves to try out as much of the menu as possible.

Big hits in the burger section; Mother Clucker (kimchi buttermilk chicken, pickled red onions, napalm sauce, chipotle mayo, lettuce), The Big D (beef patty, aged cheddar, caramelised onions, Kelmscott dry cured bacon, Dodo burger mayo, lettuce), and The Al Capone (beef patty, spicy 'nduja relish, American cheese, pickled red onions, chipotle mayo, lettuce)... Basically all of them then. You can choose if you want your burger pink or well done too, something that was a bit hit and miss on the bloggers night, but having been back since has been spot on. Pink every time obvs.

I ordered the Speckenwolf pizza (no longer on the menu), with paper thin slices of smoky cured speck, mozzarella, parmesan, rocket and lemon. Delicious, but I was instantly jealous when I saw someone else's Truffle Funghi come out. I fit in another visit recently and ordered myself one - white pizza, mozzarella, portobello mushrooms, Cotswold Gold truffle oil, sorrel and shaved parmesan - and it was even better than the one I'd longingly spied. I thought the bases were a little overdone on our first visit - not a terrible offence, just new chefs getting used to their new kitchen - but now they have the perfect amount of scorched spots from the pizza oven, and the toppings were much more generous.

The consensus was that the Napalm Wings were the best of the bunch being both sweet and hot, though if you've ordered lots of other spicy things then you won't be disappointed with the Sticky BBQ Wings. And I'm almost certain there's no elegant way to eat a wing; suck it up, you're going to get messy.

Bottle of Sauce gives you a choice of three types of fries; Rosemary Salted (yet to try), Buffalo (the winner - with hot sauce and blue cheese drizzle), and Cheese n' Truffle (with melted fontina and Cotswold Gold truffle oil - not as truffley as I'd hoped; I think the pizza got the best dousing of oil). The other sides take a bit of a back seat; the Dodo Slaw, with apple, white cabbage, mint and mayo, was nice but nothing spesh, and the Mac n' Cheese seemed to be missing all the melty cheese - sigh. Hey ho, no love lost. It's not like you're stuck for choice!

If you're not in the mood for food and just fancy some drinks, then that's highly recommended too. I mentioned the beers earlier on, but there's a solid wine list, interesting spirits, and cocktails which slip down all too easily. Try them all.

So then, my advice for a Happy New Year and to beat those January blues... Hit up The Bottle of Sauce and start as you mean to go on.

50% off selected burgers every Monday / 50% off selected pizzas Tuesday - Friday lunchtimes / 15% off takeaway pizza at all times / £4.50 cocktails during afterwork drinking hours / bottomless coffees and bloody marys available with weekend brunch / gluten free buns and bases available

KIBOUsushi via Deliveroo Cheltenham

Do you remember me telling you about Deliveroo Cheltenham's expansion at the end of last year? After spreading themselves further across Cheltenham, and adding a number of new cafés and restaurants, they ran a Christmas themed competition to get people talking about them… And talk about them they did.

Hypocritically, despite writing about Deliveroo's #SpotaSanta Campaign, I'd never actually used the service before - terrible, I know. But with a new account set up (along with a little thank you credit), I took the plunge.

Having to decide what to order in one restaurant alone is bad enough for someone like me, but with the Deliveroo App you have up to 27 menus at your fingertips at any one time! Luckily The Chap and I were on the same page, and it was only ever going to be KIBOUsushi.

I was given free reign with the ordering, with the only stipulation being that Chicken Katsu Curry had to be on the list. Picking out a few faves, and impulse clicking a couple of random dishes, our order was processed, and the countdown began.

On the app, like some sort of backwards sat-nav, we watched as our Deliveroo driver left the restaurant and headed over to our house. Peering out of the window in excitement, there he was! In just over half an hour, for a small delivery fee of £2.50, we were feasting like kings.

First up, Pork Gyozas (£5.70) - a personal fave - the chewy dumplings, with a crisp base, were tightly packed with fragrant pork mince, and came with an addictive vinegary dipping sauce. Another starter, Takoyaki (£5.95), was a first for the both of us; five deep fried batter balls with octopus in the centre, dressed with a Japanese-esque mayo and ginger. I don't think I've had anything quite like it before. I imagine they might be even better straight out of the kitchen at the restaurant, but nevertheless the bitesized spongy spheres will always be a must from now on.

We thought that eating the hot food first would probably be the best option, seeing as sushi isn't going to spoil if it hangs around for a while, so next we attacked the Chicken Katsu Curry (£13.95). It's not a something that I'd choose for myself - it's all a bit beige - but I do like the salty-sweet curry sauce,... And the fact that it's essentially a giant sliced up chicken nugget with rice.

With the volume of food we ordered, sharing a main course dish was definitely the right thing to do. Crunchy breadcrumbs encased the juicy white flesh, and there was more than enough sauce (which came in its own little tub) to coat every piece of chicken. I think it's the zip of acidity that I often miss in Japanese cuisine, but by pouring our leftover gyoza dipping sauce over the rice, it really hit the spot. I should say that The Chap was perfectly happy without my adjustments though.  

A variety platter - Jo Moriawase (£14.25) - is a good way to try a few types of sushi without committing to one particular roll. Our 12 pieces comprised of 4 slices of sashimi (2 salmon and 2 tuna), 4 nigiri (squid, prawn, salmon and tuna), and 4 California rolls (I'm pretty sure the menu said eel, though my photo looks more like seabass). Pickled ginger, sachets of wasabi and soy sauce accompany all of KIBOU's take out sushi too. Apply too much wasabi at your own risk!

As an off-the-cuff-pick, we had Ikura Gunkan (£5.50); 2 pieces of oval shaped sushi, wrapped in a strip of nori and generously topped with pearls of salmon roe. The Chap wasn't too convinced, he found it a bit too salty, but I thought it was a welcome alternative to the other things we had. Not only did the rolls look luxurious, but with the delicate salmon roe bursting in your mouth, they felt pretty extravagant too.

8 pieces of Spicy Tuna Iso (£8.95) were our final sushi choice, probably because we're a little obsessed with raw tuna, though feeling a little full we grazed our way through them whilst watching crap Saturday Night TV and sipping Champagne... Fizz goes very well with sushi by the way! And speaking of drinks, I noticed that you can order beers from KIBOUsushi via Deliveroo - yay - but their amazing Plum Wine isn't available *cries*. Maybe one day... Hint hint.

Although I'd generally prefer to go out to restaurants to eat, when it's blowing a gale and pissing it down outside, or when you're feeling under the weather and are quite content in your pjs, I can see that this is where Deliveroo comes into its own. I'm betting that hangovers are quite a popular reason for people using the service too, and with that in mind, I'm already eyeing up the menus for the next time I've had a heavy night!

Cheers Deliveroo & KIBOUsushi for giving me a little slice of Japan in the comfort of my own home.