No. 131 - Cheltenham

It would be foolish and rather naive to believe that other UK towns and cities can't compete with uber cool places in London, like Hackney and Shoreditch,

Mixed review here, went for late lunch on a quiet week day, so only a couple of other diners. Staff were very nice and attentive. Service was excellent. The food was good, but a few improvements would have made it excellent. Mainly none of our dishes were hot enough. We had soup, which was lovely. No bread though. The seafood tagliatelle could have done with more clams, but those that were there were still lovely and sweet. The pasta was a bit claggy and stuck together. Steak frites were nice, loved the salad and tomatos, my steak was medium rare instead of medium, but it was a nice piece and I didn't want to send it back. I enjoyed it, and ate most of it, except for the middle which was too rare for me. Garlic butter was cold and had I known they would, charge £3.50 for it I would have declined. Not about the money, but the value for money. Seabream was nice, but could have been warmer, The mussels were enormous, they were well cleaned, although the one I had was a bit gritty. Despite these issues, the food still tasted good, was well presented and the staff were excellent and for me, it's the staff that make or break an experience. I'll be honest, I'm not keen on dining in a tent on a slanted pavement, but the decor is nice and I found the tables and chairs comfortable. We will give 131 another chance on a busier day.

Lovely lunch today Excellent service Fantastic food The cheese soufflé entree was just about one of the best ever I’ve eaten Trout tartare starter was very good too The rack of lamb main was delicious Good wine and cocktails Top notch

I went to 131 with my wife and 2 others for a Sunday lunch. We had a fairly average sized lunch and had a nice time although service was slow and the food only mediocre and we to eat in the eyesore of tent city of course. We then got the bill! My share for 2.......wait for it.........was £163. Money isn't the problem here, value for money, however, is and this place is taking liberties. I would advise anybody thinking of going here to go to either Blancs or Cotes who do a better lunch at a much better price and in a building too no less. To be avoided.

What a delightful place, the staff were really friendly and cheerful and the food was scrumptious it’s a lovely location to watch the world go by my daughter in law and I had mussels which were the best I’ve had since France! They were huge, sweet and cooked beautifully the service was great too. My husband had pork belly which was tender and delicious, my son had flat iron steak which was cooked perfectly we all enjoyed lunch and my husband and I just had to share the Eaton mess dessert w would definitely recommend