Today we dined at The Old Courthouse in Cheltenham located amongst the hustle and bustle of all the shops and beautifully set in a Courthouse dating back to the 1800’s.
Cheltenham is really local to us and this particular eaterie has very recently been Coeliac accredited so it was high up in my priorities to go and try it out. I did the usual thing of checking out the menu online before we went and to say I was excited was an understatement!
As soon as we walked in I fell in love with the place. High ceilings, gorgeous lighting, vintage artwork on the walls and even down to the fabulous upholstery on the chairs, they have kept so many of the original features from the Courthouse it’s like stepping back in time with a modern twist.
The sign outside directed us to the bar where, much to my delight we were told we would be sitting upstairs. This is where the official court would of been and is still in many places laid out in the same manner.
The waiter came over promptly and as we had booked ahead and mentioned that I was gluten and lactose intolerant, he presented me with not only my very own separate gluten free menu, but also the normal menu and a stapled together list with all the allergens underneath each meal explaining that if I wanted something from this menu then they would try their best to amend it. He was so good he even went to check on the ingredients for my cocktail too to make sure it was safe.
I had to try the whitebait for starters, it’s not often I find anything like this on the menu in many eateries, it came with homemade tartar sauce and it was incredible. Crispy, full of flavour and lovely and light. Main course I chose the crispy beef salad. It wouldn’t normally be something I’d choose but going with the theme of the starter, when you come across something battered that’s gluten free, you eat it! When the waiter set it down on the table it was almost too pretty to eat, extremely well presented and the flavours were amazing. It came with plenty of the crispy beef,
and a mixture of vegetables all coated in a sweet chilli sauce, cashew nuts and with some crispy lotus root on top. It honestly couldn’t of been nicer and I didn’t leave a single morsel!
Already planning our next visit!
