Purslane in Cheltenham

Intimate restaurant with excellent service and food. Everything was delicious. Highly recommend.

I always enjoy coming here for interesting, very well prepared seafood. Excellent value given the high quality offered. On my last visit (busy Friday night) the service was a bit hit and miss but on previous visits it has been excellent.

A charming restaurant serving excellent food. We chose the light lunch and the portion sizes were perfect. Top marks for ambience, quality of food, service and value for money. We wouldn't hesitate to return. Thank you purslane for a thoroughly enjoyable lunch!

Rarely, if ever, have I experienced such a disconnect between the front and the back of the house. The food was top notch, but the service was amateur hour - polite, earnest and well-meaning but hopelessly lost. This is not the fault of the staff, it's the fault of ownership/management. Two examples: a little thing and a big thing. The little thing is when I requested a new napkin, it never arrived. The big thing was an additional prix-fix meal was added to the tab by accident. If we hadn't caught it ourselves, we'd be out £65.

Great food, excellent service. We had starter and main course each and shared cheese for dessert. With snacks from the kitchen and amazing bread (the smoked taramasalata that came with it was amazing) we were nicely full. With wine, coffees and digestifs came to £200 for two (inc service charge). Brilliant value considering the high quality of the meal- enjoyed every mouthful! If you don’t like seafood it’s not the restaurant for you- but everyone else should try it!

Delicious food served in a very relaxed atmosphere. The staff are o knowledgeable about all the food and drinks to go with them. We had the set menu for lunch and it was just right.

The food was exquisite, very fresh and inventive with friendly profession service. We will go again when up this way. It was all about the food for us and they delivered

We had lunch on July 26th at our favourite restaurant, a place we've visited several times, and it never disappoints. The staff are incredibly attentive, providing detailed explanations of each course. This time, we opted for the 6-course tasting menu, and the food was absolutely divine—each dish was a testament to the chef's genius. The experience was well worth the price, given the ambience, service, and exceptional quality of the food.

The ambiance is nice, service slow, the breads were ok, taramasalata on the side nice but both my wife and I’s starters and mains were very average which resulted in me leaving most of my main partly due to the black squid rings being so salty. We decided not to bother with deserts and got the bill, 2 courses, glass of wine and a coke £145.

We had the eight course tasting menu, it was divine although it was a lot of food and I could only manage six ! Wine was perfectly matched, I’m a big foodie and this was one of the best places I’ve been- the fish, chips and mushy peas was out of this world !

Purslane is one of the foodie restaurants in Cheltenham and we have previously visited in 2021 and really loved it. So this time we had some guests and we decided to visit again. It’s a really small cosy restaurant and has a great ambience inside. The service can be a bit on the slower side, which maybe because the restaurant was full on a Saturday evening. It’s only a minor point but some people may like that as then it doesn’t feel like we are being rushed. We decided to have an ala carte option. I had the duck as my mains and a seafood starter. The duck was fine, nothing great in my view / and starter was decent too but I think it lacked the wow factor in all the dishes. The bread was delicious and the dessert was amazing. I would say that dessert was my highlight from the dinner. The wine list was interesting too. Meal for 2 is £160/- with a glass of Wine Verdict 4/5 In my view paying 160 for a meal for 2 with only a glass of wine is on the expensive side especially if there was no wow factor.

Good food with nice atmosphere 😉

In short, it's not cheap but worth every penny! A brilliant menu that they deliver on.

We've been several times and enjoyed excellent food and wine every time. Most recently we had the 6 course tasting menu with wine flight, all of which was very good indeed.

Food Fantastic, Service Fantastic. Loved it.

Fantastic night. Food was creative and excellent.

Discovered this wonderful place for a good value prix fixe lunch. Great food and the service was excellent.

We chose this restaurant to celebrate our anniversary. We booked well in advance and when we got there 6pm we were first clients. We’ve been asked what menu we prefer and we choose 6, then after less than 2 minutes we decided on 8 and they said it’s too late, we should have booked the 8 tasting??? Why you ask if we dont have a choice? After that the whole experience was terrible 9in service) really rude and cold, no smile, just bitter horrible looks. Such a shame the food was fantastic. We would have definitely come back, but the service was despicable

Great meal. Good English wine. Excellent service.

Very small family run restaurant in the heart of Cheltenham. Incredibly friendly staff, and the food was first class. Good wine list too! I would happily recommend when in Cheltenham.

Absolutely everything I could have wished for and more. Incredible food beautifully presented, (there were lots of oohs and aahs), wonderful service and a great atmosphere. We tried their new small plates venture and we're so glad we did! The opportunity to try a wide range of delicious food at reasonable prices (especially considering the quality) was brilliant and we will be back again. Thank you for a wonderful evening that ticked all the boxes and more

The owner Gareth was rude and patronising when I queried his decision not to honour the gift voucher which my daughter bought for me as a birthday present. Due to a family funeral, I had to postpone our booking. Staff taking the call at the time assured me that it would not be a problem and sounded genuinely sympathetic to our circumstance. I rebooked for today but when we turned up, the staff member told us that the £160 prepaid voucher could not be honoured as it had expired, despite the original booking being made before it. Owner Gareth came out to explain. He crossed his arms, became patronising and, frankly, quite rude. He had not a single welcoming word and had clearly made up his mind that he was going to stick to the date on the voucher, despite explaining our circumstances and what I had been told by his staff previously. Gareth. You need to break your own rules occasionally. Or, just be nice to customers you've never met, yet paid you £160 for nothing.

Excellent decor. Always exceed my expectations for flavour and food presentation. Highly recommend. One of the best places in Cheltenham and the cotswolds. Always deserves a Michelin star.

Food and experience was exceptional - phenomenal meals! Would recommend to anyone in the area. Beautiful flavours and wonderful wines to go alongside.

Absolutely gorgeous food and brilliant service. Attention to detail is wonderful. We really enjoyed our evening at The Purslane. Love that the ingredients are seasonal and all the dishes explained in great detail when serving. This restaurant is a little gem in the centre of Cheltenham. We will be visit again soon for sure.

We visited for a valentines meal and were blown away by the food! Each course was beautifully presented and tasted amazing. The hens egg starter was a real highlight. A real hidden gem and we would definitely visit again for a special occasion.

Lovely food and very attentive service

This intimate restaurant packs a punch with their amazing food ,presentation ,quality and amazing taste tickling all your taste buds …..a must visit .

We had the New Years Eve at home dinner experience last night. It was faultless. Everything tasted incredible and was very easy to finish at home. Excellent value for money too. Very excited for the next one. Well done Purslane

Absolutely fantastic food and been a long time since I’ve had too food like this !! Truly a Michelin level experience . Such a talented chef. Could not fault any dish or the staff ! Highly recommend Purslane for as good as it gets in cuisine !!

Lunch here really exceeded my expectations! Got the tasting menu, it was a delightful surprise, featuring hidden courses including chef’s signature dish, exciting additions to the dining experience. Each dish stands out on its own, yet when combined, they worked thematically and harmoniously as one extravagant and delicious meal. The pairing of the wines with the courses is impeccable, enhancing the flavors beautifully - it's an absolute must-try. The wait staff were knowledgeable and fantastic, happily answered all my questions. Highly recommended for anyone seeking unique and satisfying dining, tasting the best of what the region has to offer.

This is the hands down the best restaurant in Edinburgh. The food is always sublime, the wine pairings amazing and the service is wonderful. I have been multiple times now, and will continue to visit. Recommend the full 7 courses and premium pairings!

What a joy! Such a lovely small restaurant with amazing service. Fantastic 6-course tasting menu is £80 a head. Comes with a few extra surprises. Highlights were the salmon and the chocolate dessert. 100% recommend!

Excellent as always. The food is great, staff friendly, atmosphere laid back. What’s not to love? When I said the food is great, that’s a bit of an understatement

We had an amazing meal with friends, its been some time since we last visited and it remains a top draw experience. We had the taster menu and every dish was amazing. When we were asked which dish was our favourite it was so difficult as I couldn't fault any of them surely a star can't be far away. Well done team.

A fantastic lunch with superb service. We had the set lunch which is ridiculously good value. Wines by the glass means the Christmas shopping after was not too blurry!

A truly amazing restaurant, food was fantastic and deserves a Michelin star. Couldn't fault it absolutely exceptional. We live in Berkshire and was on a weekend away for my birthday. Will definitely return if we stay near there again.

Always the best fish restaurant in Cheltenham, Purslane has improved its ambiance since our last visit and is now, even more, our first choice for a special meal. Exquisite food and really professional staff.

We have had two amazing meals In the last few weeks here I can honestly say this is a real hidden gem in Cheltenham I feel very privileged to be able to go here I must say I feel very relaxed going to this wonderful restaurant dress code is very relaxed you don't need to wear long sleeved shirts like some pretentious restaurants demand I feel I still look smart In a short sleeve shirt the food is simply amazing I especially love fish as I have certain dietary requirements my wife loves meat well its just perfect for both of us the food is so pretty its like a picture on a plate this restaurant in my opinion deserves a Michelin star but I know the price will rise if they get it please don't change just be the restaurant you are and we certainly love lastly we would like to wish both waitresses a very happy Xmas feliz navidad xx

Excellent food, though quite pricey when ypu add on wine and service charge on top. Service was a little cold, and fairly slow (so skipped dessert as gone 9 by time mains got cleared). Worth a visit tho and will go back for lunch.

Decided on the 7 course tasting menu with the accompanying wine flight. Every dish was amazingly tasty and flavourful. There were also snacks from the kitchen, which were some of my favorites of the whole meal. Breads were soft and tender and even though we new they would fill us up, it was hard not to finish it. The Brown Hen's Egg and Ravioli were some of our favourites and the Herefordshire Damson a delicious end to the meal. I expected dishes to be very small (and sometimes ridiculously small), as has been our experience with tasting menus, but each of these were a decent size. If I went again, I would select the 5 course. Thank you for a very special evening!

Having heard of the excellent eight course tasting menu and its accompanying wine flight we booked well in advance and for 20:30 on a Saturday as the website stated the tasting menu was only available after 7pm. We travelled up from London looking forward to our meal only to be told when we arrived that they were not doing the tasting menu. There was nothing on the website or advised when booking that the tasting menu would not be available. Most if not all of the items on the tasting menu were available to order a l carte but they refused to serve the tasting menu. We ended up bitterly disappointed and spending around £200 and it they had bothered to serve us the tasting menu we would have spent around £600. I cannot believe that a small aspiring business like this just does not care about their customers. Arrogance comes before a business failure. The little food we had was excellent but ruined by the service. Be warned before you think about booking.

Fabulous birthday dinner. The 6 course tasting menu was incredible, every course plus lots of extra dishes, totally delicious. Thank you Purslane, I hope we’ll be back very soon.

Had a lovely lunch at Purslane, our first visit. The food is great but they need to turn their heating on now it’s getting colder, otherwise I’d have given five stars. I did ask the waitress whether the heating was on and after checking she said it wasn’t but as it was 18’ she didn’t think it was necessary, I must admit it felt colder. I pointed out that the diners who’d brought their coats were still wearing them and although I had my fleece I’d left mine in the car.

Fantastic. Come on Cheltenhamites - you should be queued out the door for this! Food to be savoured

After watching Cambridge United drop three points at Cheltenham Town, the stunning high quality food and service at this lovely restaurant made the trip to Cheltenham worth while. I cannot describe how good the food is, congratulations on delivering perfection!

The food was disappointing. Too much salt and poorly executed. I can understand why they haven’t got a Michelin star.

Amazing birthday meal and the team made an above and beyond effort to support my dietary needs. Should’ve given this review a while ago, but better late than never. Will 100% be back.

We came here for our wedding anniversary celebration, absolutely love the tasting menu. Seafood ingredients were fresh. It was a lovely little cozy restaurant and the presentation of food was good. I highly recommend this place!

It would be so easy to drift on by this little jewel Rodney rd Cheltenham isn’t known for much really apart from maybe a rat run up to the high st and horrendous parking metre fees … but that isn’t why you stopped here. It’s a small Jewell right enough with fish fish dishes the real specials . They have a set lunch menu that is incredibly good value, can’t remember exactly but something like £22 for 2 courses and £28 for three.you can check and see exactly. Great food great service ( they add 12.5% which is becoming standard and mildly annoying these days , I like to make my own mind up on what to leave !) you could easily pass it by , I’m sure word of mouth is their best advert And rightly so because I doubt having been for the first time you will be looking forward to a return visit .

Great find if you like fine dining...

Have been trying to get here for about three years with my mother as she loves seafood, only to be defeated by the pandemic and various lockdowns. We were finally able to book a table for dinner a couple of weeks ago. The food was sensational. From the three different buns with whipped seaweed butter and smoked taramasalata (my mum doesn't even like taramasalata usually but she loved this) to the beautifully arranged starters (cured cod for my mum, scallops for me) and then the perfectly sized main courses (seabass with the smoked eel croquette and summer veg for my mum, halibut with creamed crab, garlic potatoes, sea greens and apple 'pearls' for me), it was an evening to remember. Staff were friendly and attentive without hovering. The petit fours and filter coffee were the icing on the wonderful cake. Highly recommended.

Friendly and informative service to accompany delicious food, beautifully presented. The fish was cooked to perfection.

Excellent food, including wonderful fish and seafood. Fantastic service. Central setting and great ambiance. What more could you ask for!

Absolutely sublime cuisine. It's a long way from where I live but I'm aiming to return ASAP to have their amazing food again. I have been three times so far and have my 4th booked. The food is 100 times better than The Fat Duck where I went recently, as is the service. I adore this place and will be back again and again. I'm a lone diner which isn't as good for them but they always make me feel so welcome. The wine pairings are also fabulous.

There is nothing not to love about this jewel of a restaurant! Impeccable ingredients respectfully prepared and beautifully presented. A starter of three different beets with whipped goat cheese, cherries and gingerbread was a revelation. A thoughtfully curated list of interesting wines complement the cuisine perfectly. Service is a perfect balance among friendly, informal, highly professional.

5 star all the way. The food was magical, service- perfect.. couldn't fault it. A really enjoyable and memorable experience. Highly recommended.

This is genuinely one of my favourite places to eat , the service is amazing , the food is even better, truly marvellous. The staff at purslane are always professional and polite , the kitchen will adjust the menu to suit a pregnant hungry wife . 2nd visit and look forward to the next visit already !

Visited on Saturday night as a foursome. Cute and cosy restaurant with nice atmosphere. Staff were very good. Food was delicious. Nice complimentary pre starter and amazing selection of breads. Good sized portions and felt it was good value for money for the quality of food.

Really great meal at Purslane, one of the best fish restaurants I've been to. The food and service was excellent, with a good selection of dishes on offer, with some available for those who don't eat fish.

What a wonderful dining experience. We had the 6 course tasting menu, it was absolutely superb. Could not fault a single thing.

Enjoyed a wonderful double anniversary meal here with my parents. The food was exceptional. Beautifully cooked and presented. From the bread appetisers to the generous mains everything has layers of quality. A accompaniment of a pot of crab meat with a sweetcorn espuma was the star of the evening but every dish had a well balanced combination of high quality ingredients and technique. We will definitely be returning.

Fine lunch with great choice of fish including haddock, halibut and monkfish. The deep fried crab stuffed courgette flower was a marvel. Good well priced wines as well. To be clear this is not Michelin star fine dining but sometimes it is a blessing just to have well cooked food with high quality ingredients without the faff. Cheltenham is fortunate to have purslane

We received a recommendation from a friend and, although Cheltenham is a 45 minute drive for us, we decided to try Purslane out for our wedding anniversary. What a fantastic recommendation it proved to be! Every course was an explosion of taste and a visual sensation. I say every course - we chose the two course menu but were presented with a delightful amuse-bouche followed by a wonderful bread tray with herb butter and taramasalata - all in advance of the sea bream starter. I’ve attached photos of our starters and mains which were each superb. We had an anniversary experience to remember and I would definitely recommend you to give it a try. The two course menu may seem pricey at £54 but there are no extras apart from alcohol and coffee, so it’s actually fantastic value for a truly exceptional dining experience.

My partner and I recently celebrated our wedding anniversary at Purslane, where the outstanding cuisine and service blew us away. I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone seeking an exceptional dining experience.

Lovely little restaurant, really enjoyable experience. Really well presented food in a relaxed but smart environment. Some really tasty 'snacks from the kitchen' prior to the main event. Minor criticism there could have been a bit more fish in the mains and the flavour could have been a bit more intense.

There were only two starters and two main dishes on the menu so the choices were limited. My husband enjoyed both his dishes, I enjoyed the Red mullet and it was cooked to perfection, however the beans served with it were very much undercooked. I also had the cured monkfish to start and found it not to my liking I feel monkfish is not a fish that lends itself to curing. The food all looked beautiful. The wine served was good value and plenty of choice. The service was perfunctory. There were very few guests and that may have made the atmosphere seem subdued.

Brilliant sea food, served almost like works of art . A starter of marinaded monkfish, garnished with seasonal salad, decorative flowers! Main course Scottish halibut- perfectly cooked and presented. Excellent 'amuse bouche' (gratis) entry dish, plus chef prepared breads with spiced taramasalata and butter. Good choice of wines at reasonable prices-. We will certainly go again !

Went to this our favourite restaurant in Cheltenham my wife really enjoyed the snacks from the kitchen and then she had john dory I had the monkfish which was superb. My wife had hogget and I had the red mullet which was lovely we both...

We visited Purslane for the first time to celebrate a big anniversary. In short, we loved everything about it. We had the six course tasting menu, which with amuses bouches and bread on top felt more like eight. All the food was excellent - it’s...

Limited menu, overpriced and pretentious’

A wonderful dining experience, I struggle to see why this restaurant doesn’t have a Michelin star. The service is wonderful, the food is truly terrific and the presentation ( for those that like Instagram) is magical. I really like this restaurant, Cheltenham doesn’t know how...

A La Carte menu - Fish for starters and main course - amazing! The combination of flavours and presentation of each dish is in my opinion unequalled in this town. Personal table service by ingredient knowledgeable staff with a smile again very welcome. In all...

Livery 8 course tasting menu we had. Everything delicious. We really enjoyed. 豆類とゴートチーズが苦手なのですが、それらもとても美味しく調理されていて、美味しく頂けました。大満足なひと時でした。

Had a great tasting menu to celebrate mother’s 80th birthday. Service was lovely from the staff, exposing each course as it arrived. Fantastic dishes, artistically presented and most importantly tasted wonderful.

We love this place and keep going back! The food is exceptional, delicious flavours, beautifully presented, super friendly service and great wine. Purslane is our favourite place to go and I can’t recommend it enough.

Wonderful meal, excellent flavours and textures with local and in season ingredients. Absolutely delicious. Good wine list, well described. Such an enjoyable evening with knowledgeable, friendly staff.

Went to Purslane on a Saturday night for dinner with my family. We were excited as we had many good things about Purslane and we couldn’t wait to try it. As this was our first time at the restaurant, we decided to go for the...

Small, cozy, and first class restaurant with amazing food, wine, and service. Highlight of a weekend in Cheltenham.

It was our wedding anniversary and we had a fantastic dinner here last night. We had the full tasting menu which was excellent and beautifully presented. The ambience is great with exactly the right atmopshere. The food was both innovative and delicious.The lamb was particularly...

Top cuisine. Brilliant service and great staff.Top quality well worth the money it's well worth a visit just to sample the fine cuisine

A wonderful evening, superb food, great knowledge of staff and a lovely relaxed atmosphere 😃

Excellent all round. Staff, service, atmosphere and, of course, the food all outstanding. Will definitely be returning if we visit the area again.

We booked for a 25th birthday treat for our daughter. We expected a high end fine dining experience and we were not disappointed. The food was sublime, from the amusè buche and breads at the start, fish based starter and main course through to a...

Oh wow. How this restaurant doesn't have a Michelin star yet I have no idea. Super friendly and attentive staff, some of the best seafood dishes we've ever had. Very generous portions - after a 7 course tasting menu we were absolutely stuffed and very pleasantly tipsy. And for a very reasonable price given the quality! Definitely worth a visit.

Second visit and the food was as excellent as it was the first time. My wife and I have eaten in many highly rated and Michelin starred restaurants and were very impressed with the quality, presentation and flavour of the food at Purslane. Well done...

Food is divine and to-die-for. Service is fantastic and unlike some restaurants, they have the heating on so it's warm, cosy and inviting. This is my 5th or 6th visit.

this was an excellent treat. brilliant and imaginative food. very good portions. exceptional high standard. wonderful service. not rushed. calm envrionment. this is more expensive than usual for us, but a special occasion and totally worth every penny! we'll be back.

Not far from where we were staying, and a relatively easy walk. A warm welcome from the staff and we were shown to our table. Although fairly young, the staff were extremely professional and knew their menu inside out. We chose the 3 course a...

We went here after some recommendations from a friend. The restaurant is very basic- it looked clean but was by no means great- what I mean is that the ceilin, walls, bar etc all had bits that need to be fixed or tided up. The...

Had the 5 course tasting menu. Food outstanding, especially the smoked haddock, egg, mussells course. Also really enjoyed the rhubarb, ricotta, ginger parkin dessert. Service brilliantly efficient. Only downside was the expensive wine which seems to have gone up £8-10 since lockdown. However, this is...

Relaxing,welcoming with delicious food. The service was attentive while being unobtrusive, The light lunch looked and tasted superb. I would recommend a visit - it's a Cheltenham gem.

Trawling through Google is never easy. We were trying to find a really special restaurant for our weekend away in Cheltenham and there are MANY options. However, Purslane was a GREAT choice. It's not massive, but it's absolutely amazing quality. The staff team seems pretty tiny but they're all really lovely, and it somehow maintains a homely, relaxed vibe whilst serving up Michelin style food. We had the tasting menus and we were STUFFED. Quality AND quantity 😂 Go for drinks before at The Urban Meadow, a 1 min walk away 👍

Absolutely beautiful food, visually and flavour wise. The savoury dishes were lovely but it was the desserts that stole my heart. Fenomenal. The staff are very attentive and knowledgeable bit give enough space to enjoy the meal. The restaurant is small and perfect for an...

Undoubtedly one of the best dining experiences I've ever had. The 5-course tasting menu showed off the chef's talent fantastically. Impossible to choose a favourite course as each one was truly special, with amazing combinations of flavours and textures. The front of house team played their part too in ensuring our evening was memorable. They knew the dishes inside out and were friendly, welcoming and professional in equal measures. If you plan to eat out in Cheltenham, Purslane should be top of your list.

Only offered a 5 course tasting menu when the table next to us were offered 7 courses. Waitress served my husband first every course which I found a bit rude. I ordered a decaff coffee after the meal and was given a normal coffee. All...

Went to our favourite restaurant for an early valentines meal .warmly greeted by Tegan and Megan a little disappointed to find our favourite table by the window had already been booked must remember to ask for this when booking next time. The food was exceptional...

Why hasn’t this restaurant got a Michelin star ??? An absolutely sublime lunch , went with friends for the husband’s birthday !! Definitely celebrated in style !! Staff were knowledgeable, attentive and helpful!! 3 of us chose the halibut as our main course . All...

We did the short tasting menu @£80 for 5 courses which represented excellent value. Presentation, flavours and textures were all wonderful. Staff were great too. The only minor negative was the coffee at the end which neither of us liked v much. Overall a great experience and would definitely return in the future.

After reviewing this restaurant for a while and being local we decided as it was my partner’s birthday we’d book On arrival we could not fault … seating not great but hey we was there to eat ,,, appetisers excellent .. upon main course not...