While in Cheltenham we also visited restaurant Journey, in the town centre. We have met chef Jeff Lewis a couple of times when he was staging at Ynyshir, and it seems that the majority of Journey’s menu takes strong influence from places that Jeff has worked or visited. You will spot several dishes that are easily traceable back to his time at Ynyshir, The Fat Duck and even Disfrutar in Barcelona, although I don’t think he worked there. Even the website tagline “putting the fun into fine dining” could be argued to originate in Wales where Gareth Ward embraces “fun dining not fine dining”. I guess every chef takes influences from somewhere but this did seem like a succession of replicated dishes and presentation theatrics rather than a chef taking an idea and making it his own. I’m not sure what to feel about that. The food was pretty tasty overall apart from a couple of missteps and I guess it’s nice that Cheltenham gets another restaurant trying to operate at a higher level.
It might be interesting to see where his menu is at in 6 months or a years time and if it has moved forward with more of his own ideas. But I’ll let someone else discover that as I think the only visit I’ll be doing to Cheltenham in the future will be to revisit the excellent Champignon Sauvage.
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Bacon & Egg
Bacon Velouté - Tempura Egg Yolk
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Chilli Crab
Crab - Chilli Broth - Chive & Garlic Oil - Puffed Wild Rice - Dill - Nori - Coriander
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Sri Lankan MonkFish Curry
Monkfish Fillet - Red Curry Sauce - Yuzu infused Basmati - Cumin Salt
Poppadom
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Japanese A5 Wagyu
A5 Sirloin - Salt Baked Celeriac purée - Enoki - Kalamansi Nahm Jim - Teriyaki Jus
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White Chocolate & Aged Caviar
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Banh Mi & Pho
Vietnamese Street Bread - Accompaniments - Ph& Broth - Ampers&nd Dairy Butter
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Hokkaido scallop, beurre noisette, tarragon
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S.T.P.
Medjool Date Pudding - Caramel & Red Boat Ice Cream - Dulce de Leche
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Michelin Guide - listed
OAD -
W50B -
Best Chef Awards -
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