My boyfriend first took me to Le Champignon Sauvage for dinner in November last year. I’ve been fortunate enough to eat in some of the finest restaurants in the world but this place really stood out to me. We had such an amazing dinner that we decided to go back and stay in Cheltenham this time so we could both relax and have a couple of drinks with our food.
We were so excited after our last visit and had such high hopes of a similar experience of our visit just a few months prior to this Spring afternoon in March. When we walked through the front door at Le Champignon Sauvage we immediately received a warm and friendly welcome from Helen who took our coats and asked if we would like a drink in the bar area. We were in no hurry at all and wanted to make the most of everything so sat down and enjoyed our aperitifs whilst looking at the menu and sampling the canapes that were bought out to us on the sofa.
We both ordered a starter and main courses from the lunch menu, I chose the beetroot hake followed by the lamb and my boyfriend chose the fish soup and cod fillet. One of the waiting staff said that we could also mix and match from the lunch and dinner menu if we had liked. For a 2 Michelin star restaurant this was so refreshing to be made to feel so at home, comfortable and to fully relax into the experience.
The time came to be seated in the restaurant where we were shortly presented with an amuse bouche which today was a celeriac veloute. It looked great but it tasted out of this world!! Then came the beautiful freshly made bread along with the champagne and wine we’d ordered to have with the starters. It’s hard for me to write about this without sounding too over the top because we were both completely in awe of each incredible plate of food that this husband and wife team had created. We tried each others starters and it really wouldn’t have mattered what we had ordered as the detail, flavour and work that went into the food and everything was impeccable.
Next came our stunning main courses, colourful and so tempting. Again we tasted both dishes and savoured every single mouthful. Of course we finished with a dessert each. My white chocolate cheesecake was gorgeous, accompanied by a palette cleansing artichoke ice cream. My boyfriend had the blood orange dessert with a coconut sorbet (I can’t actually remember the name of this dessert) but neither of us had ever had anything like this. It was incredible.
We reflected a little during our time in the restaurant about why we both felt so passionate about Le Champignon Sauvage. It was so much more than just being passionate about the food. It was the consistency, personal touch with their customers and integrity that was at the core of everything here. The values of this husband and wife team is what makes it a success. Thanks David and Helen, see you again very soon.
A few months after our visit I was invited by David to work with him and his team in the kitchen at Le Champignon Sauvage. Click here to read more about my experience of working behind the scenes in a 2 Michelin-starred kitchen.

this fine dining French restaurant has 2 Michelin stars for almost 10 years. Ran by the husband and wife team, David and Helen Everitt-Matthias, the restaurant is rated highly...