Hotel du Vin & Bistro - Cheltenham

I booked a table for two at 10pm, as I was having a date with a girl I've wanted to take out for ages. I get dressed up, get her a taxi to mine, we then proceed to Hotel du Vin looking forwards to a lovely evening. We walk in and get told that there is no reservation and we can't be served as the kitchen shuts at 9pm. The biggest problem at this point is its a freezing cold night, my date is in heels, and we now have no reservation to head to. Trying to arrange a table for 2 at 9:50pm for a 10pm sitting is pretty difficult, let alone race across town trying to make it. If you don't serve dinner at that time, may I suggest that you don't make it an available time online. Embarrassed and inconvenienced is my memory of the evening, and left me in an awkward situation to say the least.

Overall very good. Food is excellent value for money, drinks are expensive though. Shame the scotch eggs had all gone and they didn’t have any more.

I was greatly underwhelmed by my experience here. The waiters were inattentive and I had to consume half of my meal before they came over so that I could inform them that some of my food had not arrived. Both main courses were uninspiring and as a result the cost of the meal was far more than it was actually worth. On the plus side the wine was a good standard and the evening was saved by the delightful desserts

As it was New Year’s Eve the price was extortionate, the food was very poor for the price and the service of the waiters and head downstairs was poor. Not once did they smile and managed to get our food delivered to the wrong table. The wine ordered was the wrong type too. Usually when we visit it’s a very pleasant experience but not this time.

Don 't get me wrong three stars overall is good (I wish I could give 3.5 it was nudging a four , and I would very much recommend HdV. We had a 10 person booking between Christmas and New Year, and although the restaurant wasn 't too busy, they did seem a little short staffed. Diners who beef about this kind of thing need to consider the economic climate and restaurant financial viability before moaning, and in fact the team were more attentive than in many places I 've been remember, two stars is fair and we tipped (I hope they 'll agree! well at more than 12%. Anyway, the food was good, the wines we picked were excellent for their categories and the family had a lovely lunchtime.