Restaurant GL50

Kerry 19th February 202019th February 2020 0 Comments

Restaurant GL50 was established in Cheltenham towards the end of 2019, under the helm owner and Executive Chef, Jonas Lodge. Jonas has worked for some of the world’s best restaurants, including The Fat Duck and The Hind’s Head in Bray under Heston Blumenthal and closer to home was Head Chef at The Bell at Ramsbury in Swindon. With a CV as good as this we were extremely excited to get our teeth into his menu. A big player has landed in our little town!

With GL50, Jonas has managed to create one of Cheltenham’s most relaxing and elegant dining experiences. We found the tranquil, candle-lit environment perfect for helping us unwind after a hectic week. The restaurant is intimate but with tables situated a comfortable distance apart and you’ll see from the photos below how uncluttered the environment is. This allowed for the abstract pieces of art to make a statement, perhaps to tell the diner that within the distinguished, sophisticated look of each dish, there could be a few surprises to challenge the senses. The stairs are lined with original artwork of contemporary dishes of food made by a friend of Jonas’s and the trivet inspired clock, (in the photo of Jonas above) is a stunning statement piece against the bright, turquoise wall of the bar area.

One reason among many for paying GL50 a visit is to support Jonas’s zero waste ethos. His resourceful menu design aims to make the best use of excess ingredients from the prior service. Jonas is well travelled and has seen first-hand the amount of waste the restaurant industry produces, that we as customers are often naive to. Jonas now has the opportunity to introduce this lifestyle change and set the right example in his own establishment.

On the Menu

Click here to view the current, seasonal and regional inspired dinner menu.

Starters

With four starters to choose from we each picked a different one. Scroll down to see the dishes and descriptions are under the photos. Each starter was a mighty plate of flavour to suit our need for comfort food satisfaction on a cold, wintery night. Starters cost from £9 to £14 (although prices may vary a little) and the bread was complimentary.

To start we were served wedges of fabulous sourdough from local, artisan bakery, Baker and Graze (once visited by Mary Berry in 2019).

Just look at that… a proper serving of homemade butter!

Artichoke Broth, Coddled Egg, Winter Truffle

Smoked Quinoa, Colston Bassett Cheese, Celery, Walnut

Mains

After an unforgettable start to our meal, anticipation for our mains was now at peak levels and Jonas and his team didn’t disappoint. Cop a load of the meals below while we stare for a bit longer at the perfectly cooked Cotswold Venison…

Cotswold Venison, Parsnips, Chestnuts, Yeast £24

Guinea Fowl Breast, Potato Hash, Fermented Turnip, Chicory £26

Sea Trout, Roasted Squash, Smoked Bacon, Pickled Clams, Samphire £22

Sides

No flavoured or infused oils used to ‘truffle-up’ this mash. It’s the proper stuff grated all over the top! Divine! We shared two sides of truffle mash between the four of us however the good thing is you don’t HAVE to buy an extra side to make sure you have enough food for a full meal. The side dishes were complimentary to any dish on the menu and a scrumptious extra treat to enhance your meal even further. Choose from Cabbage and Bacon, Roasted Cauliflower or Truffle Mash at £4.50 per portion.

Dessert

Despite feeling satisfyingly full, there’s always room for a little dessert and we opted for the chocolatey option out of a choice of four. The malted cabbage ice cream had us divided, but whether we loved or loathed it, it sparked debate and it’s great when a meal can be challenging like that and makes it even more memorable. The presentation was beautifully precise and to us, a spectacular final course. Take a look at the current dessert menu.

Chocolate, Malted Cabbage Ice Cream, Beer Honeycomb £9

The other three desserts on the menu at the time were:

Goats Cheesecake, Apple Cardamom, Lemon £9
Date Sponge, Orange, Walnut, Girlie Grey £10
Greens Twanger, Christine’s Apple Chutney and Biscuits £9 (cheese and biscuits)

Don’t they all sound comforting and well suited to the winter season? We did note that the ‘cheese and biscuits’ option is at no extra supplement which makes a nice change!

Final thoughts

The care and consideration of this highly skilled team of chefs is massively evident. Expect to give your taste buds the equivalent of a HIIT workout as there’s nothing subtle and whimsy about Jonas’ food. You’ll emerge immensely comforted and satisfied from the richness of the dishes and nourished on high quality, local ingredients. We’re looking forward to tracking how the menu evolves over the seasons. Jonas was telling us how much he’d love to launch themed evenings to celebrate and showcase a locally available ingredient, such as venison – so perhaps look out for those in the near future.

The newly launched lunch menu offers different culinary experiences to the dinner service, such as the Burnt Butter Mousse served in a glass case to protect the delicate ball on its journey from the kitchen and to give a little touch of theatre to the diner. Choose from a 2-course lunch for £15 or 3-course lunch for £18.50 and for food this delectable, that’s a total bargain and who knows what other unique treats (like the Burnt Butter Mousse) will elevate your lunch to a level that’s anything but ordinary.

The calm atmosphere, the warm, appreciative service and our curiosity for a frequently changing menu showcasing the best of our regions local produce, will bring us back to GL50 in a heartbeat.