Restaurant Review: Babel, Cheltenham

Babel is one of the newer additions to the restaurant scene in Cheltenham’s Brewery Quarter. It’s a combination of bar and restaurant, so you can just go for a drink, choose some light bites or have a proper meal. I like their funky décor and it probably has a good buzz about it on a Friday or Saturday night. We visited on a Monday evening, so it was fairly quiet.

Babel’s spectacular bar is well stocked with a good selection of drinks, including over 20 premium gins. But it’s the cocktail menu that Babel prides itself in. It has taken a global approach to cocktail making, with inspiration from Tokyo to London and New York to New Orleans.

The main part of the food menu is split into different sections: Greens & Grains, Power Proteins, Clean & Lean and Better Balance. That all sounds pretty healthy, but don’t be fooled into thinking it’s all lettuce leaves and quinoa, there are a few guilty pleasures hiding amongst it, including burger and chips.

Take a look at my video of our evening at Babel in Cheltenham:

Cocktails

We started off with a cocktail. I went for the Haiku Club (£8). It was a sweet, but delicately flavoured mix of Haig Clubman Scottish whisky (part-owned by David Beckham – who knew?) and Edinburgh Gin’s Plum & Vanilla Liqueur, along with peach bitters and brown sugar. But Mr Skylark’s choice was the star of the show. The beautifully titled Songbird (£8.50) was a delicious concoction of Warner Edwards’ Rhubarb Gin, rhubarb nectar, peach bitters and lemon juice. I had definite cocktail envy.

Appetisers

I chose the tempura edamame beans (£4) from the ‘Small or Light’ section of the menu, for something to nibble with our cocktails. The warm beans were coated with a crisp, light tempura batter, which was gently spiced, and served with a zingy wasabi mayo. I loved these crispy little beans and could have eaten them twice over.

Mr Skylark picked the mini panko crumbed cod (£5.75) for his starter. It’s a smaller version of one of the main dishes. The cod was flaky and moist in a crispy coating. It was served with hot, skin-on chips and crushed edamame beans – an updated twist on the mushy pea. He chose a large glass of Sauvignon Blanc to wash it down (£8.10).

Mains

We both ended up picking from the ‘Better Balance’ section of the menu. My 7oz beef burger (£11) was nicely pink in the middle and topped with a dill relish, lettuce and tomato, served in a potato bun. I went the whole hog and added smoked, crispy bacon and aged Cheddar for an extra £3, and swapped out the regular chips for crispy, sweet potato fries. While the addition of the cheese and bacon turned it into a pretty expensive burger, it tasted really good.

Mr Skylark’s Caesar Club Sandwich (£10.95) was huge! While he pronounced the soft sourdough bread tasty (as was the smoky bacon), unfortunately the parmesan-crusted chicken breast was a bit on the thin side and hence a little dry. Sadly (for me), the fried egg on top was a bit overdone, so I couldn’t sneakily dip in one of my fries.

Dessert

We were both really full, but couldn’t resist the sound of the ‘proper lemon meringue pie ’ (£5.50). It’s most unusual for Mr Skylark to willingly share a pudding, however on this occasion the club sandwich had beaten him. As we sank our spoons into the wedge of crispy meringue, it gave way to soft, fluffy meringue underneath. But best of all, was the tang of lemon. In so many restaurants these days, lemons seem to have lost their zing. So we were delighted to find that definitely wasn’t the case with this one.

Verdict

Overall cost and value for money: The meal cost £64.80 for two cocktails, one glass of wine, two appetisers, two mains and one dessert. In my view, the burger was quite expensive but the rest of it was as expected.

Service: The staff were friendly and attentive in an understated way.

Chicken score: 3

Pepper score: 0

Skylark’s Scores explained:

While I love eating out, I care about where my food comes from. In this day and age, I believe restaurants should serve free-range chicken, ethically reared meat and sustainably caught fish. Each to their own, but I have taken the decision to eat only free range chicken, which means it’s off the menu for me if the restaurant doesn’t serve it (so no, you won’t ever find me in a KFC). When it comes to pepper, call me a snob, but I think powdered black pepper shouldn’t go anywhere near food. To me, the type of pepper on offer reflects the type of establishment – in other words, sorry Babel, but you need to up your game on the pepper front!

Chicken scores:

5 – organic, free range

4 – free range

3 – red tractor

0 – none of the above

Pepper scores:

5 – grind your own peppercorns

3 – ready-ground peppercorns

0 –pepper powder

 

Babel kindly provided our dinner on a complimentary basis, but all views and opinions are very much my own.

 

I’d love to hear your recommendations for where to eat out. Please share them in the comments box below.

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