We were shown to our table in the conservatory it is so tasteful, calm and more relaxed than I had anticipated. We were offered bread from a vast selection which made it very difficult to choose, we all wanted a bit of each one just to taste. The bread was superb, and if the bread was that good just imagine how our excitement for what was to come grew! The feast began and we each had our favourite course.

By the end of 9 courses we were suitably full but not ridiculously uncomfortable. Being foodies we analysed every detail of each dish, they all looked so pretty. ‘Finesse’ is the best word I could use to describe the flavours and their combinations let alone the service which was impeccable.

Take a look at Le Manoir’s 9 course taster menu

As a surprise, Linda had organised for us to have a tour of the kitchen and to meet some of the chefs, now that is a kitchen! It was beautiful to us as chefs (and as far as stainless steel goes..) making us want to jump in and get involved. This was the perfect end to our evening to see where the magic we had experienced on our plates earlier had come from.

Linda (owner) – Monty’s Brasserie, St Georges Road; the Thai Crispy Duck starter served with stir-fried oriental vegetables, sweet chilli and sesame oil dipping sauce and pancakes to make your own cones  (£8.50) is so delicious.  I usually opt for a fish main course from their changing  daily specials menu (circa £15).  The service is always fantastic and if you fancy a cocktail before or after dinner the downstairs bar is fab   www.montysbraz.co.uk

Katy (manager) – Bar and Wok, High Street; keeping up the duck theme the Crispy Aromatic Duck with pancakes (£8.80 for ¼ duck) is incredible and I always have the Breaded Chicken Noodle Soup with udon noodles as my main (£5.90).  Amazing value for money, lovely service and vibey atmosphere.  I have never been disappointed there.  www.barandwok.com

Nikki (office manager) – Morans Eating House, Bath Road; as a vegetarian I often only one option on a menu but there is much more choice at Morans.  My favourite right now id the Deep Fried Halloumi, Avocado and Sun Blushed Tomato Salad, with Mustard Dressing and New Potatoes (£11.95)  www.moranseatinghouse.co.uk

At Monty’s Brasserie, the service is always fantastic and if you fancy a cocktail before or after dinner the downstairs bar is fab

Aggie (chef) – Bar Gdanski,  295 High Street: Coffee beans , from small independent Italian family run company, homemade soups, naughty but delicious iced coffee, roquefort and crispy bacon salad with homemade dressing and a warm garlic croute and zapiekanka,  a french style pizza bread with a polish twist are my favorite things.  You can also get an enormous full English breakfast and coffee for about £8.  The place is run and owned by two guys crazy about the city they come from – there are lots of historical souvenirs in the shop and chess boards on the tables if you fancy a game with your friend while having coffee!

Sara (front of house supervisor) – Grille Restaurant serves traditional Turkish and Mediterranean cuisine; great value and a homely vibe from the family owners.  Always a cheery face to greet and serve you; you’ll even be treated with a Turkish dance if it’s your birthday with some complementary homemade Turkish Delight when you leave.  The menu is on their website above and with a selection of hot and cold mezzes the cost is up to you! Homemade breads, chef’s specials and dinner by the fire is a must and my favourite meal is Beyti £7.50 (minced lamb wrapped in delicious lavash bread topped with tomato and vegetable sauce served with yogurt).  You are served so much food that it is impossible to leave empty hearted And I like the Turkish coffee too!  http://www.grillerestaurant.co.uk/

Mitch (apprentice chef) – I don’t live in Cheltenham I’m letting you know my favorite which is close to where I live.  At The Old Spotted Cow near Cirencester, the rib-eye steak with chips and Bloody Mary sauce is a must.  It is a very good pub which is in the Michelin guide. You are looking to spend about £25 per person. Great atmosphere and really good seasonal menus!  www.theoldspottedcow.co.uk

We want to know your favourite places to eat in Cheltenham (apart from pepper crescent of course!) – you can leave a comment with your suggestions, below…

racing brunch

from monday 12^th to saturday 17^th march we will be offering our ‘racing breakfast’ (well a brunch actually!) of organic egg, smoked bacon, cumberland sausage, steak, hash brown, tomato, black pudding, mushrooms and toast – perfect to set you up – and see you through – a days racing!  for bookings made by 29^th February we will include a free copy of the days racing post with every racing breakfast booked.  we already have reservations for Gold Cup Day so get booking!

watch the racing in our private lounge…

alternatively, if you’d rather watch the racing from the comfort of our private lounge, it’s available for up to 24 people from £20 each including lunch or afternoon tea during the week. or, maybe you would like us to create an afternoon specifically for you? if so, that’s no problem, we will happily design something to suit just what you’re after…

post race hospitality

we’ve decided to offer pepper crescent for private functions every evening this year too.  from just £20pp, including venue hire and food, you can have the place to yourself. the bar will be fully stocked and licensed to midnight.  so if you are looking for a private venue to retreat to after a day at the races, please get in touch.  all you need to do is bring yourselves, just leave the rest to us…

A combination of being a technophobe and the wrong side of 40, I was one of those people who said I didn’t have enough time for twitter, couldn’t be fussed with facebook and hadn’t a clue about the business benefits of SEO (search engine optimisation).  But over the last year I’ve learnt so much…

This time last year, Liam Jones owner of Opiyo introduced me to twitter and in 12 months we’ve got almost 700 followers.  In simple terms, I see this as a great way of keeping in touch tweeting about our menu, weekly specials, any offers etc.  It’s a good to hear what our clients have to say about us too.  The Pepper Crescent facebook page still requires more time and effort being invested into posts, polls etc on our part – something for 2012!  Our brand new website, redesigned by Opiyo, (now we’re almost 3 years down the line) has now been launched with new and revised info as well as a better capability in terms of online marketing through social media and search engines.

The most interesting thing I’ve learnt is about the relevance of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and how important it is that the website copy contains keywords and language that’s searched for by our customers (as well as a lot other techie stuff!)…

We were recently asked to cater for a large corporate event to celebrate the opening of a company’s new premises.  The reason they asked us was simple – they googled ‘cheltenham caterers’ and up we popped; they had never heard of Pepper Crescent and didn’t know we existed as a café/eaterie just a stone’s throw away! Since we started engaging in SEO, 6 months ago, we’ve had visits from customers searching for over 400 different keywords (not including ‘pepper crescent’)!

If you’re reading this and you are a techie, a wannabee techie or simply want to learn more about all things social media then come along to meet like minded people at the Cheltenham Social Media Club which meets here from 6-8pm on the last Thursday of each month.  Its organised by Jonathan Pollinger of Intranet Future.