We'd planned a grand day out to give us something to look forward to amongst the January greyness. We got the train to Cheltenham and had booked for lunch at a trendy hotel, the Montpellier Chapter. The restaurant, which has Simon Hopkinson as an advisor, got a good write-up in the Guardian, so we had high hopes for a cool, buzzy atmosphere and some good food. When we arrived at 12.30 though, there were only two other couples in an otherwise completely empty restaurant and we were all stuck in a corridor-type area rather than in the main body of the restaurant, which looked like it was set up for a big group. I was a bit disappointed to be sat in a rather unappealing corner in a draught, but expected that things would perk up when 'the others' arrived, possibly for one. I had some nice scallops to start, although the orange zest in the topping was a bit over-powering for my liking. By the time our mains arrived, the other couples had left and I'd overheard from one of the waitresses that they were actually gearing up for a big group for afternoon tea later in the day - leaving us as the lone diners in the corner of a completely empty restaurant - chilly, soulless and distinctly uncomfortable!! Our main was very good, we both had pork fillet and pork belly with creamy mash, red cabbage and apple sauce - all very well cooked and delicious. We chatted a bit to the waitress at the end of the meal and she apologised that we hadn't caught them on the best of days. I guess it was just bad luck and there wasn't an awful lot they could have done about it - except perhaps seated us in a slightly comfier spot. Thankfully, we had a great afternoon's shopping afterwards though and a good stop for tea and cake at the Swallow Bakery before we headed home.
In the evening, we didn't really need a proper meal, so I made up a few tapas-style dishes to pick on instead - warm tomato and basil salad, beetroot with toasted walnuts and some fried potatoes topped with chorizo and sliced red pepper.
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