Prithvi

Weve been waiting 3 months to visit this place we drove from birmingham just to come here to experience Amazing food with a twist. Defo do the prithvi tour spot on �.service is amazing from jay & his team Defo worth the wait to get in would defo recommend this place

Our prior visit to Cheltenham back in March took us to 2 Michelin star restaurant Le Champignon Sauvage. After lunch we wandered into town along the Bath Road and stumbled across a wall plaque which read ‘Brian Jones lived here for a time in 1962 before later moving to London to form The Rolling Stones’. As Mr R and I were reading we realised the building was currently occupied by a restaurant. The menu sounded mouth watering and hinted at being French- Indian fine dining cuisine. This was definitely not a traditional ‘curry house’. When we got back home and made some enquiries to get a reservation they were booked up for weeks in advance for dinner.
A few days later and by coincidence a colleague asked me if I’d eaten there, he had lunch booked in May with his son visiting from new York. The feedback from him was that ‘the food is exquisite’ and he urged me to go. Prithvi is clearly a very popular restaurant and probably one I should have heard of before now.
Since opening in 2012 the restaurant has received some fantastic press, more recently in particular. During national curry week in 2015 The Sun newspaper named Prithvi the best ‘curry house’ in the UK. The following year The Telegraph’s article listing ‘Britain’s top 20 curry restaurants’, included Prithvi among the very best. The feature went on to mention an interesting fact that there are more than 12,000 curry houses in the UK. This does give quite some perspective, although defining Prithvi to be a curry house is certainly questionable. Even more impressive though is that the fine dining restaurant, now in its 5th year has continued to hold onto its 5 star rating on TripAdvisor.
Prithvi Restaurant has an Open Table reservations option on their website. (Open Table named Prithvi their #1 ‘Fit for Foodies’ restaurant in 2016). We hadn’t attempted to book for a couple of months, until Mr R decided to have a look on the off chance and managed to secure a table for the 2 of us on a Thursday evening. Subsequently Prithvi came up in conversation yet again, this time with 2 local chefs who asked if I’d been. Their tip was that although you would never usually order dessert in an Indian restaurant, at Prithvi you really should.
There is a car park situated directly opposite, lucky for us as it had been raining when we got there. The facade of the building is quite unassuming although somehow added to the charm. Stepping through the front door and immediately into the bar area, we were greeted by Jay Rahman, Director at Prithvi and taken by him straight to our table. An aperitifs menu was handed to us listing a selection of interesting gin cocktails, including a non alcoholic option (Mr R took one of those as he was designated driver). Champagne was also available on the other side for the non gin drinkers or indeed for those celebrating.
Whilst sipping on our drinks (mine an alcoholic Ferdinand’s Saar dry gin from Germany; mixed with aromas of pine and juniper, pungent lavender, lemongrass, lemon meringue, vanilla and coriander) Mr R and I sat eagerly awaiting what was to follow. Jay Rahman came back presenting us with the dinner menu which offered the choice of a 5 course tasting menu (£48 pp) or the al a carte menu on the opposite page. From the al a carte we opted for scallops and king prawns to start followed by the lamb and cod.
Shortly after ordering we were given an amuse bouche presented in a small glass jar with a teaspoon. Inside was a refreshing mix of coriander, pomegranate and chilli complimented with a sort of bahji in the middle and topped with a mint and yoghurt dressing. It made us think ‘papadums’, which were exactly what came out next. There were 3 triangular, perfectly crispy papadums accompanied by a beetroot and horseradish relish and a creamy mint and yoghurt dip. Now they were really spoiling us as yet another pre dinner taster was brought out. This time we received 2 round pastry balls which our waiter told us to eat in one go. We bit into the light, thin pastry. a surprising explosion of intense yet delightful flavours instantly burst to awaken our taste buds. One of the things we loved was that the chef hadn’t been afraid to use chilli so they left behind a pleasant and fragrant heat in our mouths.

Lovely experience. Staff super friendly and knowledgeable and keen to share same. Five course taster menu with snacks. Every dish was explained by staff and devoured with smiles on my own and my wife's faces. Couldn't fault the place at all. Only concern is the prices may go up when they get their Michelin star (which they deserve).

We had the best time here! Canapés, great cocktails, amazing food, cosy vibe, lovely staff. It was perfect!

This is by any standards a top restaurant. With friends for the Lit Fest who eat out/ fine dine UK/internationally. Their view - “best Indian restaurant we have ever been to” No - best restaurant” We were delighted to have brought them here. As always, really excellent service ( knowledgeable about food and wine without pretentiousness). A lovely relaxed warm team.

Unbelievable dinner experience! The prix fixe menu was well-paced, excellent from the pre-dinner snacks to the desserts. Each dish was more flavorful than the last. The wine pairing helped to add an extra layer of flavor to the dinner. The servers were very knowledgeable especially with the wine. An all-around wonderful experience, would definitely go again!

Great service and environment. From starter to main to dessert, every dish we had was amazing, specially the quail, stone bass and tiramisu. Would come back for sure.