Muse Brasserie Restaurant

A unique, independent restaurant located at 'St George's Place' in the heart of Cheltenham town, the Muse Brasserie restaurant is a fusion of European food, mixed with an English and Indian cuisine, who knew that those combinations would marry so well!
Recently opened in May 2019, I can see it's going to be a high flyer in the Gloucestershire community, in fact I think it already is. It began with award winning French chef director, Frank Grillet. He found his love of food at an early age and accomplished with exceptional results in cookery school, which lead him to working in a variety of 'Michelin Star' retaurants around France, to him eventually being a second chef a one. With experiences and relations, he has adapted unique, culinary qualities in his cooking.
He has teamed up with a partner, which is where the Indian infusion comes into place. When I went his business partner (chef) came up to us at the end of the meal to ask if everything was satisfactory, which was so lovely of him. On that note all of the staff were so generous and polite, the whole service experience was excellent! I was there for a birthday meal and as soon as we came through the door they immediantly were attentive and asked if they could take our coats and then we were directed to the table. When they came to give us the food they immediantly remembered what each of us had ordered and placed it in front of us, so we didn't even need to say "oh that ones mine", if you get what I mean?

The interiors are so aesthetically pleasing and comfortable as well as being very clean. There's a more cosy, casual section that's slightly smaller where the bar is on the left as soon as you walk in. Then there is a spacious, beautiful area on the right where the main restaurant is. This keeps to what they stated on their website: "clean, modern and comfortable both for intimate occasions and as well as large family or corporate events".

  

Now getting onto the main feature, which is FOOOOOD! Every dish that came out looked so artistic and full of colour, it had the essence of being in a posh restaurant but with reasonable prices. Some things were more expensive but the majority was affordable and for what you get it is definately worth it. For example my main cost £12.95 and the dessert was £7.95 and if you write in their commment card that they give you at the end, then you get 20% off your next meal. There is a lunch, dinner, vegan, Sunday roast, Christmas and dessert menu. I went in the evening and from what I can see on their website, there is more choice on the dinner menu than the lunch. I'm not a vegan, but I opted for that option, because the main and dessert just appealed to me and I'm always interested to see if the texture and taste is different. So for my main meal I had the 'vegan spinach ravioli with tomatoes and basil' and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS! It was so creamy and rich in flavour, it instantly took me back to when I was in France and Italy because the food just melts in the mouth. For dessert I had the 'vegan chocolate fondant with vegan chocolate ice cream and strawberries", again I highly recommend this as well. The fondant was the best I had ever had, it was rich but not sickly and it was so moist and gooey. The ice cream had a creamy texture which is hard to do when it's vegan.

Vegan spinach ravioli with tomato and basil

Vegan chocolate fondant with ice cream and strawberries

 There were starters to choose from, but I didn't have any. However, we got given free canapés and warm breads, which was such a yummy surprise. The canapés were vol-au-vents with a goats cheese filling and the other was served on big spoons and they were called semolinas. It had a bit of a rice texture and it was really soft with a hint of sweetness. Very well presented and you can see the Indian and French fusion. For the bread there were two different kinds, one was sourdough and the other was rosemary, you can never go wrong with warm breads!

Here are some dishes that some of my other friends had. One was "spiced aubergines with onion, tomato and coconut sauce with rice", it came beautifully presented as did everything else. It even had lemon foam and a flower on top. The side of roasted vegetables even looked well placed. The "cointreau creme brulee" was the light of the party, literally it was set on fire! One friend had the "chocolate truffle torte with ice cream" and she said that the ones that she has had in the past are too rich and heavy, but the one at this restaurant was particularly light, but still chocolatey.

Spiced aubergines with onion, tomato and coconut sauce and rice

     

Cointreau creme brulee

Overall a really yummy, artistic, unique, pleasent experience. I'm already wanting to come here for when it's my birthday!

For information here is their website: https://www.musebrasserie.com/