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Hours
Sun
12:00 - 16:00
Wed
17:00 - 23:00
Thu
17:00 - 23:00
Fri
12:00 - 0:00
Sat
12:00 - 0:00
MICHELIN
Reserve a table

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Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Ratings and reviews
5.0
Travellers' Choice 2024
MICHELIN
View more on MICHELIN GuideRATINGS
Food
Service
Value
Atmosphere
Details
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PRICE RANGE
£30.00 – £84.00
CUISINES
Indian, Contemporary
Special Diets
Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options
meals, features
MICHELIN Guide's Point of View
There’s a certain style to this two-roomed basement in a smart Georgian terrace: the colonial-themed bar offers a good range of cocktails, as well as g...
Read more on MICHELIN GuideCan a gluten free person get a good meal at this restaurant?
Details
About
‘Memsahib’ (pronounced mem-shah-hib) was the term given to namely European women famed for empowering women in India in the early 20th century. They were known to host magnificent feasts and events at their homes for families and friends alike, celebrating a mixing of cultures through delicious food and drink. This is your opportunity to indulge, to celebrate, to feast and be our guest exploring the best of our contemporary Indian cuisine inspired by our Memsahib style of hospitality. We look forward to welcoming you to Memsahib’s Lounge.
PRICE RANGE
£30.00 – £84.00
CUISINES
Indian, Contemporary
Special Diets
Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options
Meals
Lunch, Dinner, Brunch, Drinks
FEATURES
Reservations, Seating, Street Parking, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Wine and Beer, Digital Payments, Free Wifi, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service, Gift Cards Available
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5.0
612 reviews
Excellent
557
Very good
30
Average
11
Poor
10
Terrible
4
LadyHelenJenkins
Gloucester106 contributions
Feb 2025 • couples
Went with my husband for afternoon tea. Food and presentation were exquisite, waiting staff delightful, atmosphere was relaxing with dim lighting and background jazz stylised pop music. Vegan requirement was taken very seriously. Toilets were beyond immaculate.
For the roast, we were given vegan sausage and for dessert, we had cardamom rice pudding. Instead of chai, we had Flower Of Asia tea (Taiwanese oolong with passion fruit, apples, pink rosebuds, chamomile and lychee).
As with any restaurant, I'd prefer to choose whether and how much service charge I pay (I had planned to) rather than it being automatically added to the bill.
Overall, a fantastic experience which I would highly recommend.
Written 8 February 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rina Saha
Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback! We're thrilled to hear you enjoyed a lovely evening with friends at our establishment. We're especially pleased that you appreciated our menu choices, found the food excellent, and were happy with the service.
Warm regards,
Memsahib Lounge
Written 9 February 2025
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
KinshamKlan
20 contributions
Jan 2025 • friends
Memsahibs offer a very special dining experience, their attention to detail shines through in the service, flavours, presentation and ambience.
We booked the Afternoon Tea for a birthday celebration, everyone was wowed, the dishes were delightful and the flavours......! 👌
Even the Gin and Tonic is an experience!
Very much looking forward to our next visit and highly recommended.
Written 11 January 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rina Saha
Thank you for your review! We're so glad you enjoyed the flavors and our cozy ambiance. Looking forward to welcoming you back soon!
Warm regards,
Memsahib Lounge
Written 12 January 2025
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Tina H
22 contributions
Jan 2025 • couples
We were staying in Stow on the Wold for my husbands birthday and was keen when I booked our stay to find a fine dining Indian restaurant as this is his favourite cuisine, we have been to a few similar places over the years but this was by far the best, the drinks pairing was fabulous, I didn't have it as I was driving but he said all the choices complimented the food perfectly, he also sausage it was nice to have a drinks pairing that wasn't solely wines
The service was wonderful, the waiters were attentive and knowledgeable about each dish, and the food was absolutely delicious, every dish had such beautiful and unique flavours and was beautifully presented.
Such great value too for the quantity and quality of the food and drinks.
I fabulous and very memorable birthday dinner.
If you are in the area and looking for a special place to eat, then you can't go wrong.
Written 5 January 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rina Saha
Thank you for your review! We're so glad you enjoyed the flavors and our cozy ambiance. Looking forward to welcoming you back soon!
Warm regards,
Memsahib Lounge
Written 6 January 2025
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Felicia A
61 contributions
May 2024 • family
Incredible quality of food but the portions where so tiny it was not worth it. The plates are advertised as ‘sharing plates’ but good luck with sharing fifty grams of meat per plate with more than one person. It’s a shame they were so mean with their portions if they just gave a little more food or cheaper dishes it would be worth going back to.
Written 3 May 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rina Saha
We're delighted you enjoyed the food but so sorry to read the portions weren't quite large enough, we advise around 2 to 3 dishes per person when sharing.
Written 21 May 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Cat J
Winchester163 contributions
Dec 2023 • couples
Sadly we can’t even comment on the food as we didn’t get that far. To cut a long story short, the restaurant accepted our booking which stated clearly we had an Indian afternoon tea voucher to use (our booking was thorough, it included the voucher code, voucher details and the voucher expiry date). We booked around a month in advance. We had multiple booking confirmation emails, and the restaurant text us the evening before to confirm the booking again. What could possibly go wrong? Approx 1.5 hour before we were due to sit down in eat, we had a phone all from who I assume was the manager telling us we couldn’t use the voucher at our booked time of 6pm. We were confused why our booking was confirmed 3 times, yet they’re calling us an hour before to tell us this. They’d had weeks to tell us, and if they were organised and told us that morning, we could have changed our arrangements and used it earlier in the day as she stated the voucher needs to be used by 3pm. We explained in depth that it was wrote on the booking and the booking was accepted. The conversation escalated and she became extremely rude, telling us she’d had a bad day with her husband, assume blaming it on stress/busy day to why they’d only just told us now. This made an already bad situation seem even worse because this comment we found extremely unprofessional. She went on to explain that the afternoon tea bookings on the website can only be taken at 3pm or before. However, when you go on the website, select your date and time, you are then taken to the booking page. If you have never been before, you would not know the afternoon tea is 3pm or before, as the website took us to a page to book an evening meal - which we assumed would be a fine time to use the voucher as no other options came up. Hence documenting the voucher details. Anyway, this review is not about the booking issue, it’s to highlight the disgusting unprofessional manner that the manager continued to speak to me. She refused to give me her name when I asked and hung up on me. At one point she told me “it’s your life do what you want” when I questioned what she expected us to do now. I reminded her of the hospitality motto of “the customer is always right”, suggesting she makes an exception this time, but clearly she cared more about her business and rules rather than her reputation and business. The real shame is, this is one of the best rated places in Cheltenham, but that’s based on people eating the food. However, I can see from the 1 and 2 star reviews that people confirm the issue with the rude, unhelpful manager. I have never in my life been dealt with so awfully in hospitality. Luckily we were welcomed with open arms in a different restaurant in Cheltenham with 5* customer service which confirmed for us that we would rather bin the voucher than give this place our custom and money.
Written 8 December 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rina Saha
Hi Cat,
We're ever so sorry for the confusion.
Our Afternoon Teas are only served Friday to Sunday from 12 pm to 3:30 pm and our reservation systems on our website show this and it asks you to select a relevant booking slot for the Afternoon Tea. Any third-party vouchers always state to check the terms and conditions of the restaurant website.
We do not serve Afternoon Teas in the evening with our dinner service. And this is especially difficult to do when have a busy evening of evening reservations for our Experience Menu.
You had selected Food and Drinks for 6 pm, when you reserved two weeks prior and then consequently received the automated emails from our reservation system. Unfortunately, nothing had been flagged that it was for an afternoon tea until the day of your reservation.
Our colleague did still invite you to join and experience Memsahib's Lounge but you didn't want to join us.
We're so sorry that you had an unfortunate experience and that you couldn't join us.
Thank you.
Written 22 December 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Jeanette M
Swindon57 contributions
Aug 2024 • couples
We were at the lounge for Afternoon tea. And what a lovely experience. The lounge itself had a very calming and peaceful atmosphere and the food was excellent.
We started with a delicious welcoming drink which had ginger, roasted cumin seeds and was really refreshing. This was followed by an appetiser and then a mango sorbet. All very well described by our lovely waiter.
This was then followed by various dishes served on an afternoon tea stand. The food had the right amount of heat for us and every dish was delicious. We ended with Chai which is an Indian tea but unlike any tea we would normally have. We both said it would make a lovely night time drink!
Big plus was the lovely staff who described the food and chatted about what we were eating. And for introducing us to an Gin which contained Indian spices and was so different to other gins but really nice.
Definitely recommend this restaurant and the Afternoon Tea, in fact we will definitely return.
Written 13 August 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rina Saha
Thank you so much for your kind words - it really means the world to our team! We're delighted you enjoyed our Memsahib's Lounge afternoon tea experience and we hope to welcome you back again very soon!
Written 14 August 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
herecomesthesun123
Portsmouth5 contributions
Jan 2025 • couples
We came here for the afternoon tea and were really impressed. We were given lots of different small dishes, which were delicious, and it was great to try a selection of things we hadn't had before. The service was also lovely, and as I had mentioned it was my partner's birthday, they brought out a little cake and drink for him at the end. Stayed afterwards to try one of their home-infused G&Ts - also lovely! Felt like a real treat.
Written 18 January 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rina Saha
Thank you for your kind words! We’re thrilled you enjoyed the unique afternoon tea, warm hospitality, and our signature masala chai. It’s great to hear our house-distilled gin made your visit special. We look forward to welcoming you again!
Warm regards,
Memsahib Lounge
Written 21 January 2025
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Jennifer_UK
Bishop's Cleeve132 contributions
Nov 2024 • couples
We came here, on the recommendation of a friend, for afternoon tea - which was really more like a lunch experience. The presentation of the food was very appealing. The waiters were friendly and helpful. The way it was brought to the table (in instalments) made the experience more exciting.
All the savoury courses were delicious.
At the end of the meal we were served a creamy, sweet masala tea in a pot. I would have preferred this to be served with the dessert, and for the dessert to have been more representative of India, e.g. small portions of gulab jamun or barfi, in place of the nondescript cheesecake which was served alongside the savoury courses. Having said this, I do understand that not all customers would be as familiar with Indian sweets as they are with savoury dishes. But in small portions most people are ready to try something new!
All in all this was an enjoyable experience in a pleasant venue with attentive staff. The owner Rina met us at the end of our visit. She had also arranged a birthday cupcake with candle - a very nice touch, thank you!
Written 20 November 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rina Saha
Thank you for your kind words! We’re thrilled you enjoyed the unique afternoon tea, warm hospitality, and our signature masala chai. It’s great to hear our house-distilled gin made your visit special. We look forward to welcoming you again!
Warm regards,
Memsahib Lounge
Written 20 November 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Salcheltenham
Cheltenham632 contributions
Nov 2024 • couples
Excellent and exciting food and accompanying drinks. The tasting menu was significantly better than any other Indian restaurants locally, and up there with the best food we’ve had for ages. The flavours and presentation were great, good portions and every mouthful was a joy. The drinks flight was much nicer than a normal ‘wine flight’ , including their own gin, hibiscus flour infused teapot. Can’t praise it enough.
Written 8 November 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rina Saha
Thank you for your review! We're so glad you enjoyed the flavors and our cozy ambiance. Looking forward to welcoming you back soon!
Warm regards,
Memsahib Lounge
Written 12 November 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Paula
15 contributions
Aug 2024 • couples
Had an absolutely amazing taste explosion at Memsahib’s Lounge. I don’t think I have ever tasted food that was so delicious, and so beautifully presented. As it was our first visit we choose the afternoon tea, and we did think we would be choosing from the selection of dishes on the afternoon tea menu but wonderfully not, you do not have any choosing to do as the afternoon tea includes all of the dishes shown on the menu and they are seven heavenly savoury dishes, with a refreshing sorbet after the pre-taste then a lovely light fluffy cheesecake to satisfy the sweet tooth and a distinctive enjoyable chai tea to finish.
In addition to everything on the menu you are also given, complimentary, a delicious tipple that you will love and savour every mouthful, and a small appetiser to stimulate the appetite.
Do visit the Memsahib’s Lounge restaurant, you will so glad you did, rich, savoury dishes, pleasant warm spices, your tastebuds will not be disappointed…..10 out of 10 no negatives on the food or the service, it was a really fantastic experience, and we will most definitely return to explore the other dishes on the menu. Well done Memsahib’s Lounge your inclusion in the Michelin Restaurants guide is well deserved, and not just for the incredible food, the decor is beautiful.
Written 24 August 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rina Saha
Thank you for your glowing review! We're thrilled that your first visit to Memsahib’s Lounge was such an enjoyable experience. It's fantastic to hear how much you loved our Afternoon Tea and appreciated both the food and the presentation. We're honoured by your kind words about our inclusion in the Michelin Guide and can’t wait to welcome you back to explore more of our menu!
Written 11 September 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Lauren W
2 contributions
Sept 2024 • couples
Beautiful food with a lovely atmosphere. My partner and I had the vegetarian tasting menu with the accompanying cocktails and it was all delicious with very generous portion sizes! The staff were lovely and very attentive- we weren’t a fan of one of the cocktails (not their fault we just didn’t like the taste of negroni) so they brought out another free of charge (and it was delicious)! Overall I would really recommend.
Written 21 September 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rina Saha
Thank you for your wonderful review! We're delighted that you and your partner enjoyed the vegetarian tasting menu and the accompanying cocktails. It's great to hear that the portion sizes and atmosphere were just right for you. We're also pleased our team could offer you an alternative drink that you enjoyed! Your kind words and recommendation mean a lot to us, and we look forward to welcoming you back for more delicious experiences soon!
Written 24 September 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Jess
3 contributions
Feb 2024 • couples
A very friendly, warm and welcoming place. The staff were fantastic very attentive and informative they recognised that we were getting a little full and allowed us a few minutes rest between some of the courses and didn’t rush. We chose the 7 course taster menu with drinks and can say we were not disappointed with the selection that was to offer. Each course was absolutely delicious and such generous portion sizes too we were stuffed at the end. Each of the drinks were specially selected and were presented beautifully. The signature teapot cocktail and chia martini were absolutely delightful a definite favourite of the drinks. Would definitely recommend and go again to try something else.
Written 11 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rina Saha
This is so lovely to read - thank you so much Jessica! We're so delighted that you enjoyed our Memsahib's Experience menu and glad you left very content! We hope to welcome you back very soon.
Written 1 March 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Natalie Davies
Cheltenham1 contribution
Apr 2023 • none
We have visited Memsahib a few times just for cocktails and have always been impressed by the quality and care in presentation of the drinks, so decided to do the tasting menu with paired drinks to celebrate my husband's birthday. He chose the meat version and l chose the vegetarian option to sample as much as we could. The whole experience was great. From our reception, to the well paced service throughout. The food was excellent and the cocktails were exceptional. All beautifully presented. They even recognised it was his birthday and brought a surprise for him which was greatly appreciated. Although it cost more than we would usually pay for a meal out, we left feeling very satisfied and like it was well worth the money as a culinary experience. Thank you Memsahib
Written 6 May 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rina Saha
What a lovely review - thank you so much Natalie! We're so thrilled you enjoyed our tasting menu and also enjoyed the birthday surprise too! We really hope to welcome you back very soon!
Written 8 May 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Rita C
2 contributions
Jan 2023 • none
I came with my friends for a celebratory afternoon tea and this really didn't disappoint. If you want the traditional sandwiches, petits fours and tea, this isn't for you. The Indian savoury afternoon tea was absolutely fantastic. The food was delicious, the cocktails were beautiful and also delicious and the service was excellent. The restaurant is also beautiful - dark blue walls and ambient music. Coming from London, this was fantastic value for money - £25 for the afternoon tea + £8.50 for a gin cocktail. I was able to substitute a gin cocktail for a vodka cocktail without any issues. It really was outstanding.
Written 31 January 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rina
Thank you so much for choosing Memsahib's Lounge for your celebration and for leaving such a wonderful review! We are utterly delighted you enjoyed our Indian Afternoon Tea and liked the concept - we hope to see you all again very soon!
Written 2 February 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Bev C
3 contributions
Nov 2024 • friends
The service, the food and the ambience were truly exceptional. Plus they went that extra mile. My friend was presented with a delightful little birthday cake at the end of the meal as that was what we were there to celebrate. The presentation of the Memsahib Lounge afternoon tea was excellent and the additional mouche bouche just added that little extra. This was a wonderful alternative to a traditional English afternoon tea and will be much appreciated by those of us that do not have a sweet tooth. One more thing not to miss are their in hose gin infusion of which I selected the Ginger Asian Tea infusion- fantastic.
Written 17 November 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rina Saha
Thank you for your kind words! We’re thrilled you enjoyed the unique afternoon tea, warm hospitality, and our signature masala chai. It’s great to hear our house-distilled gin made your visit special. We look forward to welcoming you again!
Warm regards,
Memsahib Lounge
Written 18 November 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
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