Restaurant in Bishop's Cleeve, United Kingdom
Michelin-recognised Indian worth the detour.
Jai Ho is a Michelin Plate-recognised Indian restaurant in Bishop's Cleeve offering coal-roasted dishes and sharing plates at ££ pricing. A sibling to Cheltenham's Prithvi and Bhoomi Kitchen, it delivers serious kitchen technique — particularly the lamb chops and rotating house biryani — in a smart, lively room. For quality Indian cooking near Cheltenham without a London price tag, it is the most straightforward recommendation in the area.
Yes — and if you're anywhere near Cheltenham, it deserves a place on your shortlist ahead of several better-known options in the area. Jai Ho earned a Michelin Plate in 2025, which for a street food-influenced Indian restaurant in a Gloucestershire retail centre is a meaningful credential. At ££, it also represents some of the sharpest value in the county for cooking that takes technique seriously.
The editorial angle here is cuisine mastery, and Jai Ho earns that framing through specificity rather than ambition alone. The kitchen leans into coal-roasting as a core technique — the lamb chops in particular draw consistent attention in the award notes, and coal-cooking applied to meat at this price point is not something you'll find across the road at your average high street Indian. The format is sharing plates, arriving as they're ready rather than coursed in the European sense, which keeps the energy at the table fluid and the kitchen operating on its own terms.
The menu also features a regularly changing house biryani, which signals a kitchen that refreshes its offering rather than settling into a fixed formula. Biryani done properly is labour-intensive , the layering, the sealing, the timing , and the fact that this dish rotates suggests the kitchen is testing itself rather than coasting. The dessert program reinforces that impression: gulab jamun, when made well, is one of the more technically demanding Indian sweets, and the Michelin assessors specifically called it out.
Street food influence matters for how you plan your visit. This is not a white-tablecloth occasion restaurant in the conventional sense , it is a place where sharing plates land as they're ready, the atmosphere is lively, and the room is described as smart and stylish with an immaculate open kitchen. That open kitchen is relevant: it signals a team confident enough in their work to cook in full view, which in a small regional venue carries some weight.
For a celebration or date night, Jai Ho sits in an interesting position. The atmosphere is warm and the design is considered , this is not a utilitarian takeaway-adjacent space but a properly fitted restaurant with some genuine care given to how it looks and feels. The open kitchen adds energy to the room without tipping into chaos. The sharing-plate format works well for two people and keeps the meal interactive, which suits a date evening better than a rigidly coursed menu sometimes does.
That said, if you want formal service, white linen, and a 12-course tasting arc, Jai Ho is not that. For a special occasion where the priority is excellent food at a price that doesn't require a second mortgage, it makes a strong case. A dinner for two at ££ pricing with Michelin recognition means you're getting a quality-to-cost ratio that the ££££ restaurants in London cannot match , and you won't be waiting three weeks for a table.
Jai Ho is a younger sibling to two Cheltenham institutions: Opheem in Birmingham offers a useful comparison point if you want to see what happens when Indian cooking at this level gets expanded into a full tasting menu format. Jai Ho is more casual, more accessible, and considerably easier to book , but the underlying kitchen intelligence is in the same conversation.
Bishop's Cleeve is a short distance from Cheltenham town centre, and within that wider area, Jai Ho occupies a specific niche: Michelin-recognised Indian cooking at a price point that invites repeat visits rather than once-a-year pilgrimages. For the broader Southwest and Cotswolds area, venues like Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons in Great Milton or Gidleigh Park in Chagford sit in a completely different category , destination fine dining at ££££ prices designed for a once-in-a-while occasion. Jai Ho is a different proposition: a neighbourhood-grade restaurant that punches above its neighbourhood.
If you're visiting Cheltenham for the races or the literary festival and want a dinner that won't disappoint but also won't dominate your budget, this is the most sensible booking in the area for Indian food. The Google rating of 4.8 across 100 reviews is consistent with what the Michelin Plate suggests: a kitchen producing food well above what its setting might lead you to expect.
For context on where Indian cooking at the highest end can go, Amaya in London and Trèsind Studio in Dubai represent what the cuisine looks like when budget is removed as a constraint. Jai Ho is not competing at that level, but it is doing something genuinely interesting within its own frame , and at ££, it doesn't need to compete with those rooms to justify the booking.
For more options in the area, see our full Bishop's Cleeve restaurants guide, or explore hotels, bars, wineries, and experiences in Bishop's Cleeve.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jai Ho | Smart, stylish and boasting an immaculate open kitchen, this charmingly run Indian restaurant – whose name means “let there be victory” in Hindi – is a younger sibling to Cheltenham institutions Prithvi and Bhoomi Kitchen. There is a more distinct street food influence here, with the well-priced menu offering sharing plates that arrive when they’re ready. Look out for the coal-roasted dishes, including unmissable lamb chops, and the regularly changing house biryani. The desserts don’t let the side down either, with the gulab jamun a particular treat.; Michelin Plate (2025) | ££ | — |
| CORE by Clare Smyth | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| Restaurant Gordon Ramsay | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| The Ledbury | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| Dinner by Heston Blumenthal | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
How Jai Ho stacks up against the competition.
Yes, with one caveat: the sharing-plates format means dishes arrive when ready rather than as a structured solo progression, which works well at the counter or a small table if you're comfortable ordering two or three plates for yourself. The open kitchen gives solo diners something to watch, and the ££ price point keeps a solo meal affordable. If you want a more formal solo experience with set courses, Prithvi in Cheltenham (Jai Ho's sister restaurant) is the closer fit.
The menu runs on a sharing-plates model with dishes arriving as they come out of the kitchen, so don't expect a conventional starter-main structure. Prioritise the coal-roasted dishes, and check what the house biryani is on the night — it changes regularly. Jai Ho holds a Michelin Plate (2025), which signals kitchen consistency, and the price range sits at ££, so this is not a fine-dining commitment.
It works for a relaxed celebration rather than a formal one. The room is smart and the open kitchen adds atmosphere, but the sharing-plates format and street food influence mean the experience leans convivial rather than ceremonial. For a milestone dinner where you want full table service and a set tasting menu, Prithvi in Cheltenham is the better choice from the same family. Jai Ho is the call for a birthday dinner with a group who wants to eat well without the formality.
Booking details are not publicly listed, so check the venue's official channels via The Clevelands Centre to confirm availability and any reservation requirements. As a Michelin Plate restaurant at ££ pricing in a town with limited comparable options, weekend tables will fill faster than a standard neighbourhood restaurant. Give yourself at least a week's notice for weekends.
At ££, yes — the value case is straightforward. A Michelin Plate (2025) at this price bracket is relatively rare in the UK outside major cities, and the coal-roasted dishes and rotating biryani represent a kitchen operating above its price point. If you're comparing spend, Jai Ho delivers more culinary ambition per pound than most Indian restaurants in the Cheltenham area.
Within the Cheltenham area, Prithvi and Bhoomi Kitchen are the obvious comparisons — both are sister restaurants and both carry their own recognition. Prithvi suits those who want a more refined, sit-down experience; Bhoomi Kitchen skews more casual. For Indian food specifically at Jai Ho's quality level, there is little else at ££ in the immediate area, which is part of why Jai Ho's Michelin Plate carries weight locally.
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