PORKETTA

You walk past Porketta on the High Street and it's immediately obvious this isn't another chain. The place has that warm, unfussy Italian feel — exposed brick, soft lighting, the kind of spot where you genuinely want to linger. The pizzas come from a wood-fired oven, and they're built with the kind of restraint you don't often see; they let quality ingredients speak rather than drowning everything in cheese. The pasta's handmade, the service staff actually know what they're talking about, and there's a confidence to the whole operation that suggests this team has done their homework. It's become exactly the sort of place Cheltenham needs more of.