The best restaurants in Birmingham
Two Michelin stars on Summer Row, a rock and roll tasting menu in the Quarter, ceviche in a Moseley bank, pasta on Lordswood Road and lamb chops in an Edgbaston townhouse. Where we would book tonight, and what it costs.
By Only Birmingham Editorial
The best restaurant in Birmingham is Opheem on Summer Row, and it is not close. But the city's real strength is depth: a starred tasting menu in the Quarter, Peruvian in a Moseley bank, homemade pasta in Harborne, Indo-Persian in an Edgbaston townhouse and a counter in Stirchley that people cross town for. The Michelin Guide lists 23 restaurants in and around the city. These are the ones we would book first.
Opheem, Summer Row
Opheem is Aktar Islam's restaurant, and the city's only two-star. A Brummie chef cooking modern Indian food with real precision: spiced, balanced, never timid. Start in the bar with snacks, then move through to the dining room and its open kitchen. Ten courses are £195, five are £145 (not on Friday or Saturday nights), and Friday and Saturday lunch is a la carte from £75 for two courses. It opens Wednesday to Saturday. Book it for the birthday that matters.
The Wilderness, Warstone Lane
The Wilderness serves one tasting menu in a restored factory in the Quarter, to a soundtrack of rock, punk and heavy metal. Alex Claridge opened it in 2015 and it now holds a Michelin star. The menu is currently £145 a head, set on the first of each month. Dinner runs Wednesday to Saturday from 6pm, with lunch on Saturday. Wear what you like.
Chakana, Alcester Road
Chakana brought Peruvian cooking to Moseley and put it in a former high street bank. The room is loud and easy, the pisco list is one of the largest in the country, and the menu runs to ceviche, tiradito and a hot crab causa that the Michelin inspectors single out. It opens Wednesday to Sunday, from lunchtime at the weekend. Order a pisco sour and let the table share.
Land, Great Western Arcade
Land is vegan, and you will not miss a thing. It sits in the Victorian arcade off Colmore Row, serving a seasonal set menu with pan-Asian notes: squash adobo, mushroom XO, cauliflower with gochujang, apple with oolong. Take the wine flight. It opens Wednesday to Saturday, with lunch from Thursday.
Tropea, Lordswood Road
Harborne's neighbourhood Italian, and one of only two Bib Gourmands in the city. Tropea is bright and busy, the pasta is made in-house, and the staff will steer you round the sharing plates if you let them. The Italian wine list is priced like the food: fairly. It opens Tuesday to Saturday, evenings in the week and all day from Friday lunch.
Asha's, Newhall Street
Asha's is the big, stylish Indian on Newhall Street, built on north-west Indian cooking with menus that range across the country. Go for the tandoori kebab platters, and order the Muscat gosht, a lamb dish from Asha Bhosle's own recipe. It opens seven days, and from noon on Saturday it serves straight through.
BALOCI, Highfield Road
An Edgbaston Georgian townhouse done up with plush furniture and gilt, serving what the Guide calls Indo-Persian cooking, with Afghan, Turkish and Baloch influences. Order the Sultani lamb chops. BALOCI opens every day, from noon Friday to Sunday, and sits in the moderate price band.
Cuubo, Harborne High Street
A small bistro started with Kickstarter money by a local chef, Cuubo cooks seasonal British food without frills. The Guide's inspectors went home talking about a frozen rhubarb dessert with peanut brittle. It is closed Monday and Tuesday and does Sunday lunch until 4pm.
Riverine Rabbit, Pershore Road
A counter on Stirchley's high road, and worth the train. Chef Ash cooks at a counter with South African roots and Asian flavours, from tom yum to furikake, over two lengths of set menu, with Erin running the room. It is a Bib Gourmand and opens Wednesday to Friday evenings only, so book early.
Albatross Death Cult, Newhall Square
From the team behind The Wilderness comes a seafood counter in the city centre, with a strong Japanese accent. The tasting menu leans raw and cured, and the chefs talk you through it. Thursday to Saturday only.
And for a group: Dishoom, Chamberlain Square
Dishoom on Chamberlain Square is the safe bet that is actually good: Bombay cafe food from 8am on weekdays until late, and a Birmingham special, Lamb Rara with roomali roti. Book for six and nobody argues.
How to plan it
Most of the best kitchens here open four or five nights a week, and almost none on Monday. Book the Quarter and Summer Row a couple of weeks out for a Friday or Saturday. Harborne, Moseley and Stirchley are each a short bus or train from New Street, and worth the trip: three of the restaurants above are on suburban high streets, which tells you everything about how Birmingham eats now. For a celebration with a star attached, Adam's on Waterloo Street completes the city-centre set.
