Birmingham, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

“Easily Birmingham’s top dining destination” (of the modern European variety), say fans of Adam & Natasha Stokes’s local luminary, which is entering its tenth year of operation. Its “exquisite and inventive food has evolved and reinvented itself over the years and just keeps amazing with new creations and combinations of flavours”. “Impeccable service” is “that lovely combination of being professional but also engaging” and “the general feel of the restaurant is classy with Art Deco influences”. All this plus the “comprehensive wine list” you would expect. Top Tip – “the kitchen table experience is a well-designed and great experience”.

“You wouldn’t go for ‘haute cuisine’, but as a jolly place to eat comfort food in a spectacular setting, it is hard to beat” – that’s the upbeat view, anyway, on this now-“ubiquitous” brasserie chain. Eight years and 40 openings later, the spin-offs increasingly eclipse the Theatreland original (see also), whose Edwardian features provide the style-guide for its nationwide ‘roll out’. “Even if the unchallenging food reaches no heights, there’s a consistent buzz”, which makes them a “posh”, “fun” choice for a get-together, if not a particularly foodie one. This is particularly the case at the landmark London off-shoots: at ‘Chelsea Garden’ (“gorgeous greenery”); Kensington (“slick”, with a “pretty glitzy crowd”); and on the Thames (“great views over Tower Bridge”). But while it’s always been acknowledged that the mass offering is “a shadow of the mothership’s” – with “average grub at not-so-average prices” – the feeling that the brand has become just “a chain that does not excite” is gaining ever-stronger currency. Service seems more “stretched” nowadays, and a sliding ambience rating is making the whole offering seem ever-more “overrated, for all its modern art and perky décor”.

“The tasting menu is an exciting journey” at Aktar Islam’s increasingly famous dining room a little out of the city centre, which is “going from strength to strength” as Brum’s most commented-on destination; one of the top-10 most mentioned outside London in our annual diners’ poll; and with some claim on being “the best Indian restaurant outside of London”. The “elegantly presented” cuisine is rooted in the subcontinent, but might equally be described as “European with Indian flavours and spices”. However you define the kitchen, it provides “a great experience with subtle spicing and some unique touches and flavours” complemented by “outstanding wine matches”. The main dining room is a dim-lit, modern and stylish space and among improvements in recent times “the new lounge in particular is a fabulous addition”.

A gastronomic “tour de force”, this “fun and playful” Business Quarter flagship from exuberant locally born chef Glynn Purnell – aka ‘the yummy Brummie’ – continues to thrill both regulars and first-timers with food “so good we went back 3 times in 6 months!”. “Being served by the man himself (twice) brought my wife to tears” – “the tasting menu was a revelation, from the showmanship of the mint choc chip dried ice to the intensity of the flavours throughout”.

“Edgy cuisine and environment, backed by friendly service and a rock ’n’ roll playlist” (played loud!) is the distinctive formula of Alex Claridge’s ‘full-on’ Jewellery Quarter venture, with black walls and black-leather furniture, and an open kitchen on display. As with some previous years, it doesn’t generate a huge volume of feedback in our annual diners’ poll, but fans say it’s “outstanding”. There are two tasting menus offered, a £70 version and more extensive and longer £130 option. Typical dish? – ‘Childhood Reflections in the Shape of a Banana’.

Andreas Antona’s attractive Edwardian villa in posh Edgbaston remains one of the city’s most commented-on dining destinations, and all accounts are upbeat, with numerous reporters having their “best meal of the year here” and declaring it “a real experience”. A 10-course tasting menu is available for £130, but they haven’t ditched à la carte here, sometimes enhanced with competitive wine-inclusive deals. Chef Luke Tipping’s cuisine is “top class” , service is “particularly impressive” and there’s “a lovely atmosphere”.

This cleverly converted and relaxed former butcher’s shop showcases a range of “exceptional” tasting menus from Kidderminster-born chef-patron Jamie Desogus, who worked at Gordon Ramsay’s Pétrus before returning to the Midlands in 2016. Not a huge volume of feedback this year, but ratings remain strong across the board.

“The Chef’s Table experience is one of the best dining experiences ever”, according to fans of Brad Carter’s fine-dining fixture in Moseley, which – since its opening in 2010 – “has developed over time into a fine modern restaurant”. Early week, there’s a slightly slimmed-down 6-course option available, but over the weekends the choice is between a 9-course or 11-course tasting menu.

Ex-Simpson’s head chef, Matt Cheal’s “smart but comfortable” venue occupies “a timbered building on Henley in Arden’s picturesque high street”. The six-course tasting menu offers a succession of dishes described in reports as “delightful” and “accurately cooked”.

You’re “always guaranteed a superb meal” from “a favourite top chef” – Liam Dillon (who has worked for the likes of Marcus Wareing and Tom Sellers) – at the “great pub” he has converted into an ambitious restaurant, with 4- and 6-course tasting menus in the evening and a chef’s table option.

Local boy Rob Palmer, previously head chef at Hampton Manor – where he won the hotel's Peel’s restaurant its first Michelin star in 2016 – opened this tasting-menu spot in a former computer game shop in Solihull in early 2022. No reports as yet, but this looks like one to watch in this plush Brum ’burb.

Launched in early 2022, this very ‘now’ operation is built into the walls of Hampton Manor’s Victorian Garden and promises an immersive sustainable dining experience built around a fifteen-course tasting menu served from an open kitchen, where (according to the website) ‘every choice is a commitment to soil health, biodiversity, ethics and sustainability’. At the stoves, your hosts for the evening chef David Taylor with his wife Anette on FOH. There’s also the option for an overnight stay in the Walled Garden, incorporating a kitchen garden tour, a ‘bedroom lounge’ with views of the open kitchen and ‘bath time ritual that celebrates the scent of the garden designed by local organic apothecarists’. Limited feedback so far, but it’s an instant favourite for one early reporter who thought it “outstanding all-round” (and in Autumn 2022, the AA awarded it a rare four rosettes).

Celeb chef Glynn Purnell opened in this 200-year-old building on the High Street at the end of May 2022, aiming for a simpler formula than his ‘fine dining’ HQ. It was too late to generate feedback in our annual diners’ poll, but we’d love some feedback so please give it a whirl!

“Already outstanding”, this 2021 debut from a well-qualified chef hit the ground running, nabbing rave reviews within months of opening. The accolades are “thoroughly deserved” – “food and service are brilliantly executed” and there’s a “nice relaxed vibe” in the 28-cover restaurant with a chef’s table and roof terrace. Previously head chef at Adam’s in Birmingham and development chef for Sat Bains, Tom Shepherd opened quite literally upstairs from his father’s jewellery shop.