Birmingham’s first major restaurant casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic era is the Michelin-plated Opus, opened by Ann Tonks and David Colcombe in 2005 and situated across the road from, and almost opposite, Purnell’s in Cornwall Street. On 12 May 2021 its internet site announced that its management would not be reopening it on 17 May, the date chosen by the government for restaurants to be allowed once more to serve food indoors to diners, stating that it “is not viable to carry on trading ...”.
Sadly, I had eaten there only once, driven into having the cheapest lunch deal and thus consequently, I suspect, an unremarkable lunch, by a parsimonious dining companion who likes to dine fine but at prices which hardly allow a chef to show off their true skills. I was struck by the remarkable spaciousness of the restaurant which must have be difficult to fill at times, even with a Michelin recommendation and though it was striving to find an image for itself - sustainable ingredients - after David Colcombe departed in 2015 and Ben Ternant took over as Executive chef having been Head chef, I can see that it probably relied more on a coterie of loyal old customers to keep it going (I may be wrong, of course) than anything else (and yes of course I accept everywhere needs their loyal customers to stick with them).
The problem for Opus was that, though it was well thought of and respected, it never reached the heights of being the in-place to eat in the city and diners need that extra something to make them choose somewhere to eat. Still it is a loss to the city and reduces our number of Michelin-listed restaurants to 15 (5 stars and 10 plates).
The Michelin 2021 review:-
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