173. The Oyster Club by Adam Stokes.

 

  Arriving at The Oyster Club by Adam Stokes, less than two minutes walk from The Grand Hotel where the dog and I were staying for 3 comfortable nights, I “wowed” at the smart, bright bar area on the ground floor. I had been there soon after the restaurant had first opened but had forgotten completely the restaurant’s internal look. Surely one of the smartest, most clean-cut in town.

  The design of this place was meticulously thought out which when you look at how equally meticulous Adam Stokes’ cooking is at Adam’s is not surprising. Even the amusing water jugs are perfectly chosen to match the theme of fish and seafood, shaped as they are like a fish standing on its tail.

  But to the food. It being 12.30 PM, I would have had to be mad not to chose the special lunch menu which must be the best valued meal in town - just £19.50p for two excellent courses. I was close to being seduced by the dishes on the formal à la carte menu - the sole beckoned among other delights, I might even have strayed down the expensive road that led to half a lobster - but the tempura coated cod with nine spectacularly good chips, dreamy minted mushy peas and excellent tartare sauce had too forcefully taken hold of my food lust.

   Before ransacking my plate of fish and chips I quaffed a splendid cocktail from the Cocktails from the Sea list (which seemed only right and proper when dining in a fish restaurant), The Fisherman, made up of peaty whiskey, tangerine and ice cider and a seaweed syrup which made it taste very much of the sea and ate with immense relish the beautifully presented and delightfully tasty starter of elderflower cured sea trout with finely sliced radish and gooseberry and a scattering of sorrel leaves and fine little slices of Melba-like fried bread rather which added a perfect crunch to the dish. As good a starter as I have eaten this year. And exceptional good value.

 

 Everything about the cod and chips was just right - the fine tempura batter, the lovely whiteness of the fish, the seasoning, the chips’ crunchy exterior and the satisfying texture of their interiors, the creaminess and mintiness of the mushy peas and the smooth mild acidity of the tartare sauce. 

  For dessert I toyed with having the pannacotta but was persuaded to have the Black Forest choux bun with pistachio crumble instead. It arrived at the table visually masquerading as a burger though the proof of the pudding was in the eating. It was all there - cherry, chocolate, a crispy-surfaced bun; a clever dessert - much more of a proper dessert than is often served up at other restaurants where a biscuit and some mousse and a bit of gel are thought to suffice.

  The burger-resembling choux bun brought this ‘happy meal’ to an end apart from some pleasant and sensible petits fours served with the coffee - two little jellies and two little fudges. My long delayed revisit to the Oyster Club had been a very happy affair all round and sent the restaurant shooting up my personal list of Birmingham’s favourite restaurants.