A quick roundup of recent restaurant visits and any other matters pertinent to what is happening in dining out in Birmingham and the West Midlands. Restauranteurs, chefs and their customers are currently once more victims, or potential victims, of outrageous fortune - now it is the price of gas and electricity related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the consequent effect on world commodity prices. The anguish has not been helped by the protracted Conservative Party leadership election which has paralysed government for about two months and, as soon as a new prime minister took office, the death of The Queen and the protracted period of national mourning which has ensued. Respectable restaurants are finding it difficult to fill all their tables it seems to me and prices have soared.
On 26 August much pleasure was derived from being present at an excellent evening of English wine tasting hosted by the almost legendary Sonal Clare, sommelier at The Wilderness and formerly general manager at Purnell’s, held on a lovely end of summer evening of the terrace of the former home of the Nettlefold family, Winterborne House, in Edgbaston. Apart from a surprisingly off-putting bottle of Stopham Estate Bacchus which I usually enjoy, this an occasion of sheer joy.
On 3 September, to Divide (previously Craft) for the first time it took on its new name. The curtains which surround each table are, in my opinion, disastrous. They give the restaurant a very gloomy and lifeless feel along with the mild anxiety, unavoidably recalling Psycho, that the curtain will be ripped open to reveal a psychopath with an intention to kill. It’s all just a little too weird and everything needs to be rethought.
The menu which must be read on a phone or electronic device was satisfactory. After bread, I had the inevitable heritage tomato dish served with far too much whipped goat’s cheese and this was followed by a delicious bowl of broccoli and Stilton soup. The main course of duck was cooked very nicely and the chocolate and raspberry dessert was pleasant if rather basic. The sixth course at additional price brought with it a pleasing trio of British cheeses, quince jelly and a selection of biscuits and delightful fruit bread.
This was a pleasing enough meal though hardly outstanding.
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A return visit to Le Petit Bois in Moseley on 1 September confirmed that this is a fine little neighbourhood restaurant which will always deliver pleasure to the diner. Here’s my tweet -
The duck rillette was lovely and the salmon beautifully cooked with the accompanying lobster bisque vibrant and oozing flavour. The rum babas were a nice consistency but the flavour of rum was undetectable and therefore disappointing but I made up for it by having a French Colonel which is a disgraceful, highly alcoholic, utterly enjoyable self-indulgence combining a liberal helping of vodka with lemon sorbet, based on the French dish of Armagnac with apple sorbet.
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The following evening, 2 September 2022, a return to Adam’s. Everything about the restaurant is immaculate with the service being close to impeccable. There is just one thing which disappoints and that is the lack of luxury items on the £125 tasting menu. It was a beautifully prepared and served meal but I was disappointed that the fish course, for example brought an extremely well cooked, but to be honest, rather lowly skate to the table. These are difficult times, I appreciate, but when you are paying £125 a little feel of luxury is nice and if it can’t be done on £125 put the price up till you can. If someone’s prepared and able to pay that sort of price for a meal then a further price hike probably isn’t going to put them off.
It was pleasing to see the restaurant pretty well full on a Friday evening, which is after all how things should be.
That aside, this was a delightful meal which confirmed once more that Adam’s may be the city’s leading restaurant which presents the dinner with superlative service and very fine cooking.
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