307. Chapter. Tattu.

  Chapter, in a rather twee short section of a road in the even more tweely-named Edgbaston Village which seems to amount to being a short section of a road lined by upmarket houses where no traffic is allowed, is smart, modern and appealing. Chapter is the successor to Opus in Cornwall Street, located across the road from Purnell’s, the trade of which was ruined by prolonged roadworks carried out by the progressively incompetent Birmingham City Council immediately outside the building which housed the restaurant. The previous Head Chef, Ben Ternant and Anne Tonks, previous owner of Opus regrouped and shifted the site of their culinary activities to Edgbaston and opened Chapter which has been well received by diners from the surrounding area as well as The Good Food Guide but not the Michelin Guide.

  The clientele was interesting when I and two companions were lunching there. The location and the nature of the location clearly define who is eating here - smartly dressed Conservative (big C as opposed to little C) ladies-who-lunch, businessmen, upper echelon professionals - so different from trendy Stirchley where carefully scruffy socialist hipsters throng shabby chic cafes. Serious money was lunching out in Edgbaston Village.

  Anne Tonks was welcoming very brilliantly her arriving diners and embracing quite expertly the ladies-who-lunch who were clearly regular visitors to Chapter. It was all so much more civilised than a dip into the downmarket jumble in Stirchley. And so we embarked on our voyage through the new spring menu launched that day. I chose Wye Valley asparagus with poached egg and wild garlic Hollandaise. The menu asserted that spring, a Midlands spring, was here. The asparagus was well cooked and tasty, the egg spot on but the wild garlic in the Hollandaise was imperceptible. Still, a reasonable start and a promise that the seasons were moving along towards summer. One of my companions chose a duck salad as his starter and was pleased with what he was served.

    I was tremendously excited to be having Dover sole ‘on the bone’ with caviar, lemon butter and ‘fries’. The chips were as good as the fish was disastrous. The sole, which admittedly was nice and meaty, was severely overcooked to the point of stodginess. After a few mouthfuls I found it to be inedible and I parcelled it up to bring home for Lucy The Labrador who appreciated the gesture of being offered about £15 worth of expensive fish to be easily gobbled up in five seconds. My companions also ordered some unremarkable tenderstem broccoli at the remarkable price of £5.

  Things could only get better … but they did not. For dessert I chose what seemed to be a promising panna cotta with ‘local’ rhubarb and tiny shards of ginger snap. To be fair the ginger element was very tasty and the rhubarb was well-cooked though not great in flavour but the panna cotta was a disaster with less wobble than the Rotunda and a thick, stodgy texture more suited to a sponge pudding than a happy, light panna cotta. This was really not good enough given the price of the meal.

  Despite, the depressing nature of the meal, I imagine Chapter will flourish and that the Ladies-who-lunch there will continue to, er, lunch there. Sadly though, it seems unlikely that I shall be sitting at a table near them again, given the mediocrity of what was served at this particular lunchtime, particularly at the price we were asked to pay.

Rating:- 🌛

  A couple of evening’s earlier I had dinner at the remarkably glitzy Tattu in Barwick Street. I found that it remained as lively and colourful as ever and worth visiting just to catch the atmosphere of the place. I was seated in a nicely comfortable booth to the side of the downstairs dining room, which suited me perfectly, and I received excellent service from the very attentive front-of- house staff. After discussing my options of what to have from the crowded menu I opted for ‘small plates’.

  I chose robustly tasty black cod croquettes served with ginger and garlic aioli, what turned out to be remarkably ruby red steamed wagyu dumplings which were also very tasty and - rather more disappointing - ‘aromatic crispy duck pancakes’ served with a Szechuan sauce, cucumber and spring onions, as one might expect. The duck would have been nicely cooked if one had chosen a pan-fried dish European style but there was no crispiness about it and the flavours were hardly scintillating. I also had a rather heavy jasmine rice which I would not have missed had I not ordered it.

  

  In the end, not for the last time this week (see above), Lucy The Labrador found herself eating the remains of an expensive meal which did not seem worth the price asked for it. Still, it was an enjoyable evening and the food was generally good and the dog was happy, so what else can a man want in his life?

Rating:- 🌛🌛