I think Rabbit may well turn out to be the most important restaurant to have opened in Birmingham this year. I returned to it with impatient anticipation and was thrilled to be seated at the Rabbit counter again and be welcomed by Ash Heeger, the Head (and only) Chef, and Erin Valuenza-Heeger, Front of House (though both women are equally front of house geographically speaking)..
The menu is longer than one might expect and there is much on it that sorely tempts. It’s clear a genius wrote it. Given the nature of the facilities in Rabbit this chef has accurately pinpointed how they can best be used to deliver appropriate dishes which far excel what is on offer in most other dining establishments. There is much that is brilliant on that menu.
I started with a clever bowl of Perello pickles and olives - far more than I could consume but it made for an ideal hors d’oeuvres. I opted for three small plates; firstly - an extraordinarily well-selected plate of bitter leaves soothed by a delicious blue cheese, candied walnut and and sherry dressing and served with shavings of tasty. old Winchester cheese. Simple on paper but delivered with finesse.
Secondly, I chose halibut collar with pepper sauce. The fish was finely and accurately cooked and the accompanying sauce and greens were ideal companions for it.
As my third dish I opted for a supremely wondrous dish of charred leeks with a brown butter Hollandaise with a note of utter magic added to it in the form of aged sherry and fried shallots. The leeks had been rendered majestically tender and ecstatically sweet - certainly the best plate of leeks I’ve ever had and possibly the best vegetable dish to ever come my way. These leeks were the stuff of legend. When I had eaten these leeks I knew that I had just eaten the opus of a maestro. Rabbit is where the action is going to be this year.
Just the one dessert was on offer - forced rhubarb trifle (apparently from a recipe of Ash’s grandmother) - it had everything a trifle trifler could want - the happy flavour of PX sherry, a fine custard cream and … sprinkles. I ate trying to keep down the volume of my accompanying moans of pleasure though a diner close by, also consuming the trifle, seemed to be uttering the same ecstatic noises as myself. Anyone passing by outside may have wondered if it was necessary to call the police.
All too soon it was over. My second visit to Rabbit was over and I headed out back into the dampness of the February evening as it clung itself to Stirchley’s shabby main street. But inside I was bursting with pleasure - and trying to wrack my mind to think of another vegetable dish as great as the leeks and a sherry trifle as good as Ash’s grandmother’s recipe had resulted in.
Rating:- 🌞🌞🌞.
It’s some years since I visited Byzantium in Kings Heath. A friend who lives in the suburb asked me to join him there and I was curious to visit the restaurant to see how much the place had changed. I discovered that, as far as I could see, the answer is, “Not very much” though there is a new decor in line with the theme of ancient Byzantium. I always felt that the restaurant needed bright decor - it is quite dark inside the restaurant; it should be bright blue and sunshine yellow, the colours of the Mediterranean where the styles of the food the restaurant serves originate. The restaurant needs to be bright and fresh not medieval and shabby chic. Still, it’s the food that counts.
To start we shared a delightful flatbread with tzatziki and hummus dips which were very pleasing. The rest of the meal took the form of small plates and we choose three dishes each. I opted for patatas alioli which were well cooked though the alioli could have been punchier, mkaouara - small Moroccan-style meatballs in a satisfactorily spicy tomato, chilli and green pepper sauce and, my favourite dish, nicely oven-baked early season asparagus with an inelegant blob of romesco sauce and melted Manchego.
I had started with a Margarita which had very few of the features which would have made the drink identifiable as a Margarita.
This place serves pleasant enough food at an acceptable price and as a local restaurant serves the Kings Heath hipster clientele which the suburb is home to and who seem pleased to visit it. It’s shabby chicness seems to fit perfectly the atmosphere of Kings Heath with its bike-riding, low traffic neighbourhood-loving, environmentally aware, hipster residents.
Rating:- 🌛
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