540. Spring Dining (1) Wildmoor Oak Inn.

 

  I have been out and about dining this spring. I can’t say I have altogether enjoyed myself. The restaurant business seems depressed - well, we know it is don’t we? - money is short and prices are high. Restaurants everywhere are offering cheaper dining options. Dining establishments which I have seen full just a year or so ago. are nearly devoid of diners. Things must be bad when I have been able to reserve a single dining table on two occasions at Upstairs by Tom Shepherd (though admittedly not until the autumn).

  In the past two or three weeks I have lunched twice at The Wildmoor Oak Inn which has been close to empty on both occasions. I remember that the year before the place was heaving with happy ladies who lunch. Not all that long ago, a second restaurant, The Plough, was opened at Wollaston and I’m not sure if Pete Jackson, the Head Chef, is spending most of his time there but I think the food at the Wildmoor Oak has lost its edge. On the first of my recent visits I had a charcuterie starter which was a little short of charcuterie for the price, and then the haddock and chips which was pretty good and then a very inelegant and over large meringue dessert, a play on a peach Melba using inadequately tender peaches, which was too oversized to finish. 

  Then, a week later, I returned to find the charcuterie was again rather more scanty than I was hoping for and the main course of ham hock and mushroom pie with mash to be very ill conceived. The pie was a crust rather than a full pie and I would have expected enough effort would have been put in to produce a pie with a base for the price charged. Ham hock is of course salty and the ‘pie’ certainly was very salty to the point where it approached inedibilty. The slices of mushroom in the orange gravy under the crust were pleasant but I think there’s a lesson here and that’s “don’t use ham hock as a pie filling” and also that a chef should sit down and eat what they’ve prepared. The mash was edible but failed to raise any degree of enthusiasm in me and, though admittedly there was a lot of gravy under the crust, A little sauce boat of grave to pour over the crust may have made the dish look less stark.

Rating:- 🌛🌛

Visited twice early May 2026.

539. Opheem Spring Menu.

 

  A recent dinner - all 10  courses - at Opheem confirmed that, as 2026 progresses, all is well at Birmingham’s 2 Michelin star restaurant despite Chef Patron Aktar Islam having recently opened a restaurant in London, Oudh 1722, and his attention necessarily being directed to that establishment. Dinner at Opheem remains a memorable experience which should be enjoyed at every possible opportunity. The welcome is as professional as one could ever hope for, the delicious pre-dinner snacks are as gorgeous as ever and the gentle transfer from lounge to dining room is managed as soothingly as anyone could wish, the anticipation growing during the course of the short up to one’s table. 

  The menu is of course meticulously curated - delightful new dishes jostle with old favourites, such as the universally beloved aloo tuk, for the title of best dish of the meal. The paper menu itself is presented in a new luxurious-looking packet with the appearance of black velvet and two red macarons tastefully and discreetly nestling at the bottom just as cameos of the king are positioned on a postage stamp 

  Of course, I enjoyed it all - the deep fried shisho leaf pakora with chutneys is such a brilliant take on poppadoms and mango chutney as we have long been used to in local Indian restaurants dating back to the 1960s - I wonder how many poppodums have been nibbled at by Englishmen in the past fifty years - probably trillions of them by now, a figure to dwarf Elon Musks trillion dollar salary. Then there was the mildly spiced Orkney scallop, finely and accurately cooked and aptly served with mooli and apple, the dish rejoicing in the name of Badami korma.

  Amla tok was a dish of Cornish sea bass, again accurately cooked and bringing with it Indian gooseberries and gourd and Wazwan was a delicious way to present hogget. Saagwala was a presentation of Guinea fowl with spinach, wild garlic and seekh kebab with a toothsome accompanying bharta.

  The desserts were familiar and none the worse for that and the post-dinner mignardises were also old favourites but too good not to enjoy again - the gorgeous mini-Madeleine and the fabulous canale should in reality be consumed in large numbers by everyone on a daily basis to lift the national mood.

  Opheem, supreme.

Rating:- 🌞🌞🌞

26 March 2026.