It doesn’t seem to me that anyone has really put two and two together and come up with the four that recognises that Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter is really the place for food dudes to hang out, to use what is now probably prehistoric terminology though the term ‘food dude’ is brand new because I just came up with it.
‘JQ food dudes’ have within walking distance two Michelin-starred Opheem, one Michelin-starred The Wilderness, Michelin-listed Albatross Death Cult, Michelin-listed Folium, Kaye Winwood’s unique GULP, Vieni, Txiketio, and now Jonny Mills has finally opened his 8 cover restaurant, Sæl, much anticipated by local food dudes, in the Goodsyard after many delays. Food dudes, generally older than you might expect in this cool inner city suburb, have been flooding there as the restaurant breathes its first breaths; even Stu Deeley, Head Chef of The Warwick at Mallory Court was there the other day as he so reported on Instagram.
So, it seems that the two plus two of the question, “Where is the dining out capital of the West Midlands region?” arrives at the correct answer of four in the form not of Lichfield nor Cheltenham nor Malvern nor Ludlow but The Jewellery Quarter, which for food at least seems to be to Birmingham what The Vatican City is to Rome.
Having occasionally hung out with some of the old food dudes over the past couple of years or so, usually as a result of coincidental encounters, I was alerted to the intense interest they were experiencing in anticipating the opening of Sæl and of the delays Jonny Mills was suffering in getting his 8 seater restaurant opened to the public. Over the passing months, I have dined at two or three of the pop ups Mills has staged in venues in Stirchley and noted that he has acquired an elite food dude fandom (some of whom had made donations to a crowd funding effort to fund the new restaurant) who are enraptured by his cooking. Mills finally achieved his goal of creating his own food in his very own dining establishment when Sæl opened its doors to diners on 12 August 2026. Naturally it was necessary to go to the Birmingham Vatican at an early stage and see, from the diners’ points of view, if the wait had been worthwhile. And so it came to pass.
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| Jonny Mills at one of his pop ups in Stirchley |
Though I have visited The Goodsyard, the large complex nextdoor to the Jewellery Quarter railway station, a number of times, it took me some time to decide where precisely Sæl is located and I discovered an area of the Goodsyard of which I had previously been unaware. Most of the units surrounding it were empty and awaiting someone to open a business in them. I felt I would not like to be there on a wet, cold, dark night. However, there was some solace, the cocktail and wine bar, Passing Fancies, was already open around the corner from Sæl and made the area a little more welcoming with some of its customers sitting outside in the pleasant late summer evening air.
Arriving early before any of the other diners, I was seated very comfortably at the smart counter along which were spaced 8 stools and greeted warmly by Asher Beardsmore who works with Jonny Mills in the role of sommelier/mixologist having previously gained experience at Couch in Stirchley as well as Opheem and Tropea - a fine local curriculum vitae. Asher asked about the current well-being of Lucy the Labrador who, I was pleased to inform him, was in good health and served me a glass of sparkling wine which was apt given that this was the restaurant’s first evening of service following the short soft opening last week. The atmosphere was soon brought to life when, to my surprise, a couple of my old friends crossed the threshold to take their places and all seemed set with a fair wind for a fine evening which, as it turns out, is precisely what we all experienced.
The first item to be served was a tasty beetroot croustade with crème fraiche and a ‘hot sauce’, the hot meaning spicy rather than having a raised temperature. This started the ball rolling and was followed up by one of Jonny Mills’ signature miniature scones made from JQ flour (no, as Mills pointed out, JQ does not stand for ‘Jewellery Quarter’), nicely textured and served with his own, delicious cultured butter made from Grovewood Farm cream (the farm is just a short distance from where I live) and a lovely whipped chicken liver and smoked mushroom parfait.
Then on to a remarkable dish which used sweet leeks in aerated Hollandaise and roasted Maris Piper and Charlotte potatoes to create a green hill top rising above a snowy field and walnut chutney to add flavour. Then a brilliant thinly spiced scallop ceviche - gorgeous, as wonderful a scallop dish as one may wish to be served - delightfully textured with hazelnut.
Next a fabulous dish of exquisite cured trout with the spicy, gingery hit of magnolia which also brought cardomon with it and the full flavour of tomato. And so to the main - supremely well-cooked, gorgeously tender and flavoursome lamb matched with alliums and elderflower.
Dessert was alive with novelty with an artichoke-flavoured crème brûlée with the discernible taste of tonka - very clever - and finally a dessert using very pleasingly, a fruit I have not seen all summer - the welcome sight (and taste) of gooseberry with a yoghurt and the honeyed vanillaness of meadowsweet. Quite, quite gorgeous.
So very, very good was my experience at Sæl that I returned the following week while it was still possible to get a reservation there and ate the same dishes and enjoyed them just as much as on my first visit. It may have taken a long time and Sæl’s eventual arrival had involved a lot of patience and anguish for Jonny Mills, but he has established Sæl as one of the very best restaurants in Birmingham in just a matter of days. Clever, original and delicious British/European fine food remains out there for us all to enjoy even if some of the old masters have moved on although happily, great young chefs like Jonny Mills are stepping up to take up the baton of fine dining here in Birmingham and the West Midlands.
20 August and 27 August 2026
Rating:- 🌞🌞🌞.
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