Anderson’s Bar & Grill – Subterranean Meaty Goodness

Posted on October 19, 2012 by outinbrum

Scallops off the specials menu at Anderson's Bar & Grill Just off the popular St. Paul’s Square in The Jewellery Quarter, Anderson’s Bar and Grill is in my opinion, the best steakhouse in town.  Some people seem to take exception to the fact that on entrance you immediately have to walk downstairs, but I like that it’s subterranean, it adds character to the place.  In the summer it’s cool, in the winter it’s cosy, and you can pass several hours drinking and eating without a care for the goings-on above.  Simon the manager is a sincere epicure, and this sincerity shines through with the dishes presented.  He’s very knowledgeable about the produce and I suspect he knew several of the beasts by name.

"Back to Front" - Rump, Hanger, and Ox cheek at Anderson's Bar and GrillTo whet the appetite I always have the breads here as they arrive warm and with lush baked garlic bulbs to spread over it – surely that has to be virtually healthy?  The pork belly starter is superb, as are the mussels, and the steak tartare for the adventurous is (I’m told) delicious.  Unusually, there is a good selection of wine by the glass, I like being able to have a glass of white with my mussels starter if my dining companions are drinking red, or vice versa.  We had a mushroom soup as a starter the last time we dined there and I remarked that it was almost as good as my own, a rare compliment!

Now I’m a bit rubbish when it comes to steakhouses as I rarely really fancy steak.  There are plenty of non-steak options and there is a daily specials menu.  I’ve eaten Sea Bream, Sea Bass, and fantastic Lemon Sole here, so don’t let the steakhouse title put you off if Lovely Lemon Sole at Anderson's Bar and Grillyou’re not in to that kind of thing.  I have however had brilliant dishes of steak, including a surf and turf, and recently “Back to Front” which included a 4oz Rump, a 4oz Hanger, and braised Ox cheeks.  This is a great dish if you’re just getting in to your steaks and want to find out what you like, or if you have an iron deficiency!  The Ox cheeks were strongly beefy and melted in the mouth, and the other cuts were equally as tasty.  I hadn’t had Hanger steak before but the staff are always on hand to give advice as to what’s what.  The sides are plentiful and the chips are fantastic, possibly the best in Birmingham (although that’s a highly coveted title and one of my other favourite venues Hotel La Tour probably pips them to the post, but only just).

Service here isn’t rushed, and it isn’t slow either, it’s paced so as to savour each course and conversation.  The acoustics are just as good for those conspiring to elope, as for those on a business dinner.  I’ve seen both types of diner seemingly having a joyful time.  We went for dinner here with twenty of our friends the night before our Civil Partnership, and had a fantastic welcome from the restaurant, so clearly I am biased.

Definitely somewhere you will linger over a dessert wine, brandy, or a coffee.  One of my favourite Brummy hidden gems.

Posted in Area: Jewellery Quarter, Cuisine: English, Cuisine: Steakhouse, My Favourite Places, Price: Average, Venue type: Bar, Venue type: Restaurant, Venue type: Wine Bar | 2 Comments

Duelling Pianos Preview @ Hotel La Tour

Posted on October 14, 2012 by outinbrum

Duelling Pianos Preview Night at Hotel La Tour BirminghamWe spent Friday night being entertained by the team from a soon-to-be-opened venue, Duelling Pianos. They were performing a gig at one of our favourite haunts, Hotel La Tour. We booked a table in the bar and shared some bar snacks which were as always delicious – particularly the unctuous burger bites.

Duelling Pianos will be a live piano music venue where two pianists show off to each other and the crowd. They take requests from the audience for all kinds of music and jam it together with bawdy humour to great affect. It’s high energy stuff. On Friday they skilfully reeled Queen in to Neil Diamond in to Kaiser Chiefs. They’re opening in The Living Room’s ex premises on Broad Street in early November. They’ll be doing food and tell us that it will be a perfect venue for a group party.

They’ve posted a video of their act on YouTube which you can have a look at here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VwcD853T28&feature=plcp.  Their website is available here: http://www.duellingpianobars.co.uk

Keep an eye out, and we’ll report back about it properly once it has opened!

Posted in Area: Broad Street, Venue type: Bar, Venue type: Cocktail Bar, Venue type: Entertainment, Venue type: Restaurant | Leave a comment

Fumo – Venetian Tapas

Posted on October 9, 2012 by outinbrum

San Carlo, on Temple Street, has been a staple of the Birmingham dining scene since the early nineties and is a favourite of, perhaps, the more affluent and older crowd. Its new next door neighbour, Fumo Restaurant, is younger and cooler but is also part of the growing San Carlo empire. Just around the corner from San Carlo, on St. Phillip’s square, the restaurant is light and warm with the atmosphere of a Tuscan restaurant where everything is lovely but just a little bit chaotic.

Their specialty is cicchetti, Italian (Venetian) Tapas. Once ordered the food arrives when it’s cooked, so if you don’t like that style of tapas dining, it’s not for you. There are dozens and dozens of reasonably priced dishes on the menu which are best shared between friends. Lovelies include: Duck salad, gamborini (giant prawns), spaghetti bolognaise, risotto, a super Tuna Tartare and many more. The Tuna Tartare is made at the table by the server: a plate arrives with arranged ingredients, they are explained to the diner, then mixed together expertly, then re-presented beautifully. Tuna Tartare at Fumo Venetian Tapas in Birmingham My advice is to go for a couple or three plates each to start, and order more if you’re still hungry – some of the dishes are much bigger than others but that’s reflected in the price. I had no criticism of the food, it was all just delicious. A friend thought it could have been hotter, but I find that to be a very personal taste, I actually don’t like things too hot.

When six of us arrived for Saturday lunch it was a bit of a squeeze fitting us in, not helped because they have quite a few small round tables which in my opinion are not useful in any restaurant catering for groups of more than four. If an oblong table was good enough for the Last Supper, it’s good enough for me. We had two square tables and a round table kludged together. It did the job I suppose, but there was too much faffing to get us in as we hovered while our table was being put together, and I suspected that was the start of some underwhelming service. It perhaps would have been better for them to have sent us to their lovely looking bar for a drink while they sorted our seating out.

The bar looks like something out of a plush London hotel and it’s worthy of the drinks it produces. We tried Rossinis (prosecco and strawberry juice), some other prosecco cocktails, a Vesper Martini, and I had a Spritz Aperol. Spritz Aperol seemed to be the drink of the moment when we were in Italy in the summer so it’s no surprise that a few bars here have started to serve them (notably here and Aalto @ Hotel La Tour). Aperol is a very bitter spirit, bright orange, and is mixed with prosecco or cava to make a “Spritz” (pronounced in Italiant as spreeetze). Aperol is a bit like Campari but has a nicer flavour in my opinion (less dead-beetle, more sun-in-a-glass). In Italy they were served to the ladies in wine glasses and to gents in tumblers, despite my two requests for a tumbler mine ended up in a wine glass. They also have a good selection of Italian beers and wines.

The service was perhaps a little underdone for me. I don’t want to be constantly bothered but I also don’t want to sit without a drink for 20 minutes. I wonder perhaps whether they’re understaffed or that they’ve got busy so quickly that they didn’t realise how many staff they need. If it’s the latter then I think that’s a nice problem for them to have. Nonetheless – better service next time is required.

I’ll definitely be back to this stylish tasty venue. There are lots more plates of zingy food to try, wine and cocktails to be drunk, and laughter to be had. It’s a lovely unfussy place to go as a group of friends to have a loud and typically joyful Italian dining experience. Give it a go on a miserable and rainy Saturday lunch, it’ll cheer you right up.

Buon appetito!

Posted in Area: Colmore Business District, Cuisine: Italian, Price: Average, Venue type: Bar, Venue type: Cocktail Bar, Venue type: Restaurant, Venue type: Wine Bar | Leave a comment

MPW @ The Cube

Posted on September 24, 2012 by outinbrum

It was our first anniversary on Monday (Happy Anniversary Mr. C!), but being Monday many of the nicer Birmingham restaurants are closed as it’s chef’s night off. We fancied something with some sparkle so thought we’d give Marco Pierre White’s (MPW) at The Cube another go. Our previous experience of the place was disastrous, admittedly it was on the 2nd of January when most people are still recovering from New Year’s Eve revelry, including the kitchen staff. All of the reviews of it we heard from our gourmand friends reiterated what we’d experienced though – poor service, worse food. We had however heard recently that there was a new chef who seemed to be turning the place around – so we bravely booked again.

The brasserie style restaurant is situated in the glass “crown” of the iconic Cube building at the back of The Mailbox complex. The building dwarfs its neighbours and I’ve always thought it’s a little out of place. It’s browny golds are shamelessly brassy, this isn’t a building that apologises for itself. It’s showy design is now echoed in the new library which follows similar colours and has the same air of more-is-more about it. View from Marco Pierre White's at The Cube BirminghamThe view from the generous terrace (the highest in the city) is wonderful, framed by the latticework of the building’s façade. There are better views in Birmingham, but only if you have access to some of the city centre’s more exclusive apartments in the clouds, so MPW is a great place to take in the 360 degree view. Unfortunately it does seem to attract a fair share of think-they’re-playboy types (and if that’s you, just because you wear Prada trainers with your tracksuit, does not make it cool, when everyone else is looking smart in jackets, next to them, you look like a knob, buck your ideas up sonny, and be polite to the staff).

Arriving feels a bit VIP as you take the lift hidden away in The Cube, guarded by concierge. Inside, the restaurant feels fairly sumptuous although for drinks there is no table service which I think is a bit of a miss. It does mean you get to watch the bar staff very artily produce some delicious cocktails. I had the third best Old Fashioned I’ve ever had (number one, should you be wondering, was on the eve of my CP at The Hyatt’s Pravda bar) – third best is a good thing given the number I’ve supped! The cocktails are not massively expensive and seem expertly made compared to those at other Birmingham venues (it’s puts in sharp relief the slow overpriced service at The Mal Maison bar).

We were seated by a window and given a complimentary cocktail as it was our Foie Gras Parfait at Marco Pierre Whites Birminghamanniversary – good start MPW! I had the parfait of foie gras, followed by the pork belly with butter beans, and my partner the calamari then the fillet steak, served by the friendly and efficient Kirsten. Everything was very tasty. I’m struggling to think of something to fault. I was offered more toasted brioche to go with my parfait when I ran out, nothing was overcooked, it was all seasoned well, the service was speedy but not rushed, and the dishes were plentiful (we did not need the sides). We had a bottle of Brouilly to go with it which was scrumptious. I was as full as an egg once we’d done starters and mains so I can’t report on the puddings.

Fillet steak at Marco Pierre Whites BirminghamA three course dinner with wine and a cocktail will probably set you back about £80 per head. If you’re not a fan of the brazen, the place probably isn’t for you (try Andersons, or Hotel La Tour). If you want to take clients for dinner, or go on a show-off date, or go for a rowdy meal with friends, then give it a go.

Thanks to the MPW team for a wonderful anniversary dinner.

Posted in Area: The Cube, Area: The Mailbox, Cuisine: English, Cuisine: Modern Mixed, Cuisine: Steakhouse, Price: Get your dad to pay - above average, Venue type: Cocktail Bar, Venue type: Restaurant, Venue type: Wine Bar | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Loki Wine

Posted on September 16, 2012 by outinbrum

Birmingham’s Great Western Arcade is fast becoming a focus for foodies in Brum, and the addition of “Loki Wines“, a wine merchant with a brilliant difference, is a very welcome one.Loki Wines, Wine Merchant and Tasting House BirminghamThe arcade already has arguable the best bakery (The Bread Collection) and deli (Anderson and Hill) in town and Loki really has the potential to make the arcade a destination in its own right.

The brilliant thing about Loki, is that not only is it a purveyor of wine, but that it’s also a modern but friendly tasting house. There are a couple of thousand different tipples in the store, but every two weeks, 24 of these bottled beauties are hand picked by the owner Phil to be showcased in the automatic tasting cabinets. Customers can pop along for a pay-as-you-go wine tasting before purchasing that dinner party gift.

Automatic Wine Tasting Cabinet

How it works…

Pop in to the shop and purchase some tasting-credit which gets loaded on to a smart card (£10 is probably ample if you’re going to spend an hour tasting and maybe have a larger glass of one or two of them).

Put your card in the cabinet slot.

Decide which wine you want to try (with the owner on hand to give you plenty of advice on what you might like, what’s new, what’s special).

Put your glass under the relevant nozzle, and press the size you want.

The wine is dispensed and your card is debited.

There are three sizes, so you can take a small tasting sample for as little as 38p! The most expensive wine on the day I was there was about £1.40 for a tasting sample, it was a gorgeous Masi Amarone Costasera 2007 which retails for about £36.

Loki Wines Tasting Room BirminghamOnce you’ve tried a few (or all of them in my case), you can buy a bottle at retail price plus corkage (£5 per bottle) and sit upstairs in the sumptuous tasting room to drink it. One of the wines I really enjoyed was a floral tasting La Linda Torrentes which retailed at £8.99, and I would happily have sat upstairs drinking a bottle of it for just £13.99! So much better than a bottle of plonk for £20 in one of the local pubs.

Another lovely twist is that Loki Wines have teamed up with Anderson and Hill deli opposite so you can get plates of meats and cheeses to nibble on either while you’re sampling or while you’re nattering over a delicious bottle upstairs.

The owner Phil is very knowledgeable about wines and is full of enthusiasm. I really hope that this is the first of many Loki stores in the UK, and that perhaps it’ll help us all become a bit more selective about what we drink and where.

Brilliant concept, excellently executed. Love it!

Posted in Area: Great Western Arcade, My Favourite Places, Price: Average, Uncategorized, Venue type: Bar, Venue type: Entertainment, Venue type: Gourmet Shop, Venue type: Wine Bar | 7 Comments

Opus Restaurant

Posted on September 14, 2012 by outinbrum

Unobtrusively set on a Colmore Business District side street Opus is a good example of Brum’s recent culinary progeny. It’s favoured by the business set who take their Two-Martini lunches here with a side of something tasty.

First impressions on a quiet Monday night were that it’s perhaps a little too sterile. While we sat in the bar with a pre-dinner cocktail it seemed echoey and shiny enough to have dropped out of an 80’s Easton Ellis novel (“Why aren’t we at Dorsia?”), and I worried that the food would be far too nouveau – big white plates with nothing on them except a splodge of sea urchin ceviche.Quail at Opus Restaurant, Birmingham

We perused the menu while we nibbled the fresh breads, some of which were deliciously curry flavoured. We ordered a Malbec from the extensive wine list to go with the red meat and game which are clearly the star of this menu’s show. I had quail then venison while most of my compatriots had the pretty ballotine of rabbit chicken and apricot to start, followed by the fillet steak.  Ballotine of Chicken Rabbit and Apricot at Opus Restaurant, Birmingham Safe to say the food was plentiful and well cooked and presented although the Dauphinoise that came with the steak wasn’t Dauphinoise (I think it was pan fried in butter). The service was pleasant and the maître d’ knowledgable about the food and wine list, suggesting some lovely pudding wines to go with our choices. My chocolate assiette was perfectly unctuous although it could’ve done without the puddle of foam which tasted of cow (this criticism was taken by the maître d’ with good grace).

The à la carte is fairly pricey (I actually wonder whether it’s deliberately overpriced so as to keep out the riffraff like me) although there’s a daily market menu, three courses for £25 including a glass of wine, which is much more reasonable.

There are many potential uses as a venue. It has plenty of room for a standing drinks reception, and there are two large private dining rooms which would be perfect for boardroom style dining but not really for any private social event in my opinion given how shut-away they are. Also, the restaurant has a proper chef’s table in the kitchen so you can get up close and personal to the culinary action.

I’d definitely go back with colleagues for dinner, or for a lovely lunch with friends, but it wasn’t warm and inviting enough for a romantic or a family meal. Not to worry though, it shouldn’t try to be all things to all men, and there are plenty of other places in Brum to nosh at (as per my other reviews qq.v.).

Posted in Area: Colmore Business District, Cuisine: Modern Mixed, Price: My eyes are watering - expensive, Venue type: Restaurant | 3 Comments

Bank Restaurant

Posted on September 14, 2012 by outinbrum

Firstly, a tip to the restaurant – advertise your marvellous Sunday lunch better! We had to ask about eighty questions to confirm they did do a proper Sunday lunch – it’s not on the menus or on any signs!

I had the squid salad to start, then roast sirloin. The squid salad was completely delicious – possibly the nicest squid I’ve ever had. It was as soft as marshmallow, not at all chewy, and the flavours were pan-Asian perfection. The roast sirloin that followed was equally delightful – crisp roast potatoes, buttery veg, crunchy Yorkshire pudding, and mouth-wateringly tender roast sirloin with a kind of light Thyme crust  It’s not somewhere to go for a cheap and cheerful quick dinner out, it’s somewhere to you sit for a couple of hours watching the world go by, and drinking a cocktail or two after dinner.  Perfect Sunday lunch, only third best to my mum’s and nan’s.  We also popped back on a Saturday afternoon for the all day breakfast with wine.  Again, it was all delicious.

There is some fairly opulent seating out the front of Bank Restaurant on Brindley Place that lets you people-watch in comfort, taking in the comings and goings of the office workers and tourists who stumble upon the pretty water feature in the square.  There is also seating outside at the back of the restaurant overlooking the canal.

Posted in Area: Brindley Place, Cuisine: English, Cuisine: Modern Mixed, Price: Get your dad to pay - above average, Venue type: Bar, Venue type: Cocktail Bar, Venue type: Restaurant, Venue type: Wine Bar | 1 Comment

Saffron Indian Restaurant Birmingham – Disappointing from poppadom to exit…

Posted on September 14, 2012 by outinbrum

***** Update Winter ’13: This restaurant is now closed.  Thank goodness.

We went to this restaurant on a group deal Friday night and I feel royally annoyed that I could have spent the evening elsewhere, but at least I suppose it gives me something to moan about on tripadvisor! There are many superb, high end Indian restaurants in Birmingham, sadly this isn’t one of them.

The restaurant isn’t massive but when we arrived there was already a large group of about 20 seated inconveniently at the narrowest point of the restaurant. We were seated after five minutes, at a nice enough table, by a surly waiter who had barely grunted at us. We were told two of the signature dishes were off the menu (lamb shank and venison).

We ordered poppadoms which arrived a bit soggy, possibly yesterday’s. We also ordered dips to go with the poppadoms. The onion salad, arriving in an egg cup, was a bit stingy for 4 people.

We ordered starters and mains, and after a lot of “scuse me’s” we managed to get another drink. Our starters arrived after quite a wait. I had a dish called Malai Milan, sticks of tasty paneer and haloumi lightly spiced with a dressing of capers and onion. It was nice, sadly it was the only thing about the evening that was. My main dish of Malabar Jhinga (King Prawns in sauce) was bland bland bland. I wasn’t expecting spicy because it had a coconut base to the sauce, but it simply tasted sweet, there was no depth of flavour.Saffron Restaurant Birmingham I also tried my dining companion’s Murgh Makhni promising on the menu a “chicken jambalaya, garlic and kasoori methi flavoured makhni sauce”. The sauce had little flavour other than an astringent lemon juice, certainly no notes of fenugreek (kasoori methi) or garlic. The chicken was well cooked, but the menu shouldn’t use “jambalaya”, because it isn’t one.

While we were eating six diners were seated at a table laid for four, including only four chairs. Two of the diners stood for about 15 minutes until some chairs became available. Complete disaster! The staff handled it terribly. All of the diners in the part of the restaurant we were in kept giving each other knowing looks as another pantomime unfolded.

Approaching the toilets towards the back of there restaurant, there was a definite whiff of toilet duck, and I was grateful we were seated at the front.

The menu has this tag line: “Great chefs are passionate about their food. Forget watching the clock and take the time to understand each individual ingredient, so that you can create and cook something truly wonderful”. Given the amount of time we waited for any food, I can at least attest that they have most definately stopped watching the clock, but given the standard of the food I don’t think they’ve managed the “truly wonderful”.

Simply, this restaurant trades off Birmingham’s reputation for having good quality Indian restaurants, and this place does not fit with the likes of Asha’s, Pushkar’s, and Lasan.

Posted in Area: Colmore Business District, Price: Get your dad to pay - above average, Venue type: Restaurant | 2 Comments

Aalto Restaurant @ Hotel La Tour – for opening night

Posted on September 14, 2012 by outinbrum

It was our pleasure this week of dining at a hotel restaurant new to Birmingham, Aalto at Hotel La Tour. Those city slickers amongst you may know this newly developed £24m, 174 bedroom hotel, is located near to the disused Curzon Street station. Presently that area is mainly car parks and apartments but in a few years time it will be the home of HS2’s stop in The Midlands. La Tour has certainly smartened up the block it sits on and I’m sure that area will see much regeneration over the coming years when people realise the potential of HS2 traffic.

We were booked in to La Tour’s opening preview night, so our expectations were set for a certain level of chaos. I’d love to regale you with tales of woeful service and slapstick kitchen antics but everything seemed very much under control.

Greeted on arrival by friendly and smart staff we were directed to the modern but comfortable bar for a glass of bubbly and the tastiest popcorn I’ve ever eaten, with salt, pepper and butter. We sat in the evening sun on the terrace – it always annoys me there are few outdoor venues in Birmingham that get the sun since The Cube took away all light from The Mailbox complex. I think the terrace at La Tour will be the perfect place to sip a summery mojito on a Sunday afternoon.

The 90 cover Aalto restaurant, complete with Chef’s table, looks like a fine dining establishment rather than an add-on to the hotel. The palette is of greys and woods making for a muted relaxing finish. The seating is comfortable and intimate.

After being seated I pawed over the extensive wine list for some time and ordered the Spy’s Valley Sauvignon Blanc at £28, the food and beverage manager Daniel advised that it was delicious, and we were certainly not disappointed. The menu tagline reads “discover a modern twist on classic food” and there are certainly some classic dishes including mulligatawny, cock-a-leekie pie, and of course fish and chips. It also has some more off-the-wall inventions like smoked beetroot tart and field mushroom and thyme crumble. At the moment the menu is wintry and fairly heavy, but I’m sure as summer roles in we’ll be treated to lighter dishes to match the weather. Michelin starred chef Marcus Wareing has worked with the hotel’s Head Chef Alex Penhaligon to devise the menu and is continuing to work with the hotel in an advisory role.

Down to the nitty gritty. For starters we ate the Harrogate loaf (a terrine), celeriac and roast garlic soup, smoked beetroot tart, and mulligatawny. For mains we ate the fish and chips, cock-a-leekie pie, Hereford rib-eye steak, field mushroom and thyme crumble, and the Cornish sea bass, with sides of kale, carrots, and chips. We finished it off with the cheese board, treacle tart, and jaffa cake pudding. It was sumptuous. Of particular note were the cock-a-leekie pie, the smoked beetroot tart, and the vegetarian field mushroom and thyme crumble. They packed massive flavours for such simple dishes. The jaffa cake pudding was also dazzling.

To finish, we ordered cocktails including my bellwether drinks – a Mojito and a bourbon Old Fashioned. If a bar can make those to perfection then I am assured they know what they’re doing. They weren’t on the cocktail menu but the waiter assured us the bar could make us what we’d like. Glad to say they were perfect and served in heavy crystal glassware.

We spoke to the ops director, Adrian, after dinner and my two points of criticism were responded to with aplomb: yes, the ice bucket stands were on order, and yes, the lighting was a bit bright but the electricians were in tomorrow to fix it.

Aalto at La Tour isn’t in the current trendy parts of town for eating. It’s not Brindley Place nor the Jewellery Quarter, but it really is worth making that 200 yard walk from the Bullring for dinner, a cocktail, or just for coffee.

Thanks to the Aalto team for a tasty fine dining experience. We will be back!

Posted in Area: East Side, Cuisine: English, Cuisine: Modern Mixed, My Favourite Places, Price: Get your dad to pay - above average, Venue type: Bar, Venue type: Cafe, Venue type: Cocktail Bar, Venue type: Restaurant, Venue type: Wine Bar | Leave a comment

NYE 2010/11 at Edmunds Fine Dining, Birmingham, UK

Posted on September 14, 2012 by outinbrum

Richard's Birthday CakeThose of you who know Birmingham may not think that a New Year’s Eve spent near Broad Street would be a wise move given the drunken antics of the thousands of revellers, and the reputation of some of the area’s bars.  Hiding round the corner though is the intimate Edmunds Fine Dining Restaurant.  For the second New Year’s Eve running we’ve been delighted by the sumptuous wines and foods proffered by Andy Waters and the Edmunds team.  This year was a double celebration with us seeing in both the new year and a friend’s 21st birthday on 1/1/11.  As a surprise, in the afternoon I dropped off a birthday cake and the restaurant very kindly volunteered to add some writing to it – they made a great job of it and the chocolate icing was delicious.

On arrival for our 9pm table we chose some champagne and wines with the affable sommelier on hand to provide hints and tips.  The wine list is varied in terms of content and price, we had a white and a red burgundy.  We also had an excellent red dessert wine recommended to us (Mas Amiel Maury 2007 – give it a go, it’s sticky blackberry gorgeousness in a glass).  The evening wasn’t all about the wine though, we started our meal with chef’s aperitifs: salmon & crab with Caviar, handmade breadsticks, olives, and warm goats cheese bonbons.  My personal favourite was the salmon which melted in the mouth and worked wonderfully with the salty caviar and creamy crab.

Following the aperitif was an amuse bouche of Jerusalem artichoke and truffle soup.  The fish course was of sea bass with grilled chicory and a confit of lemon.  Perfectly cooked, the sea bass worked well with the sweetness of the lemon confit.

The main course was a traditional fillet of Aberdeen Angus beef with slow cooked potatoes, braised blade of beef, celeriac, and carrots.  I always enjoy simple dishes done well and this was definitely done brilliantly.  The depth of the beef flavour in the braised blade was superb and complimented, rather than fought with, the strongly flavoured fillet.

The feast was concluded with warmed chocolate dessert with rhubarb & custard ice-creams.  The pretty plate promised much and delivered with potent rhubarb and custard flavours from the ice cream, and desiccated rhubarb which made my cheeks tingle.  Perfect

.Dessert - Warmed chocolate dessert with rhubarb & custard ice-cream

Including 2 bottles of champagne, 1 bottle of dessert wine, and 4 bottles of red and white wine, our bill came to about £120 per person for the eight of us dining.  And unlike at least one other restaurant of this ilk I’ve been too (Rhodes at The Cumberland – shame on them!) I left replete, not stuffed, and certainly not hungry.

Thanks to the wonderful team at Edmunds for a luxurious night.  We will hopefully be back soon…

Posted in Area: Brindley Place, Price: Get your dad to pay - above average, Price: My eyes are watering - expensive, Venue type: Restaurant | 1 Comment