A few weeks back, to celebrate my parents’ ruby wedding anniversary (that’s 40 years!) we took them to Lasan restaurant. Run by Birmingham restaurateur Aktar Islam and his business partner Jabba Khan, the eatery has picked up many awards over recent years, perhaps most notably Gordon Ramsay’s F-Word best local restaurant in 2011.
The restaurant is set just off picturesque St. Paul’s Square in the Jewellery Quarter. It’s modern glass exterior extends inside where polished concrete continues from the outdoor steps through the bar and dining room. The last twice I’ve been here I’ve thought it could perhaps do with a bit of a makeover; if I’m shelling out for fine dining then the food, the service, and the décor need to be spot on. A boozy three-course dinner will set you back around £75 a head, and that should come with a pretty pristine restaurant. It’s not 
tatty, but there are now points that should be addressed soon (scuffed stairs, frayed sofas, nothing major).
As a pre-starter we were given some tasty crisp golappe (bitesize spherical shells, with a hole in the top, stuffed with a little spiced chickpea mixture). I could just eat thirty of those and be happy to be honest, but I don’t think the kitchen would appreciate it so we ordered starters. A tender flame-licked Navrataani lamb cutlet was served with a chickpea patty, all gently spiced and offset by a mint raita; lamb and mint, what could be better? I loved the Konkan Kedaka, soft shell crab in a light chilli batter, served with a crab cake and tomato chutney. It’s so easy to over spice 
crab and end up with heat and no crab flavour, but I’m pleased to report the spice was spot on here. Our other starters of Sindi murgh (tandoori chicken breast with mango, chilli and ginger) and a polished version of an onion pakora were also excellent.
For mains my mum and I both had the Bathak Ki Salan, a pan roasted duck breast, with a spiced confit of duck leg. The breast was tender and the confit was buttery with a pleasant background heat. My dad had a great rendition of a chicken jalfrezi, with a whole chicken breast plated elegantly. The Nadan, a blade of Herefordshire beef that had been braised overnight, stole the show. 
All the dishes came with small saucepans of extra sauce – perfect for me and my penchant for “wet” food (it was recently pointed out to me that not everyone likes their food drowning in delicious tasty sauces). We shared a mushroom rice and a bread basket on the side.
For dessert I had a whisky (hic!) but we did also try the Chai, a spiced panna cotta, and the kaffir lime posset. Both good palette cleansing desserts.
All in, we had an excellent dinner with attentive service. Thoroughly recommended.
City centre kult koffee venue 6/8 Kafe on Temple Row (at the back of Rackhams aka House of Fraser) have finally had the mass of scaffolding removed from its frontage.
We wouldn’t normally head to Wylde Green for dinner, it’s not known for its culinary excellence. Our friends however said we must try the 80’s dining experience that is Gavino’s Italian Restaurant, promising Cinzano and melon boats aplenty. Understand though that this wasn’t a theme night at this local eatery, but rather a restaurant so stuck in the past that “avocado” comes with the suffix “pear” and where I could probably get an Orange Juice Starter if I were so inclined.
When we arrived we were shown sternly to a meanly proportioned table and overly heavy chairs, overlooked by ancient looking dusty chianti bottles in their straw cases. On googling, I have found that these bottles are called “fiasco”, which is rather apt given how the rest of the evening proceeded.
bottle, leaving an unattractive pattern reminding me of lugworm casts on the beach. We also tried the Capesante Prosciutto e Asparagi (scallops with prosicutto and asparagus, £6.95). The scallops were so embarrassed by how overcooked they were they’d pulled a sheet of crisp prosciutto over themselves. When dropped from a height of six inches on to the plate they managed a respectable three-inch bounce. None of the other starters fared better.
demi-glace. I fear some people may have ended up with vanilla ice cream and veal sauce. I thought the price point was high given that no sides at all come with it. Just a bit of veal on a plate. We added a greasy and limp zucchini fritti.
Having been brought up a couple of miles from Lye High Street, which for thirty years now has had over a dozen Indian eateries on it’s short half mile stretch, I’ve always been used to having tasty and cheap Indian food. In fact if I had to pick a Desert Island Dish, it would probably be a balti, with a fluffy soft naan bread. Given my penchant for poppadums, I was pleased to discover new restaurant Canal Square, in the unit previously occupied by Loves Restaurant, just five minutes from Brindley Place on foot and right next to JuJu’s Cafe. So pleased in fact that we’ve been twice in two weeks.
We’ve a few fine dining Indian restaurants in Brum – Lasan and Pushkar to name two of my favourites. Canal Square brings a similar offering, but with a better view, overlooking the old canal line at Sherborne Wharf. The glass frontage, covered by the building overhang, will be perfect in the summer for sitting out with a beer or cocktail post dinner.
‘pre-starter’ you can opt for the traditional poppadum with chutney, or for a number of other more interesting offerings. I liked the gobi (cauliflower) pakora, which was delicately spiced and lightly battered, but the Golgappe (£3) were a burst of flavour I will probably repeat each time I go. Golgappe are bitesize spherical shells, with a hole in the top, stuffed with a little spiced chickpea mixture, and served with coriander and mint water and spiced tomato to pour on top of the chickpeas before crunching them in one bite. A great mix of crunchy shell, soft warm chickpeas, and cool zingy sauce.
ribbon decoration. We also tried the tandoori chicken starter which was succulent and tasty. For mains we had the butter chicken, which was mild and creamy, with light notes of ginger and garlic, the spicy kadai lamb, and karahi chicken. The flavours of the individual spices came through and the level of chilli heat was spot on. We shared naan and rice on the side. Drinks options are good and we drank Kingfisher (obviously) and a crisp bottle of Picpoul de Pinet.
OUT IN BRUM 
