Smethwick, Chinese Restaurant Guide

2021 Review: “Arresting” design is a big feature of Adam and Drew Jones’s stunning-looking Chinese-themed yearling: the city’s biggest basement bar and restaurant situated in the recently reopened Grand hotel (built in 1879, and refurbished after over a decade’s closure). Too few reports for a rating as yet: its menu contains a “theatrically presented combination of small bites and larger dishes”. The next stop after this is Edinburgh, opening late 2019.

“This is a real oddity” – “a micro-restaurant in trendy hipster Stirchley run by a charming couple” in a “tiny cafe converted into a Chinese part of the time” (Thursday & Friday) by chef James Kirk-Gould and his partner Cassie, inspired by their time in Beijing. There’s a “lovely squashy buzz” and some “delicious, excellent food with fresh ingredients and good spicing” (if from a menu that “offers very little choice”). Top Menu Tip – “the crispy fried chilli chicken is a treat”.