Solihull, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

Stop Press – in February 2023, ex-Simpson’s head chef Matt Cheal closed down his popular Henley-in-Arden venture, which was too small for his planned expansion, and upped sticks eight miles down the road to Knowle High Street, where he now co-runs things with the manager of the Jacques fine dining restaurant which previously stood in the new location. According to early reports, “the exceptional quality of Cheal’s food, not up till now as appreciated as it ought to be, has not deteriorated in its relocation”, while the new space – a former bank with a posh cocktail bar – is “comfortable” (if “a little too glitzy” for some tastes).

In July 2023, after our annual diners’ poll had concluded, Brad Carter and his team upped sticks from the rather moody premises they previously inhabited in Birmingham’s Moseley to move to one of the glasshouses of Westlands UK, providers of the produce that they used daily in the city, in a pop-up supported by boutique English winery, Gusbourne, to showcase Westlands’ produce. Originally due to run till September 2023, its future is unknown as we go to press so this is something of a holding entry. All feedback, though, acknowledges Brad’s cuisine as “often exceptional with many excellent, often original dishes” and his team “really know how to run a restaurant” with service that’s “friendly but respectful, usually knowledgeable and always helpful”. (Westlands UK, Station Road, Offenham, Worcestershire, WR11 8LW – booking is online.)

2022 Review: “A real gem in our local area” – this branch in the stylish, seven-strong Warwickshire-based 'Lovely Pubs' group has a lot to recommend it: “service is on the right side of friendly and very attentive”, they serve “great pub food, but restaurant quality” (including “fantastic seafood platters”), and if you stick to the main bar downstairs, there's plenty of atmosphere too.

With the “lovely decor” replicated from the Theatreland icon for which they are branded, Richard Caring’s “always buzzy” spin-offs have found a gigantic audience nationally. But “these places live off the name for sure” and “it’s the ambience that keeps them going” – while fans say the food is “reliable”, more sceptical types dismiss it as “conveyor-belt cooking”; and say service is merely so-so. Some branches are better than others: best in London is ‘Chelsea Garden’, which has the same “distinctly average” standards as the others, but reliably offers an “uplifting” atmosphere and “great people watching” (and “on a sunny afternoon there is literally NO WHERE ELSE TO BE but its large garden. HEAVEN!!”). Also worth mentioning is the outlet by The Thames in SE1: “excellent views of Tower Bridge”, “even better if outside in summer and convenient for The Bridge Theatre”.

“Smart, chic, highly professional” – Adam & Natasha Stokes’s “commendably consistent” operation is “outstanding in every respect” and “one of the leading lights in Brum’s high-quality restaurant scene”: in fact the No. 1 in the city in our annual diners’ poll this year where European cuisine is concerned. “Not cheap but worth every penny”, its central location and “unfailingly impressive combination of brilliant cooking and presentation with excellent service” makes it “just the setting for a business meal” (the top option is to be “royally looked after at the chef’s table”). Top Tip – “the set menu at lunch is brilliant value”.

An “enjoyable if slightly flash” Birmingham “icon” that “continues to deliver fine cuisine with wit” – TV chef (and ‘Yummy Brummie’) Glynn Purnell’s “guvnor of West Midlands cuisine” continues to win high praise with “on-the-ball service” and “clever” cuisine that’s “thoughtful, robust, balanced… everything you’d hope for”. One or two diners this year noted that “there can be a tendency to place too many old favourites on the menu, albeit often with a new twist”, but even they feel that quality is “still consistent”. Top Tip – “an extremely fine long lunch” wins tips for this it as “the best place to do business in Birmingham”.

“Just wow!” – Aktar Islam’s city-centre HQ reliably “lives up to expectations… and more!”; and remains Brum’s most commented on and highest-rated destination in our annual diners’ poll. “His unique twist on his family’s ancestral dishes with superb matching wine flight provided by sommelier Stefan” (Liperowski) “magnificently takes Indian food to the highest possible level” – “flavours are off the scale” – and “the range and variety of each distinctly different meal is glorious”.

Some would say “the doyen of Birmingham fine-dining restaurants” – fans feel that “owner Andreas Antona and chef Luke Tipping still deliver the best fine-dining experience in Birmingham, even after so many years” at this gracious-looking Edwardian villa “in leafy Edgbaston”. And even those who feel it’s “not the market leader it once was” say it’s “very good all-round”: “service is very good and delivers the high-quality dishes the Birmingham diner expects in a setting that’s excellent and very relaxing”.

Noma alumnus Ben Tesh and partner Lucy Hanlon run this “lovely smallish restaurant” in the Jewellery Quarter, whose “fantastic tasting menus” (comprising “classic dishes with a twist”) come in ‘short’ or ‘long’ versions – the latter going 14 rounds. The “brilliant” venture, which was launched in 2017, elicited real raves again this year: for one fan, this is “perhaps the finest, truest expression of modern British cuisine in the West Midlands”.

“Unmissable!”. “Chef-patron Alex Claridge with head chef Marius Gedminas are at the cutting edge of modern British cuisine” at this Jewellery Quarter venue, which is “very much of 2023” with its moodily decorated black-painted brick walls, dark wood, dark leather and open kitchen. “It produces superbly original, highly inventive, exciting and ultimately delicious tasting menus with a passion which one could only wish that all British chefs brought with them, with some exceptional items that could only be described as works of art”.

2021 Review: Yummy brunches, fine coffee and stone-baked pizza are the top attractions at this funkily decorated pub, on the high street (which has a good garden for the summer months).

This “absolute jewel of a place” in Harborne, two miles from Birmingham city centre, is hailed by fans for its “outstanding food and divine tasting menus”, while “the unusual wine pairings work really well” – “how it doesn’t have a Michelin star is beyond us all!”. Midlands-born chef-patron Jamie Desogus (formerly of Gordon Ramsay’s Pétrus) opened the venue in 2016, and has not faltered since. Top Tip – the reduced five-course weeknight menu offers “exceptionally good value”.

“In the Premier League of food pubs”, this “beautiful old building with a pleasant garden and an intimate atmosphere” offers highly ambitious “fine dining” food that’s both “delicious and prettily presented” from Adam Bennett, formerly head chef at the grand Simpson’s in Birmingham (a sister venue also owned by Andreas Antona). The cooking is “very well executed, while service combines the professional with the friendly”. “Prices are inevitably rising, but it’s always good value” and “still the local top restaurant” – “there’s nowhere else we prefer to go… after 125 visits and counting!!”.

Only recently opened, in early 2023, ‘Yummy Brummie’ Glynn Purnell (operating in partnership with Historic Coventry Trust), launched this cafe and pizzeria in the cloisters of a Grade I-listed 14th Century former Carthusian monastery. “It’s similar to Purnell’s Plates in Birmingham serving delicious and very good-value small dishes, tapas style” and “the setting is beautiful – a spacious, modern and comfortable conservatory in this historic building in a lovely park on the outskirts of Coventry”.

2022 Review: This former fishmonger, butcher, casino, tailor etc. is acclaimed by locals for its “perfect fine dining in an intimate setting”. After pandemic lockdowns, it’s “back with a subtle but impactful makeover and a great new tasting menu” – now the only option, and ringing in at £65 for six courses.

2022 Review: It’s “nice to eat outside by the canal on a sunny day” at this well-run casual spot, with a useful menu of grills and sarnies.

2021 Review: “Pleasant and friendly” venue off the main drag: modern British dishes are “clearly made with both love and knowledge” in the semi-open kitchen, and “it’s good to interact with the chefs as they serve a course”; reasonable prices too.

2022 Review: The oak-panelled dining room at this Lutyens-style Relais & Château spa hotel makes a suitable setting for chef Paul Evans to showcase fresh produce from the hotel’s long-established kitchen garden. Long-serving chef-director Simon Haigh oversees the Eden hotel collection’s culinary offering from this flagship restaurant.