Lakeside Restaurant Guide

The original of what is now a duo of modern Indian venues (run by the Lasan Group) which now has a Harborne sibling – this attractive modern operation offers an affordable menu rooted in street-food dishes.

“The best Peruvian restaurant in Birmingham!” – chef Robert Ortiz produces “seriously interesting food”, according to fans of this converted bank building in Moseley, where the “delicious tasting menu is very affordable”. Formerly of the Lima group in London, he has opened an offshoot in Hackney’s Broadway Market.

This “busy” high performer on the Brummie dining scene “goes from strength to strength” under head chef Tom Wells, maintaining its rating after the departure of founder Jamie Desogus. Guests can sit at tables or at a counter overlooking the open kitchen, and the tasting menu “offers excellent cooking using seasonal, high-quality ingredients” – “a mixture of old favourite signature dishes and dishes new to repeat diners”. A ‘5 for £55’ set meal on weeknights and a ‘Chosen’ reduced tasting menu are also available.

“Birmingham‘s most long-standing fine-dining restaurant is still going strong after 31 years, under the continuing leadership of Andreas Antona & Luke Tipping” and some locals see its strong performance in recent times as something of a “comeback”. “The setting in the old Georgian house in Edgbaston is of course a pleasure to visit and the view into the small but attractive garden adds to the ambience when the light nights of summer are with us”. “Chef Luke delivers a thoughtful menu using high quality ingredients and perfectly judged cooking” and results are “stylish” and “delicious”. “Careful” service all the while leaves diners feeling “very well looked after”.

Wild food chef and hunter-gatherer Mike Robinson is behind this “regular favourite” in a Grade II-listed building dating back to 1500 (and now host to the Indigo hotel chain). Reporters “love the excellent offering of game – particularly venison” (they manage their own deer herds and have a deer larder in the Cotswolds) and “everything is delicious” (“there’s an à la carte, thank god”) and given that they’re “cooking with flame” there’s also “plenty to watch”.

“Only the view can recommend it” – is the charge rather too frequently laid against what should be the ideal pre-theatre refuelling spot for visitors to the RSC. “It has stunning views over the river and park, so what’s not to like? Almost everything in fact!” according to its detractors – “we’ve been frequent visitors over the years and every time we go we hope it has improved, but sadly it never does” – “the food is average, the staff ill-informed about the menu”. Fans are a bit more optimistic: “a lovely setting for food that’s fine, if a little unexciting”.

This 15-strong London noodle chain (now with branches in Brighton, Birmingham and Bristol) is “a good stand-by” – perhaps it’s “not as good as some of its competitors”, but it is widely seen as “good value”: in particular “the lunch-time meal deal” is a winner.

“Adam’s is probably the smartest and most formal restaurant in Birmingham”, and with the demise of Purnell’s (RIP) some would say it is “now by some way Birmingham’s number one spot”, especially if you are neither seeking a hip, multi-course experience nor non-European cuisine. Established in 2016 by Adam & Natasha Stokes, it’s a conventional space near Victoria Square – “front of house staff are smartly decked out and behave like professionals: polite and helpful with well-measured friendliness”. “Sound, thoughtful cooking is well-judged”, “prepared from high-quality ingredients” and “presented very attractively”. Most nights there is an à la carte (£89 per person) or five-course (£109 per person) option: on Saturdays it’s just the seven-course tasting menu for £137 per person. “The room is pleasant enough, though a large party can make it noisy”.

“A big central Birmingham venue full of atmosphere and always busy” – London’s all-conquering chain opened in 2022 in a large (300+ covers) site near Birmingham Town Hall, and its “inclusive and exciting approach” (modelled on the Parsi cafés of 1940s Mumbai) with “perfectly spiced” dishes (“served in stay-warm ironware that looks good”) and “engaged, friendly, well-motivated staff” make it “possibly the best option in Brum city centre if you don’t want to spend a fortune”. All this said, it occasionally disappoints, and doesn’t score quite the tearaway ratings of its London cousins.

The “junior sister to Adam’s” on Bennetts Hill “is one of the rare places in Birmingham where the diner can enjoy fine fish dishes, though some of them are rather expensive” (albeit not quite as expensive as its acclaimed sibling). “Not surprisingly, the diner may start with a choice of oysters” but there’s a wide range of other “excellent” fishy dishes too (including caviar for the plush) and, while it “couldn’t be further from the sea, it makes up for it with the quality of the food” – also now available to sample in their newly refurbished ‘Aphrodite’s Bar’.

What does it say about the culinary tastes of the British middle classes that this spin-off chain, with about 40 locations based on the original Theatreland icon, has been such a rip-roaring success? True, there’s some “great people-watching” at the “always buzzing” Chelsea Garden venue (which has one of SW3’s best gardens). And, without doubt, those branches in Kensington, Tower Bridge and Kingston also particularly stand out amongst the rest for their “super atmosphere”. In general though, the knock-off look of their locations “isn’t a patch on the original on West Street, yet pretends to be exactly the same”. And when it comes to their brasserie dishes: although its many followers tout them as “acceptable, albeit nothing special”, their rating-average identifies them as “underwhelming tick-box fare”; all offered by service that’s very “indifferent”. And yet they are “always busy”! In June 2024, it was announced that billionaire Richard Caring had successfully sold his entire Ivy restaurants stake. Now that he is laughing all the way to the bank, it will be interesting to see if ratings reverse, continue or deepen their southward trend.

“Phwoar!” – “Aktar Islam’s remarkable restaurant situated on the edge of Birmingham‘s Jewellery Quarter goes from strength to strength”: it remains Brum’s most commented-on destination in our annual diners’ poll (and, in early 2024, became Brum’s first-ever Michelin two star restaurant in the tyre men’s awards). “Aktar’s cooking has matured wonderfully” and here (and with his Aktar at Home delivery service) is succeeding in “taking Indian cuisine to a new and exalted level”. “Despite us being bored with taster menus, these are exceptional”, with “totally outstanding flavours and presentation”. There are two options (with five- and ten-course alternatives) which “provide good value and a great and memorable experience”. “After canapés in the chic lounge/bar, the main meal is served in the dining area with a view of a large open kitchen where the chefs can be seen purposefully and calmly going about their work. Service is very good and the atmosphere is relaxing”. “Quite simply the best”. Top Menu Tip – “The signature potato dish is amazing! Never had anything quite like it!”

“One of the nicest restaurants in Birmingham, without a doubt” – this small greige and wood-toned venue just off St Paul’s Square was launched by Ben Tesh and partner Lucy Hanlon in 2017. “It’s a quiet, relaxing, informal place with charming service in which to eat very fine food prepared meticulously by chef Ben, who has his very own quiet style of cooking. The menu takes the form of a tasting menu and each dish seems to complement the previous one: excellent food that’s often subtle, frequently original, occasionally challenging, but quite special when set against the background of the Birmingham dining out scene”.