670 GRAMS
ICH BIN EIN BIRMINGHAMMER
A MORE RECENT REVIEW OF 670 GRAMS (MARCH 2022) IS AVAILABLE CLICK HERE
Birmingham is well blessed for fine dining with its five Michelin-starred restaurants. Throw in Harborne Kitchen, 8, Folium and The Wilderness too and the city is awash with options for well-heeled gourmands, well versed in the usual formalities of fine dining.
670 Grams in Digbeth is another one to add to the list, although chef-owner Kray Treadwell is planning to shake things up. Purnell’s trained, he’s also been head chef for two years at Michelin-starred Man Behind the Curtain in Leeds. Now back in his home city, he’s on a mission to attract a younger crowd to fine dining, aiming to make it not only a more informal experience, but more affordable too, with his evening 10 course tasting menu set at £60.
10 course dinner menu
Walking in, I momentarily wonder if we’ve come through the wrong door with its walls adorned with graffiti and murals. Any sense of the usual fine dining setting is instantly obliterated. It’s very Berlin.
670 Grams - downstairs
A T-shirted waitress immediately greets us and takes us straight to our table, one of three downstairs. Upstairs there’s further seating and an open kitchen with chef’s table, taking the covers up to 16—although that’s currently reduced for social distancing.
We settle in with cocktails; the Elder Power for Katrina—elderflower, cucumber, gin—and the Rum Ting for me—caramelised pineapple, rum, raisin. I make a mental note if served warm it would probably make an excellent Caribbean Hot Toddy.
The wine list features just eight options—eliminating any need for a sommelier—all at £10 per glass / £42 a bottle. At that price our old vine Grenache Rioja feels like a steal with dark red cherries and blackcurrant in abundance but also a long spicy finish too.
Alma de Forcada old vine Grenache Rioja
First up is Kray F.C. (KFC… geddit?) four nuggets of crispy fried buttermilk chicken in a vibrant, almost fluorescent orangey-red hot sauce. It’s more crowd pleaser than amuse bouche and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Kray F. C.
More vibrant red lands on the table. It could easily be a piece of art but turns out to be char siu pork belly with sticky rice; four mouthfuls of lightly spiced, belly pork perfection, but even that gets outshone by the sweet-umami miso caramel fermented gem lettuce, charred off the barbecue.
Char siu pork belly
Next is homemade onion bread—sweet and savoury in equal measure—with potato and cheese spread, like an intense hit of vintage Dairylea and an emerald oil that’s pure distilled spring onion.
Cheese savoury
Then a trip to the toilet cements that ‘feels like being in Berlin’ thought. I do love a toilet that’s a talking point. This one has me taking photos to send to our daughter, who has just texted to ask how the food is.
Toilet
A potential winner for the ‘best dish of the year’ crown is next. Barbecued octopus, crisp and caramelised on the outside and wonderfully tender on the bite, a stunning langoustine tartare with a hint of Thai spices, Exmoor caviar and an aloe vera emulsion. I’d happily eat this on a loop for eternity.
Langoustine, Octopus, Aloe Vera, Thai spice
Having looked through the list of courses the one I was least looking forward to is next. I’m just not a fan of salmon, but this is a game changer. The curry-cured salmon is perfect with sweetness from mango and coriander jelly, sitting in a tomato consommé with the scent of cardamom and crunch and spice from rice bhajis.
Curried salmon, rice bhaji
Next up, under a cep broth there’s melt in your mouth ox cheek marinated in cherryade, with dried ceps and puffed rice, coated in beetroot dust. It’s nothing short of a thrilling ride for the taste buds.
Ox cheek, cherry, beetroot
Then the ‘Lamb Dressed As Mutton’ is the latest contender for the ‘so far favourite dish’ crown; the crisp and succulent lamb braised in curry, so subtle it serves only to amplify and intensify the meat flavour, and squid ink dumplings raise the bar on all dumplings anywhere, ever.
Lamb Dressed As Mutton
Probably for the first time ever, we’ve timed the wine perfectly which may have something to do with pouring it ourselves. We finish off with a dessert wine—a plum sake that’s almost Capol on the nose but all sweet prune and just a hint of Amaretto on the palate.
The first dessert, chocolate, lemon & pork —a last minute change on the menu—sounds so wrong I have to ask three times to make sure I’ve heard it right. It turns out to be a light chocolate mousse, topped with an intense, velvety lemon curd and sprinkled with pork scratchings; the crunchy scrags that you get in the bottom of the packet. It’s a sublime transition of textures and taste sensations from creamy sweet through tart to salty crunch.
Chocolate, Lemon, Pork
The ninth dish is ‘Pick and Mix’: Under a thin sheet of white chocolate sit cubes of frozen watermelon with at the very least some liquorice in the mix too. Not for the first time tonight there’s some otherworldly magic happening, conjuring up memories of childhood with a mouth full of ‘penny sweet’ flavours… Black Jacks, Fruit Salad, white chocolate mice and jelly beans.
The final dish is ‘Tea and toast’ and we’re advised to get a bit of everything on the spoon—a mystery crumb at the bottom, ice cream that’s nothing short of a mug of milky builder’s tea and crispy black shards that evoke buttery, slightly burned toast, delivering a final piece of magic.
Tea and toast
The service is exemplary throughout with all the staff—not just efficient and friendly—but clearly invested in and knowledgeable about the food; it’s not just something learned off pat. We’ve also had three plates brought by the main man himself—oozing charm and genuinely interested to hear how we’re getting on with everything. It’s a great touch and at the very least demonstrates it’s a relaxed kitchen.
Our bill with service charge and tip comes to £231.50 and over all ten courses the food has been faultless; there’s invention, cleverness, sorcery, playfulness, artistry and deliciousness in abundance.
The décor might not be to everyone’s taste, although I’d bet Kray’s not at all bothered about that. This is a bold new venture replacing formality with personality but with absolutely nothing taken away from the quality of the food or service. I’m sure it’ll attract a new type of customer to the fine dining experience, as well as plenty of well-heeled gourmands.
You won’t find better food or service anywhere in Birmingham.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
4 Gibb Street, The Custard Factory, Digbeth, Birmingham, B9 4AU
