Pasture
PASTURES NEW
I’m struggling to recall when the opening of a large-scale city centre restaurant registered as much interest from me. It was probably when Bank opened in BrindleyPlace, well over twenty years ago, dragging Birmingham’s restaurant scene out the dark ages in the process.
The oggle station
Their website promises ‘a celebration of fire-based cooking centred around provenance’ with on-site dry aged beef from pasture-fed cattle. They’ve also built a voluminous reputation off the back of their Cardiff and Bristol restaurants and so it is, that I’m fully expectant on this—their first—Saturday night.
Pasture Birmingham Dining Room
It’s not much large scale as cavernous, but immediately feels smart and elegant as we’re led through to the furthest away corner. The walk alone is a people-watchers dream.
Pineapple & Stone
We’re immediately in the mood for cocktails and it’s an intriguing list. I eventually decide on the Pineapple & Stone—plantation pineapple rum, umeshu, pineapple, lemon, egg white, MSG—whilst there are two takers for the Chimichurri Margarita—chimichurri infused cascabel blanco, lime, agave.
Porterhouse, Châteaubriand & Tomahawk
Once settled we’re presented with a board and explanation of the holy trinity of beef; porterhouse, châteaubriand and tomahawk to whet the appetites. It’s quite possibly the easiest upsell ever and prompts us getting in a red wine order with expectations now cranked to full volume and our appetites primed for the starters.
Char siu pork belly
The char siu pork belly, topped with puffed crackling offers a perfect sweet and savoury crust trapping the succulence of fat-hugged meat, although the accompanying competition BBQ sauce is largely unnecessary.
Crispy squid
Meanwhile the crispy ink-battered squid with roasted garlic aioli is as good a version as this too often-abused dish gets. It’s visually striking too, like volcanic rock and has real crunch around the easy on the bite squid, with the ink carrying a note of salinity too.
Crab toast
Crab toast is two generous scoops of yuzu lime-dressed white crab meat on a spongey slab of toasted brioche, in a tom yum bisque, that would definitely benefit being a few notches higher on the hot and sour dial, but I’m more thrown that it’s a fully cold dish… it is meant to be, right?
Diego Morra Langhe Nebbiolo
We’ve already motored through a Langhe Nebbiolo, with perfectly pitched tannins to give a light sandpaper drag over red fruit and spice. There’s enough time to order a second red, with us choosing to shake the dice and try something different… this time a Cahors Malbec; it’s satisfactory but lives in the shadow of the memory of the Nebbiolo.
Grand Coutale, Cahors Malbec
As for the mains, across the table is a côte de boeuf—a single rib of beef on the bone—whilst I’m sharing the dinosaur version of the same, AKA a tomahawk, with the added bonus that it comes with two sauces—for us chimichurri and peppercorn—and two sides.
Côte de boeuf
We’re advised steaks are cooked ‘French’, so ordering it medium means it sits perfectly between medium and medium rare ensuring enough of the fat marbling has released its succulence into the aged-tenderised meat, under the caramelisation of its fired crust. It’s pure carnivore heaven.
Tomahawk
Beef fat chips deserve all the praise its name suggests but the star of the sides is ‘cabbage in the coals’—basically roasted in its own skin—under a crust of bacon butter… BOOM!
‘Cabbage in the coals’
We’ve also got smoked maple roast carrots on a chickpea dukkah with salsa verde and crunch from cashews, that’s doing enough to be well worthy of a starter role.
Fire roast carrots
Two large sparkling waters, an extra margarita and glass of wine push the bill up to £366.58 (£172.40 Food / £160.85 Drinks / £33.33 Service Charge). Whilst the three-way split is a tad over £120 each, two people could easily dine here for that with a three-course meal and a decent bottle of wine.
It’s pretty much pitch perfect; despite its size, it still manages to feel intimate, yet generates the kind of energy you want from a Saturday night in town… or any night for that matter. It’s also notable that whilst not even a week old, service has been efficient and charming from staff that seem like they’ve been here for a very long time. It’s a very well-oiled machine.
It’s been one of those landmark Birmingham restaurant experiences, much like when Bank landed back in the day. And whilst the city’s dining scene is now rich and varied, Pasture is a very welcome new addition to the fold.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 9/10
15 Colmore Row, Birmingham, B3 2BH
