There are no disappointments here; they’re proper puddings with a fancy twist and in my case—Rum Baba—lit at the table, and poured over moist baba, with lemon-honey Chantilly melting into the caramelly rum flambé sauce… READ MORE
All tagged City Centre
Orelle
My dressed crab is everything I want from a plate of food; there’s lightly sweet buttermilk with citrussy-anise attitude from a dill coulis swirl, freshness and crunch in abundance from rainbow radish and tart, green apple, but the sweet, delicate flavour of the crab still takes centre stage… READ MORE
The Oyster Club
Our only conversation is to marvel at impeccably crunchy and fluffy in the middle roast potatoes; perfectly gnarly Yorkshires, beef that’s every bit the pink, tender fillet you’d expect; subtle sweetness from the roasted roots; and gravy that’s bolder than a drunken stag party… READ MORE
Rosa's Thai Café Birmingham
Rosa’s green curry (with more dry chicken) dangling the carrot of three out of three on the chilli scale merely confirms it’s not so much a recalibration of the scoville scale in the kitchen that’s required but a reprint of the menus… READ MORE
1000 Trades
The oxtail pepper pot comes with mac and cheese. It sounds so wrong and it is actually so far wrong it emerges through the other side as something quite fabulous; melt in the mouth oxtail falling off the bone in a rich, fragrant, spicy gravy with the comfort of a creamy and perfectly sleazy mac & cheese… READ MORE
Dishoom Birmingham
The chef’s Birmingham special comes in the shape of mutton chaap korma – slow cooked, marinated chops, with a rich gravy vibrating with onion and cashews that’s perfect for the sweet, deep flavour of lean mutton that’s hanging off its bones. This comes with a khamiri roti—a pillowy soft, leavened flatbread that’s perfect for mopping up… READ MORE
Bonehead
My Friday the 13th special is a piece of art, covered in golden brown batter rippled like lava flows. Size wise it wouldn’t look out of place on the Sunday lunch table. The nose gushing and eyeball bursting 'hate crime' sauce must be completely off the Scoville Scale, but it’s a masochistic delight… READ MORE
Marmalade @ The REP
My ‘gourmet’ burger is pure canteen—leaning like the Tower of Pisa with a portobello mushroom, two beef burgers, shrivelled Parma ham, two sad pieces of little gem lettuce and a slice of gherkin in a ‘brioche’ bun. All the melted stilton spills out, soaking into the unnecessary paper serviette... READ MORE
Pulperia
There is so much joy on this plate. I’ve got both sauces adding extra layers of flavour, mixing in with lightly smoky steak juices, the sweet hits of black garlic and caramelised onion purees, and my rib eye tastes like it’s a beautifully intensified reduction of a bigger steak … READ MORE
Purecraft Bar & Kitchen
My burger looks picture perfect, but the bun is as brioche as Nigel Farage is French. There’s no soft, fluffy open texture; it’s dense and pushing heavily towards being on the stale side. It just dominates everything, suffocating any potential flavour from the bacon and cheese… READ MORE
Opus
The pan roasted quail arrives, looking like a muddy winter walk. It’s crispy skinned, but the meat is on the dry side; any intended caramelisation of the blackened sprouts has turned to bitterness and it’s all heavily salted, magnifying the intensity of its dominant Bovril-like flavour… READ MORE
Rudy's Neapolitan Pizza
I have to admit to a wave of food envy. The Calabrese with its spots of soft and spicy n’duja looks like God’s gift to hangovers, but it’s the Ancozzese (chilli flakes, smoked mozzarella, Tuscan sausage, friarielli and extra virgin olive oil) that taunts me the loudest about my poor decision-making... READ MORE
Legna
When the starters arrive, I see the others have mostly gone for antipasti and it only takes one mouthful to realise what a tragic mistake they’ve made. The ragù has cucina povera in abundance; it’s intensely meaty, beautifully flavoursome and succulent in a sauce richer than the deepest baritone… READ MORE
Opheem
The Halim Hyderabad looks and functions like a bowl of porridge and its mutton boldness runs so deep, you’d think it’d been mined; with sweetness provided by caramelised onions it’s wonderfully gentle and indulgent. Sitting on top is a meatball that provides a crack hit of shish kebab... READ MORE
Yorks Café at Ikon
My two stacked pieces of Louisana chicken are in the lightly coated, blackened spice style and just the right side of dry. Its spicy saltiness works harmoniously with the sweet and rich butter waffle, intensified by the maple syrup… READ MORE
