Beyond the balti: cutting-edge fine dining in Birmingham

Birthplace of heavy metal. Home of Cadbury’s chocolate, Tommy Shelby and more canals than… we’ll leave it there. A former industrial powerhouse, Birmingham is proud of its past, but its creative sectors haven’t always been central to the city’s vision for its future.

However, its independent food scene is forging ahead: thanks to the city’s astonishing diversity, there’s always been a vast array of fantastic dining experiences on offer here, but in the past decade, eating in “Brum” has become a bold, cutting-edge, richly textured experience. 

You can eat extremely well here without the pretentiousness and prices of the capital, with food and settings that reflect the identities and idiosyncrasies of their chef-owners and the multiculturalism of their home. It’s also the British city with the most Michelin stars outside London, adding its first two-starred establishment this year. Let’s take a gander.

Opheem

It’s fitting that the first two-Michelin-starred restaurant in Birmingham wears its South Asian heritage so proudly on its sleeve. In a city famed for its curry houses and where the balti style of curry is said to have been invented, chef Aktar Islam stands on the shoulders of giants, drawing from his own second-generation Bangladeshi identity, travels in Asia and attentiveness towards British produce. “It’s lovely to have made history,” Islam says. “Ten years ago, no one would have expected the first two-starred restaurant to be an Indian restaurant. But as a city, we’ve always loved Indian cuisine.”  

Opheem in Birmingham offers a contrasting tasting menu experience that’s refined yet authentic. Islam delves deep into the subcontinent: every process and flavour can trace its lineage to traditional techniques – from dehydration to fermentation. There are achaari pink fir potatoes with mango and tamarind from Delhi and tandoori BBQ mutton rib from Kashmir. “These things come from travelling, from understanding culture and really investing the time to understand the traditions of those people through their foods,” the chef says.

A born and bred Brummie, Islam is using his star power to champion Birmingham throughout the world. “We welcome a lot of international guests here. And they’re in Birmingham because they want to eat. It’s food that’s bringing them here.” 

The Wilderness

A meal at The Wilderness is an intoxicating experience. Sardonic yet hyper-focused, its chef, Alex Claridge, is a punk perfectionist; a shape-shifter who doesn’t like to be defined by one style or dish. An all-black dining room leans into his love for dark stylings and alternative music, with skulls, snakes and scrawlings. Dishes play with texture and deliver unusual flavours, with big hits of umami a running thread – from charred leek wrapped in nori and eel soup to a strawberry, galangal and rice pudding dessert. “Its foundation is an element of nostalgia, and very much of what we like to eat,” he says. 

Nearby, his newly opened seafood-focused restaurant Albatross Death Cult is a little lighter on the decor but no less serious in its creations. The only difference here is that all guests are served at the same time along a bar. Both establishments are housed in former manufacturing facilities in the Jewellery Quarter, historically a seat of technological advancement. That industrial line feeds into the design and presentation, which is backed by cutting-edge cooking that has conjured controversy and a cult following alike. “People love it. People hate it,” says Claridge. “And that’s how we like it. My goal is for people to feel something. I either want five-star or one-star reviews. I don’t want to be told it’s OK.”

670 Grams

Kray Treadwell’s 670 Grams in Birmingham comes with a side of characteristically Brummie sense of humour and pays tribute to the city’s culinary DNA in a distinctive, tattoo art-inspired space. “I wanted to make a place where everyone is comfortable, but also affordable enough that a younger generation can try fine dining in Birmingham and see whether they like it,” says Treadwell, the award-winning Michelin’s 2021 Young Chef of the Year. 

His dishes are shot through with playfulness: a balti pie, served halfway through the course tasting menu, as it would be at half time at Birmingham City F.C’s nearby ground, is boosted by curried onions and dried ceps. Then there’s the Kray FC fried chicken; a sprinkle-topped custard tart, referencing the restaurant’s location in the former Bird’s custard factory; and dishes that pay tribute to the city’s considerable Jamaican population – lamb neck with jerk sauce and cured cod with ackee sauce.

“It’s about understanding the cultures that are in Birmingham by taking you on a journey and bringing those flavours into a fine dining format with the best ingredients we can find,” Treadwell says. “What’s cool about Birmingham is that you don’t have to be well-travelled, because it’s all here.”  

Rabbit

A cup of rooibos tea welcomes you into Rabbit ’s diminutive premises, where 12 diners watch food being prepared in front of them by a single chef, Ash Valenzuela-Heeger from South Africa. Tastes of home are on display, like peri peri prawn and biltong, but the menu also features Korean and Japanese flavour profiles, and it’s all made with sustainably sourced local produce. Ash, along with her British wife Erin, have created something unique on the emerging Stirchley high street.

“Ash describes everything as she pops it down, so you get an idea of the relationship with the farmers, where the ideas for the dish came from. It’s an intimate experience,” says Erin.

The format is à la carte small plates, spanning steamed meretrix clams with panang curry cream to Hobnob biscuits with Cashel Blue cheese and local honeycomb for dessert – with a tea or South African wine pairing. 

The concept grew out of pop-ups, and despite their recent addition to the Michelin guide, the pair want to keep the operation small to preserve the extraordinary atmosphere diners enjoy. Ash says, “It’s very different to anything else in the city. I love having the accountability of cooking right in front of you. When guests leave, they’re on first-name terms with us.” 

The Stirchley set: impeccable eats in an unexpected locale

“Unassuming” is probably the most diplomatic description of Stirchley, the Birmingham suburb whose rise over the last decade to become one of the UK’s fastest-growing dining hubs has been nothing short of amazing. The sleek Rabbit may lead the pack but here are three more incredible places to eat on this foodie favourite high street.

1. Eat Vietnam

Launderette signage conceals fiery, flavour-packed Vietnamese fare , with a serious wine list. Order rice or noodles, then smash the specials board.

2. Yikouchi

A cult eatery among those in the know, Chancer’s Café conceals a temple of authentic Chinese cookery famed for its smacked cucumbers. Just check they’re open beforehand.

3. Soi 1268 by Buddha Belly

Name-checked as a favourite by everyone from Kray Treadwell to Aktar Islam, Buddha Belly takes the UK’s Thai food scene to the next level with a street food spin honed at pop-ups.