It’s official: Grace & Savour in Solihull is a Michelin-star restaurant. We can’t say it comes much of a surprise. Only in January did SqaureMeal name head chef David Taylor’s restaurant the best in the UK. It has now received a Michelin star, placing it among the Birmingham area’s elite restaurants.
Based in Hampton Manor, the idyllic countryside retreat Grace & Savour offers a fifteen-course tasting menu ─ all served from an open kitchen, with a commitment to locally-grown, ethical and bio-diverse ingredients. What sets it apart from other restaurants, however, is that before you’ve even begun to try its tasting menu, you’ll be free to tour the garden where everything is grown for this immersive dining experience. Plus, you can also experience the restaurant’s cookery school while you’re there.
The Michelin Guide describes Grace & Savour: “The restaurant and gardens of Hampton Manor were brought together by this new building overlooking their restored Victorian kitchen garden. A multi-course menu begins with some fine snacks before leading on to seasonal dishes that use top quality ingredients sourced from across the UK, and are accompanied by low-intervention wines. The kitchen blends classical and modern Nordic cooking techniques, so some of the dishes are eye-catching and elaborate in their make-up, while others more defined by their simplicity. Make it an occasion by booking a bedroom.”
Who are Birmingham’s Michelin-star restaurants?
This year all five of Birmingham’s Michelin Star restaurants have managed to hold on to their stars, with each restaurant holding one star.
1. Carters of Moseley
At Carters of Moseley, each dish is comprised of a handful of key elements. This allows for the flavour of each ingredient to speak for itself and enhance the flavour of the other ingredients, without one overwhelming the other. Chef and proprietor Brad Carter is a self-taught, Birmingham native and his aim is to take the customer on a ‘culinary adventure’, having eaten something that they couldn’t have made at home. Brad also launched his posh doner kebab restaurant (which shockingly didn’t get the nod).
2C Wake Green Road, Moseley, B13 9EZ
2. Simpsons
In the leafy suburbs of Edgbaston sits a Georgian mansion that houses Simpson’s restaurant. We’ve all seen plenty of exposed brick walls in restaurants this past decade, but this exposed brick wall is made from stones that are synonymous with the countryside. Huge glass windows line the walls so that you can enjoy your meal looking out onto the beautiful garden. There are a grand total of six menus available at Simpson’s, one of which is a children’s menu, so plenty to choose from, and this year they’ve retained their Michelin star.
Simpsons, 20 Highfield Road, Edgbaston, B15 3DU
3. Adam’s
The restaurant is sleek, sophisticated and comfortable and has this year retained its Michelin star. It’s named after the chef, Adam Stokes, who runs the restaurant with his wife, Natasha. They clearly have some skill with seafood as The Oyster Club in Birmingham is another of their endeavours. The Oyster Club, although so far lacking a Michelin star, is another amazing restaurant worth trying — it has already won itself a spot on the Michelin restaurant guide.
4. Opheem
Opheem is the only Indian restaurant in Birmingham with a Michelin star, which it retained this year, and it’s well deserved. It is owned by chef Aktar Islam who is an Aston native. The restaurant uses exciting methods to create its dishes, grinding down fresh spices and some of the recipes are modelled on the chef’s mother’s recipes. If you’re a Great British Menu fan, you may recognise the ‘Kekda Kerala’ dish as the 2011 (series six) fish course winner — and if you’ve ever eaten at Pulperia in Birmingham, you may even be familiar with Aktar Islam’s cooking.
Opheem, 48-65 Summer Row, B3 1JJ
5. Purnell’s
Chef Glynn Purnell is famous amongst foodies as having won Great British Menu twice and also for having mentored in the show. Anybody who watches Saturday Kitchen will recognise him instantly as the Brummie with the beard who cooks some delicious-looking food. Although there are other influences on his cooking, the restaurant focuses mostly on British fare.
55 Cornwall Street, Birmingham, B3 2DH