We go to Opheem in between our actual wedding day and and the wedding party some eight days later, a period of time a bit like the purgatory between Christmas and New Year only with the added stress of being told that no actual cooking can occur in the kitchen of the venue, and not having enough bowls to serve the starter in. Still, it’s a treat, a time to switch off, and they treat us as such, with a lovely card signed by the entire team waiting on the table along with a stiff, and very much needed, martini. There could be no other place for us to be; this is my wife’s favourite restaurant in the world – I think mine, too – the place that she always follows up the question of “if you could only eat in one restaurant for the rest of your life, where would it be” with her own answer of here. I’ve been dozens of times now, which means Sophie isn’t far behind on numbers of visits. We both feel extremely lucky to be able to do that, and to be able to do that in Birmingham. Sometimes I feel as if Birmingham doesn’t know how lucky it is to have Opheem.
We start with a familiar, yet astonishingly brilliant set of snacks. The cucumber, apple, and chilli water, then the turnip emulsion with chilli and coriander broth, two snacks that don’t hold back on the heat. The dainty mango tuile with perky mango chutney, and the nigh-on perfect bite of apple macaron with beef tartare, whipped duck liver, and date. The crab crumpet – my wifes absolute favourite thing in the world – and the cured sea bass with mango sauce and wild rice. The latter is my least favourite of the mix, but make no question about it, this is a sequence of opening bites that you’ll struggle to better anywhere.
They’ve been working hard in the development kitchen and it shows upstairs in the way of several new courses. A tempura shisho leaf is Opheems take on a popadom and it is brilliant; dusted in spice and yet still delicate, it stands up to the spicy mint chutney, and is a fresh, light way to start the tasting menu. There is carrot, a dish that has been on and off since that first opening service, now refined and refined again into something truly beautiful. Tandoori carrots, pickled carrots, carrot sauce, and lentil pakora. It bears little semblance to the original dish, more a testament to the way that Aktar and team here analyse every element and continually tweak them. But then again, some dishes don’t need tweaking, not when it is the scallop with XO, apple, and almond korma, without question the best scallop dish I have ever eaten. By now my side of the table contains four separate glasses of wine, a neglected glass of water, and the remnants of a negroni. It’s a celebration.
We get the aloo tuk, the same aloo tuk that would be served some five days later to the 80 lucky guests at the wedding party, a study in what can be achieved using little more than spuds and spice in the right hands. A palate cleanser of mango sorbet in white chocolate is next, then monkfish with asparagus, mussel, and a Bengali curry sauce. The fish cooked expertly over charcoal so that there is no fluffiness, in harmony with a sauce that has less heat and more acidity than everything before it. A new(ish) bread course of paratha layered in a spiral like a fancy French patisserie, with lamb broth, lamb pate, and cubes of barbecued lamb breast. A real improvement on the milk loaf of old that is now seen in just about every restaurant with a star.
Quail main is atypical of the mains at Opheem. Lots of work, lots of different cuts, normally where the cheaper bits shine most. Breast with mousseline under the skin, a stuffed morel full of offal, a chapli kebab of the minced meat chock-a-block with spice and heat. Something green that looks like cabbage on the pics but by now I’m pissed, two sauces, no idea, still pissed. Blame Stefan. Blame the fact that for one night only, the wine pairing might include a few expensive extras. Blame the saké. Blame the marriage. Kind of remember the desserts, the refreshing lemon and anise dessert followed by the chocolate and mint dessert that echoes the After Eights served up with the end of the curry house meals. That was really great. Then the drinks back in the bar, the whiskies and the cocktails and the petit fours. The ten course tasting menu is now £185, the wine flight another £165 on top. It’s not cheap by local standards, but it’s a bargain compared to elsewhere. We have a two star restaurant in Birmingham. I repeat, we have a two star restaurant in Birmingham. Save up and just fucking go. Have the cheaper lunch menu if you must, but just fucking go. Celebrate that one of the finest restaurants in the country is right here. Apparently I’ll be going soon enough with Dr Will and we’ll be having a ‘proper lunch’ like he has turned into Nigel Farage overnight. It will mean that I probably won’t remember dessert again. I can hardly wait.
10/10
Sign up to the monthly newsletter here
https://blog.us14.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=08c98db0e9d6eb9e5b54695a1&id=eda85ee6f4
