Branded Bull Review, Birmingham

Branded Bull Birmingham interior

Located at the top of Birmingham’s busy Broad Street this is an interesting choice of location for a new restaurant, but with a cinema, casino, and a plethora of clubs and bars on its doorstep Branded Bull just may be onto a winner.
It’s certainly somewhere worth checking out if you’ve worked up an appetite for a big steak!

On arrival it’s reminiscent of a Disney-style themed restaurant, almost to the point where you’re looking over your shoulder for the entertainment.
Unfortunately my first choice of starter, the grilled sardine served on brochette with tomato and caper salsa dressing, was unavailable so I decided on Holata which sounded equally delicious; smoked salmon, crab meat, prawns and dill in cocktail sauce but sadly this was also unavailable. With the absence of two of the eight starters on offer it was a disappointing opening to the meal. However every cloud has a silver lining and I plumped for the 1/2 rack of ribs in BBQ sauce (£5.95) which admittedly was really good, three large ribs with a tasty sauce and plenty of succulent meat on every bone.
My companion chose the stuffed mushrooms, with parmesan, garlic and breadcumbs served with salad and garlic mayo (£3.75) were also quite delicious; two large field mushrooms, freshly made and well cooked with a good measure of rosemary. Presentation is impressive if a touch over the top for a steak house with tiny salsa-topped tarts, salad and sauce patterns on every plate!
All the steak is all 28 days matured and supplied by award-winning Warwickshire butcher Aubrey Allen and doesn’t disappoint. The 8oz Branded Bull rump cap special cut steak (£17.95), is a little  expensive for rump, but was indeed a great piece of beef; a little tough perhaps but to be expected with rump. I ordered rare and it arrived perfectly pink inside and was full of flavour. The 6oz fillet steak medallions (£18.95) were superb; chargrilled, tasty and melted in the mouth.
We chose a fresh green salad (£2.50), corn on the cob – which was mouth-watering (£2.50) and seasoned fries (£2.50) to accompany the meal but really didn’t need so much as the portions are very generous. I was looking forward to trying the Cassava, a starchy root vegetable, but again this was unavailable.  A side order of Diane sauce (£1.95) went largely untouched thanks to the outstanding flavour of the meat.
The dessert menu afforded nothing out of the ordinary with the usual cheesecake, apple dessert and warm chocolate soufflé offerings. Once again my preferred option was unavailable so I decided to sample the chocolate soufflé. And, once again, I was not disappointed, warm and satisfyingly chocolaty a few mouthfuls would be enough to please any chocolate addict.
My overall impression is that Branded Bull is still finding its feet in the city and needs to really concentrate on what it does well. The consistently excellent quality of the meat and good service make this place worth a visit if you’re in central Birmingham and in need of a chunk of good cow.
Branded Bull, 175 Broad Street, Birmingham B15 1DT Tel 0121 643 5968

Reviewed by Kate Eccles for ETM (c) Janaury 2011