Simpsons Restaurant Birmingham ~ Nov 2011

A recent trip to the dining Mecca that is Simpsons Restaurant, was a delight, and a pleasure…read on to see why.

My dining partners were Neil Davey – of www.twitter.com/DineHard who has the envious job of writing for Delicious, MSN, Square Mile, The Guardian, Yahoo, SAGA… And anybody else who’ll have him. http://thelambshankredemption.blogspot.com A keen journalist and food writer from London who wanted to experience ‘What new food the Midlands has to offer and meet some of the regions influential chefs’….and wow did we show him!

Also riding shot-gun was Adam Whittaker from Stoke-on-Trent a keen food writer of www.twitter.com/adscomms
Own profile….Food, ale and wine loving, oatcake eating, Vale fan – trying to make a living from freelance writing, Communications and Social Marketing. Check him out: http://potteriesnpans.blogspot.com/

Selected Midlands Restaurants and chefs…..

Beef Restaurant, Kenilworth for lunch www.twitter.com/beef_restaurant, plus a brief visit to see Richard Turner www.twitter.com/Turnersharborne, and a quick hello to the Midlands diners favourite chef patron Andy Waters of Edmunds Restaurant ..and last but not least, Simpsons Restaurant Birmingham. That incredible temple to food, created by Andreas Antona, and his team.  www.twitter.com/simpsons_rest

..and so to the food.

Lunch began at Beef Restaurant, Andreas creation, and recently voted as one of the UK’s top 10 restaurants for steaks in the UK, by MSN (A Mr Neil Davey) so good he had to re-visit and try the ‘works’.  A selection of Wagyu, USDA, and Scottish Highland Aberdeen, all supplied by Aubrey Allen, fine butchers of Warwickshire. Hosted by Restaurant manager Edgar, and dishes perfectly cooked by Head Chef Iain Miller – our chosen dishes were:

• To Start...Marrow Bones, Gazpacho, and Black Country Black Pudding with free-range egg salad…a light ‘blood cake N bones’ to get us started.

• ..The Main event… we decided to have, er ‘Beef’…so Chef Iain prepared a cut of each from their cold cabinet…Wagyu, USDA, and Highland

Which tasted ‘Best’…? It was concluded there was no ‘favourite’ as they were all incredible steaks, each cooked to perfection (USDA taking considerably less time to cook than the others)…but suffice to say, the results were incredible. Were we full? No…just enough space for desserts: “Bon Bons” were the order of the day, ” A spoonful of something sweet with the coffee of your choice.”  we chose Affogato Espresso, Lemon Sorbet with Limoncello (a real palate cleanser) and homemade Prune & Armagnac Ice Cream, NOT a cleanser, but a real booster! Need photos…well, you will have to pop along a see how good they are for yourself…they look almost as good was they taste! Beef Menu including their indulgent 60 Bin Wine list…ALL by the glass!

On to Birmingham….A brief visit to see Richard Turner, Michelin Chef of Turners in Harbourne, who had just taken a delivery of 20 lucky lobsters (well, if your gonna go…you might as well go to one of the finest restaurants), and what visit to Birmingham would be complete without a call to see ‘the nicest chef in town’ Andy Waters of Edmunds Restaurant.

And at last, Simpsons Restaurant – that temple for food.

7pm arrival, on a Tuesday, and already buzzing, with what was to be 70 covers…on a TUESDAY!

Service, overseen by restaurant manager on the night Tony, was, as  always impeccable in their attention to detail, and as Neil commented ‘the service is incredibly attentive, but appearing effortless, as if they are floating’…and so were we, as the food arrived. We mixed from the incredible evening fixed price menu of £37.50 (Lunch £35 WITH 1/2 bottle of their selected wines), 3 courses (see below), with Amuse, and pre-dessert, as well as the a la carte. Visit the Simpson menus page on their website. I could wax lyrical about each dish, but suffice to say, they were almost beyond description – let the pictures, and menus, speak for them selves. Tip…if you decide to go to one Michelin restaurant in your life, make it Simpsons!

A HUGE thank you to our hosts, and to Andreas for making it ‘all’ happen…not just the restaurants we visited, but the Midlands dining culture, and his influence on all the chefs mentioned, and more!

Photos by James Day of eat-the-midlands.co.uk (C) 2011/12.

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Simpsons Restaurant Food Photos