Autumn is here and with it sweeps in the annual flurry of new restaurants. As reliable as falling leaves (and almost as numerous), the influx brings in savvy venues setting themselves up for the busy months ahead.
Here’s our monthly round-up of places that have just arrived on the scene, places who have tarted themselves up, and places preparing to strut their stuff for the first time.
Recently opened...
Vivaanta - Holliday Wharf, 17 Waterfront Walk, B1 1SR
Birmingham’s modest seafood selection has been given a boost by Vivaanta, a new canalside restaurant serving up marine cuisine near the Mailbox. The theme is ‘seafood and spice’, with monkfish, sea bass, salmon, and lobster all given the South Asian treatment.
Meating - 1st floor, The Arcadian, Hurst Street, B5 4TD
This new restaurant in The Arcadian will excite carnivores no end. The British barbecue joint is out to serve up steaks, burgers, ribs and other delights taken from heritage and rare-breed cattle. Head to The Arcadian in Southside to sink your teeth into all that.
Ganesha - 52 Thornhill Road, B74 3EH
And, as if we needed another Indian restaurant, Ganesha has arrived in Sutton Coldfield. But this stylish new eatery stands out from the run-of-the-mill curry houses, from its fancy conical poppadums to the brilliant lamb and chicken kebabs in the Ganesha mix.
Relaunched...
Simpsons - 20 Highfield Road, Edgbaston, B15 3DU
Edgbaston’s Michelin-starred dining establishment, has always been a stickler for tradition. But the winds of change blew strongly at Simpsons last month, with a new head chef, revamped interior and updated presentation style. All designed to be ‘modern, crisper and more contemporary’, according to chef patron Andreas Antona.
Ming Moon - 16 Hurst Street, B5 4BN
By contrast, Ming Moon has always been a casual Chinese eatery but has upped its stakes with a fancy new refit. It’s now calling itself a fine dining buffet and has also added 11 themed karaoke rooms.
Coming soon...
The Plough (revamped) - 21 High Street, Harborne, B17 9NT
Is this the city’s favourite pub? Quite possibly. Anyone who’s struggled to get a table will be pleased to hear they’re adding 40 covers as part of the £750,000 refurb. The menu of whiskies and craft ales menu is also set to be expanded.
Tilt - City Arcade, Corporation Street, B2 4TX
Craft beer and artisan coffee. It was only a matter of time before someone put the two together, right? Throw in a pinball lounge and you have a new refuge for the increasingly endangered ‘hipster’ species, opening at City Arcade.
Check out more of Birmingham's best restaurants.