adam's restaurant

simply birmingham's best finediningrestaurant. food is recognisable, but highly creative, tasty and really well presented. marriage of flavours amazing. ingredients well sourced. no resorting to smoke and mirrors the food speaks for itself. service way beyond any where else in the west midlands with a polished team who are both friendly and professional. two specialised and skilled sommeliers on hand and a wealth of great staff who realise what they are part of. restaurant itself is lovely, suitable for both business and romantic visits. great wine list with some really great value bottles as well as all the first growths. there is a pdr as well as a kitchen table adjacent to the pass where you can see it all coming together. birmingham is maturing into a real world class destination thanks to the inner city investment and wonderful restaurants like this.
recently visited again for lunch which was fantastic and incredible value for money for this standard.

the midlands is fast becoming a hotbed of michelin star restaurants. one of the newest additions to the collection is adam’s restaurant based in the heart of birmingham – just around the corner from another starred favourite of ours, purnell’s by chef glynn purnell.we dined at adam’s for my birthday back in december and still the memories of that great meal are still very much alive. the website images show a smart, chicdiningroom with food to match the level of prestige. reservations were easy to secure online for a midweek lunch with a full choice of menu’s available. the only problem…and it is a nice problem….is that the frankfurt german christmas market is on throughout december in birmingham city centre so travelling from the bullring to adam’s on waterloo street means you have to run the gauntlet of tasty food and premium beer – it’s a tough life doing this sometimes.we managed to resist temptation long enough to get to adam’s without filling up on currywurst. straight away your coats are taken and if you wish to take a pre-meal aperitif  there’s a swish brand new bar area to relax at – the result of adam’s opening at this site in january 2016 making it one of the city’s newest restaurants.

very well appointed restaurant with excellent formal but friendly service. food is creative, beautiful with interesting combinations of flavours that deliver a taste sensation. ingredients superbly soured.  chose from the al la carte or go for the tasting menu. wine list to die for focusing on just like the food only the best. here birmingham had a truly world class finediningestablishment.

lovely classy comfortable finediningin city center. inventive flavoursome food stunning wine list. friendly and well organised service. great value compared to the best in london.

in many ways this restaurant has it all. location is central but accessible by car. interior is well furnished. food is creative very well constructed and beautiful to behold. service too is top notch . there is a superb wine list with many good value bottles as well as some exceptional wines by the glass. has to be birmingham's best finediningexperience. kitchen visit a must its fantastic. 
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tried all of the west midlands finediningrestaurants and this comes up as our favourite.its a full house. outstanding creative food, excellent service, lovely classy comfortable restaurant. eat in the maindiningarea or the pdr or at the chefs table. a-la carte or tasting menus. fine wine list with expert advice.

had a night out with my colleagues from work at adams restaurant. it was a fabulous evening with amazing food and service. i would recommend it to anyone who wants an exceptionaldiningexperience.

this is birmingham`s flagship finediningrestaurant. the comfort and the set up of thediningarea may be fab, the service is polished, friendly and welcoming but its the food that sets it apart from almost anywhere else in the uk. beautiful....yes.  accurately cooked...yes  great textures...yes but its the taste that ultimately wins and shines through. that's what keeps us coming back.

majestic cooking where breath taking compositions allow the ingredients to sing. every dish is a work of art.  superb service and a really comfortablediningarea suitable for romantic evenings,  business meetings. or out with friends and family
best restaurant  in the west mids.

what an amazing experience from start to finish my wholediningexperience was just incredible and unforgettable. every dish was immaculately presented with such detail and packed full of flavours. waiters are intentive and informative. all in all highest quality food and service we will be back.

undoubtedly the best restaurant in birmingham, if not the midlands! great new location in a decent part of birmingham. we've been for lunch and dinner and will bediningback before christmas luckily enough to grab a seat at the new chef's table - can't wait! 
if you want the ultimatediningexpericance, great service and love your finediningthen you have to pay a visit. problem is you might have to book well in advance to get a space. well worth the wait though. the snacks you receive before and in between the taking menu courses are just divine. 
keep it up adams!

wow!!! this place is absolutely amazing. we visited here for my friend's birthday party  and didn't know what to expect other than it was number 1 in brum! having eaten in ramsey's best, oliver's best, heston's best and the top restaurants in london i have to say this tops them all. the attention to detail from the moment you walk in is perfection personified. every course explained along with wines to accompany your food, nothing rushed and every single waiter/waitress is so well presented and informed. of course it isn't cheap but you should know that before you go. this is pure quality from the moment they take your jacket to the moment you leave the building. will definitely be going back as soon as we can get back in!!! thank you all for a wonderfuldiningexperience and to adam.....thank you for  birthday card signed by you and your staff that morning.

the new restaurant is wonderful. with  a lovely bar and champagne table. thediningarea is classy and very comfortable. service is seamless. friendly and most professional. food utilises the very best ingredients it is creative, beautifully presented and extremely tasty. great wine list supported by two sommeliers. west midlands  best restaurant by some distance. michelin star and the highest rating by the good food guide in the area. rated by trip advisor as uks no 1
recent visit to the chefs table was incredible.

i know that adam stokes is an excellent chef even before i step though the door of adam's, his recently opened restaurant in birmingham, because last year, several hundred miles north on the west coast of scotland,  i got to eat his food at glenapp castle where he earned his first michelin star (read the blog post here ). in this year's michelin awards, they again awarded adam a star, rightly so, but what's changed of course is that it is now his name over the door, meaning that he is free to take his own risks while having every incentive to succeed. on the basis of our meal there, and the full restaurant around him, the risks are being rewarded and birmingham is already embracing his cuisine. the restaurant is modestly sized and tastefully done. staff have strong backgrounds with previous experience at the likes of l'enclume and midsummer house while adam's wife natasha overseas foh operations as she did at glenapp. the food is focused on contemporary finediningand at lunch there i

adam’s restaurant, birmingham’s newest finediningrestaurant, is located at the bottom of bennetts hill in the city centre. adam stokes and his wife natasha have moved from scotland after receiving a michelin star and four aa rosettes at glenapp castle, to set up here in our city. adam’s is a two year ‘pop up’ restaurant which will see the team through until their new home is finished – a top secret location somewhere near to their current one.

atmosphere

on our arrival, the restaurant had a good buzz about it, with five tables of couples chatting and enjoying their experience. the interior is well decorated and certainly does not feel like a merely temporary home. we were greeted by the restaurant manager corin, who was smart, young and well-spoken.

we started our meal with some aperitifs – belvedere gin and tonic, and began the tough choice of deciding what to eat. it all sounded so good. we plumped for the five-course menu with accompanying wines, although we did exchange to a lamb dish from the nine-course menu for our meaty main on the five-course set.

to start…

our amuse bouche selection certainly set the tone for things to come. a small hendricks gin foam with cucumber and coriander was a perfect summer palate cleanser. this was followed by radishes protruding from soil – the burnt onion ash with lemon and chive provided the perfect accompaniment to the crunchy summer veg. the third and most triumphant morsel was described as a roast chicken dinner and had to be eaten in one mouthful. this small spherical lollipop burst with an intense flavour of chicken, that married perfectly with the small disk of sage stuffing that adorned it.

the main event…

now it was time for the main five courses to begin. first up was seared tuna served with black pepper, olive tapenade, shallot rings and broad bean flowers. the tuna was perfectly cooked and its wonderful flavour was heightened by its perfectly-chosen accompaniments. the fish melted in the mouth and was just the match for the gavi di gavi wine.

second up was asparagus served with a warm mayonnaise, poached quails eggs, pink grapefruit, wild garlic toast and hazelnuts. this is one of the chef’s signature dishes and it is easy to see why. the combination of flavours and textures is a triumph and perfectly showcases the spring vegetable. the grapefruit added a lift to the dish and elevated the warm mayonnaise accompaniment beautifully cutting through the richness of the sauce. i even mopped up the last morsels with the chef’s recipe sourdough that we had been served.

the lamb was beautifully cooked and blushed pink throughout. it was accompanied by purple sprouting broccoli, wild rice and gentleman’s relish – a salty anchovy butter which sat atop a small piece of slow-cooked neck of lamb. the accompanying wine was a tempranillo from new zealand which offered the perfect level of tannin and acidity to balance the dish without taking over.

i have to comment that this dish could definitely have been bigger. and although the flavours worked well together, but i could not help thinking that some form of potato would have finished the dish.

desserts

onto the sweet treats! we began with a tasting of raspberry with lemon curd and champagne jelly. the raspberry was presented three ways: fresh, freeze-dried and in a sorbet. it was the perfect foil for the sweet creaminess of the curd and the summer fizz of the champagne jelly.

next came a cylinder of glossy, brittle dark chocolate containing a soft, luxurious milk chocolate filling, served with an intense puree of caramel, a yogurt sorbet and a crisp pepper tuille. the harmony of the chocolate and caramel with the pepper and yogurt was excellent and was a befitting way to end the meal. this course was paired with that classic dessert wine, hungarian tokaji. this wasn’t for me. i preferred it with the aged port that my partner chose – the fortified wine working in perfect harmony with the rich, dark chocolate.

pricing

our meal was by no means cheap (£202 with service). but, for a special occasion, in a restaurant of this quality, it is to be expected. i am already looking forward to returning and sampling the set lunch.

adam’s offers a set lunch menu for £25 (3 courses), and two set tasting menus; one with 5 courses (£45) and the other with 9 courses (£75). wine flights to accompany these tasting menus are also available.

overall

overall the meal was excellent. but there were areas where adam’s ‘pop-up’ nature‘ showed itself. the choice of breads was very limited, and the petit fours were very basic (a small square of dark chocolate and pumpkin seed brownie) these small details did not detract from the overall experience. the service was truly excellent, well-informed and attentive without being overbearing.

special mention must go again to corin who worked the room with the expected level of professionalism and approachability that one takes for granted in a restaurant of this standard. it is great to see another restaurant of this standard in birmingham. surely it will not be long before adam, natasha and their team celebrate joining the city’s other michelin-starred eateries in that most exclusive of clubs.