West Midlands, Indian Restaurant Guide

2024 Review: This “glitzy post-modern Indian” in the Jewellery Quarter serves “solid accomplished food” in a “stunning dining room”. Now 21 years old, it was an early pioneer of ambitious modern British-Indian cuisine but these days faces “lots of competition” in this field – not least from founding chef Aktar Islam, who left to open Opheem (see also).

This “favourite old-style Indian restaurant in the city centre” has picked up a slew of awards over the years, and has “décor which takes you back to the style of upmarket Indian restaurants” of yore: its 18th-century artefacts, carved stone elephants and 300-year-old doors all part of an impressively plush £2million interior. “There are various menus, including thalis” (or rather ‘bottomless Thali dining’, if you don’t mind a late lunch or very early supper) “and generally there are dishes to suit all tastes” – the latter focussing on northern India with nods to Kenya and Mumbai.

“I hate Birmingham… This is worth going to Birmingham for!!!” – “Aktar’s cooking sets the bar for modern British Indian cuisine” nowadays (especially since Michelin gave it a second star in 2024) and – as one of our Top-10 most commented-on restaurants outside London in our annual diners’ poll – all reports on his “smart, chic and spectacularly lit” Jewellery Quarter HQ acclaim it as “an amazing experience from entering the restaurant to the final delicious mouthful”. His food “is a clever take on Indian food as we have come to know it in the UK”, “redefining our expectations” and “taking it to an entirely new level”; and is “enhanced by the distinct style of the matching wine flights of head sommelier Stefan”. “You feel in good hands with the staff” (“such kindness permeates through all that they do”) and “the meal is unrushed” with “small, exquisite dishes served over the course of the evening”. You are advised to choose the five-course menu or ten-course one based on how long you want your meal to last: the former is £140 per person and the latter £185 per person. Top Menu Tip – “The apple macaron with chutney and liver parfait snack is the most amazing thing”.

Nonagenarian singer Asha Bhosle, who was name-checked in Cornershop’s hit ‘Brimful of Asha’, owns this large, “high quality Indian restaurant in central Birmingham” (which also has siblings in Manchester and most countries in the Gulf); and which is “beloved by a roster of celebs, whose pictures adorn the walls”. It inspires a mixed bag of feedback – reports generally agree the food is “interestingly spiced, if somewhat pricey”. Less reliable is the service, which is at times “hopeless”.

In a large (300+ covers) unit at the foot of a modern block near Birmingham’s town hall, this scion of this all-conquering chain lacks the period interiors that so often characterise the group’s successful spin on the theme of 1940s Bombay, but still inspires high ratings for its ambience nonetheless. But perhaps as a result, ratings in Brum are a fraction more middle-of-the-road than in some other locations, albeit with very consistent feedback that it’s an “efficient” operation, with “a good variety of flavoursome choice at good value prices” (“especially their breakfast/brunch”). Or, perhaps, when it comes to curry, Brummies are just hard to impress?

Nisha Katona’s Liverpool-based operation has two branches in London (Charlotte Street and Westfield Stratford) offering her “very tasty” Indian street food – “with the occasional hint of raw spice”. The Lancashire-born former barrister launched the business in 2014 and now has 28 outlets around the country, whose “enjoyable, authentic food” is “really great for a chain”.

2022 Review: With its “good home-style Indian vegetarian cuisine”, the Joshi family’s canteen and sweet centre has developed into a Hall Green institution over almost five decades. Specialising in Gujarati and south Indian cooking, it lists no fewer than 72 main dishes… none of them is priced at over £5.95.

The original of what is now a duo of modern Indian venues (run by the Lasan Group) which now has a Harborne sibling – this attractive modern operation offers an affordable menu rooted in street-food dishes.