A South African-inspired restaurant serving ambitious cuisine at accessible prices has opened in the south Birmingham suburb of Stirchley.

Riverine Rabbit, set in a low-key shopping parade on Pershore Road, is named after an endangered species that lives in South Africa’s Karoo Desert – signifying chef Ash Valenzuela-Heeger’s commitment to supporting sustainable farming practices.

Ash trained at Cape Town’s most famous restaurant, The Test Kitchen, and has also worked in high-end UK kitchens including the Ledbury, Dinner by Heston and Carter’s of Moseley, whose original site is close by.

She developed the Riverina Rabbit concept with her sister in South Africa, and ran it through its paces at pop-ups around Birmingham last summer. Dishes include devilled egg with hot sauce; beef tartare with rapeseed, smoked soy and toasted nori; tiger prawn with piri-piri sauce; and crab muffin with brown butter hollandaise, pickled lemon and sea herbs. South African bottles dominate the wine list, with beer from the nearby brewery Glasshouse.

Ash’s partner and co-founder, Erin Valenzuela-Heeger, is a materials scientist who doubles as front-of-house manager in the restaurant, which only opens on Monday-Friday evenings. On Monday it offers a prix fixe 4-course menu for £30; on other evenings the menu offers a dozen choices, with main dishes priced around £10-15.