Opheem

Indian

65 Summer Row, Birmingham, B3 1JJ

Birmingham, England

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Overall Rating (out of 10): 8.75

Stand Out Dish: Amuse-bouche selection

Meal Time: 2.50hrs

Ave Cost Per Head (excl. drinks): £115

Summary: mastery of spice which takes the key ingredients of each dish to a new level

Would I Go Back?: Yes

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It was our first time in Birmingham so to say that Opheem is in an unexpected location might belie our lack of familiarity with the city. Next to a main arterial road the restaurant is on the ground floor in what we guessed was an office in a former life (we later learned it was previously a nightclub).

Behind the large double door entrance to is a stylish bar and pre dinner area. We were seated right in front of the bar which was great as we could see the amuse-bouche preparation station.

We kicked off proceedings with cocktails. I ordered a reverse martini from their short gin dominated list. My partner ordered off menu asking for a sweet cocktail with a marmalade style flavour. Both were excellent but the unknown marmalade cocktail was the best and impressive that they could make such a good cocktail on the fly and with limited instruction.

The flavour concentration of the dried strawberry and mango combined with cumin spice set the tone of what was to come. Where Opheem shone brightest was in its use of spice to augment the principle ingredients rather than overpower them.

What a visually stunning dish! The last time we had a dish masquerading as something it was not was the meat fruits at Heston’s Dinner and this was much more impressive. The only problem was our “chillis” had been left out at room temperature a bit too long meaning the chilli stem fell off and we had to eat the melting parfait with our hands. We both felt they missed a trick by not flavouring the chilli casing to contrast with the parfait but that is really nitpicking.

The simple yet strong flavours of the goats curd and cumin cracker contrasted well with the parfait.

This dish brought back all our great memories of Thailand. Clean, zesty and beautifully presented.
After our last snack we were lead into the dining room. Seated along the back wall we were able to see across a reasonably small and intimate area with c. 40 covers. Better still the kitchen was completely open with a central island at the front and inset into the restaurant allowing Aktar Islam to hold court over both the food and dining room.

I love ice cream but was skeptical that sweetcorn would work frozen. Turns out it does. The charred corn and spiced butter was perfectly cooked.

This well presented dish split opinion. I thought it was fine but a bit of a nothing burger whilst my partner felt the sweetness and spice combination really made the dish.

A really great dish. The scallop was large, juicy and cooked perfectly. The spices were subtle adding flavour without overpowering the scallop. The whole dish being augmented by the smoked cream and tandoor.

This dish won a GQ competition to find the perfect food pairing with Verve Clicquot champagne. It was a moreish layered dish of spices, potatoes, crispy croutons and cream which needed the widow Clicquot’s brut champagne to cut through it and prevent you from being overpowered by richness.

This course was paired with a 2020 Barolo which divided opinions more than the dish where we both felt mushroom combined with cod was neither bang on or bang off.

Where the French use butter to make brioche the Japanese used milk to make milk bread. The result is a glorious light and fully interior encased in a crunchy crust and golden brown top.
Served with a lamb belly mousse the only question we had about the dish was its place in the order of service.

The beef had been braised for forty hours and feel apart on contact with a fork. The dhal had an excellent flavour intensity whilst the rice was fine but unexceptional (not sure what exceptional rice would be but I live in hope of finding out).

This palette cleanser stood out against others we tried in 2020 and had us promise we would make pear crumble as well as fire up the ice cream machine to see if we could make pear sorbet.

Whilst this was a visually appealing dessert it didn’t wow and was rather on the large size.

Like the chilli snack this was a very clever and technical presentation. The mango was actually a hard chocolate layer encasing a light mango purée. The light sweet dish worked really well with the juxtaposition of the tart acidity of the lime.

We finished off the meal with a selection of petit fours and tea from an extensive list.

Verdict
This is a must visit restaurant in our opinion. It also makes us want to come back to Birmingham to try some of the other restaurants the city has to offer (Folium, Wilderness and Tiger Buys Pig were the recommendations from our waiter). Opheem’s mastery of spice in each dish to augment rather than overpower the key ingredients is a must experience for any foodie.