It was my parents Ruby anniversary and I wanted to go somewhere that was elegant, accommodated for 10 people including children and didn’t break our bank account.
After searching through several restaurants, I settled for Opus. A contemporary restaurant thats serves a Modern Brish Menu.
SERVICE
Based on Cornwall Street, right in the City of Birmingham, this stylish brasserie has been around for 14years. With elegant decor, I knew I had picked well when we walked in.
We had our own Private Dining area that was set up with lovely dinnerware.
Initially the waiter who served us seemed less efficient; drinks were missed off and it took about 20 minutes to receive them. We were there to enjoy ourselves so time delays were not an issue but we were hungry and more importantly thirsty. Philippe, the host, was more than accommodating and got the delays ironed out once I brought it to his attention.
He was also very good with my nephew and ensured he got his food asap.
FOOD:
We started off with warm salt & garlic bread served with room temperature butter. No one likes hard butter right?
The 2 AA Rosette A La Carte Menu sounded amazing and that was what we picked from. The menu had Set 3 courses for £35- for a Michelin plate (according to Via Michelin) this was a bargain. They had a separate menu for Vegetarians and that was £32.50.
Starters:
For starters I had the Roasted Breast of Quail. Cooked 3 ways this dish just melted in my mouth. There was some chorizo elements, red pepper and a pearl barley paella. This got my taste buds going.
The other popular starters on the table were the Leek & Haddock Fishcake and the Confit Duck Terrine.
The vegetarian soup was cumin and carrot but it lacked flavour.
Mains:
For mains I tucked into Breast of Merryfield Farm Duck with roasted garlic mash, charred tenderstem broccoli, Eversham beetroot’s and red wine sauce. The duck was perfectly cooked and flavoured to perfection.
Confit Pork Belly with dauphinois potatoes, tender stem broccoli and Granny Smith apples and the Whole Native Grilled Lobster were some of the mains the meat eaters had.
The vegetarians enjoyed the Mushroom Wellington and the Quinoa dishes but the Pea risotto was less tasty.
Desserts:
We were all too full after our mains but that did not stop us from picking a few desserts (has to be done)
I went for the Milk Chocolate & Salted Caramel Mousse. It did want to lick the plate clean because it was so nice. The mousse was served with roasted banana purée and peanut cookie crumble topped with a shard of peanut brittle.
The Mango & Vanilla Creme Brûlée & Strawberry and Clotted Cream Parfait went down a treat too.
When we visited they were running a promotion for 50% off a bottle of wine with the lobster dish and a nice bottle of Malbec worked out to be £16 which was great value.
It’s tradition to mark a celebration like this with a cake ( well in our family it is) and this time I baked a red velvet and vanilla sponge. (Excuse the rushed decor. I had planned to use Gold Leaf on the cake until I bought it home and realised one packet would probably only cover a quarter of the cake!).
I would recommend Opus for non vegetarians- the vegetarians had mixed views on the food they had.
It does tend to get busy so booking is always advised especially for a big group. Opus has a vibrant bar too if you fancy just going there for a drink.
Laura says
I love the sound of the food here and the presentation looks great! The cake you made looks lovely!
bejalgosai says
What a lovely meal for your parents. The food looks beautifully presented, I’ve never heard of it but I can add it to my Birmingham list. The cake looks so pretty for this special occasion.
fashionandstylepolice says
Good to see you had your own private dining area. The food looks very tasty.
Mellissa Williams says
What a lovely looking restaurant this is! The food looks absolutely delicious.
Stephanie says
This looks like really nice food, really well presented as well. Nice to celebrate with family
Laura (@dearbearandbean) says
What a lovely celebration and well done on your cake, it looks great!
Cath - Passports and Adventures says
It’s lovely to read a review that highlights the good and bad. It’s a shame the vegetarians meals got mixed reviews but it sounds like the meat dishes were spot on. And the cake you made looks lovely. How did you manage to squeeze a slice in after 3 courses!?
Jenni says
This looks great! I love that you got your own dining area
Newcastle FamilyLife says
This looks lovely, what a nice way to celebrate their anniversary x
laurasidestreet says
Oh wow this looks like the perfect place to celebrate with a group of people – the food looks amazing and the atmosphere and interior chic and stylish
Laura x
Zena's Suitcase says
It’s great that you had your own private dining area, but such a shame some of the dishes didn’t live up to guest expectations. The price does sound good though, especially for what you got