Food review: Purnell’s Bistro and Ginger’s Bar,Birmingham

There’s never been a better time to be a foodie. Staffordshire and the Black Country – once a gastronomic wasteland – is filled with ambitious chefs offering exciting food.

The region has more than its fair share of great steak houses, brilliant curry restaurants and decent cafés. And just a short distance away, diners can enjoy eating out in a city that has become a centre of culinary excellence.

In recent years, Birmingham has become Gourmetville. In a culinary sense, it’s truly the Second City – second only to London, which is a global centre of repute.

Manchester, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Bath, Bristol . . . none of them come close to Brum. The city has more Michelin stars than any UK location other than London, with two chefs ranked in Britain’s Top 50.

But culinary fireworks are only half the story. The city’s suburbs are full of lounges and neighbourhood bistros, many offering great value food in convivial surrounds. Flavours from 40 or more countries are on offer: you can literally eat your way around the world by travelling fewer than 10 miles across the city.

And yet a new trend is emerging. As Birmingham becomes increasingly popular and fashionable, the big bucks are moving in. Chains that are well resourced are using their deep pockets to acquire prime locations and offer dishes that are available in many other towns and cities. Just as our high streets become homogenised by the same chain stores, so restaurants are undergoing a similar process. And while some might like the fact that ubiquitous names are moving in and doing well, there’s a risk that Birmingham might lose its unique, self-deprecating, idiosyncratic identity.

In years to come, diners might not know whether they’re eating in Birmingham or Leeds, Newcastle or Cardiff – most will have the same operators turning out mid-priced starters, mains and desserts. And let’s not get started on the rush to offer modern tapas – whether Spanish, Thai, Italian or Australasian.

The antidote to that trend, however, comes in the form of the city’s self-proclaimed Yummy Brummie. Glynn Purnell is best known for winning Birmingham’s first Michelin star, at Jessica’s, in Edgbaston, before opening his eponymous restaurant in the city centre – we reviewed it a little while back, it’s exceptional. He’s a household name, a man who stars regularly on BBC One’s Saturday Kitchen, who was a winner on Great British Menu (GBM) and who recently filmed a 40-programme series for Channel 4.

But while Glynn might be associated with fine dining and culinary fireworks – for his post-modern rendition of cheese and pineapple or for his GBM winning curried monkfish – there’s another string to his bow. When Glynn eats at home, he doesn’t sous-vide a piece of venison and serve it with truffled mash, he eats simpler, bistro food that’s big on flavour and features the best ingredients. Many of them were featured in his corking second book Rib Ticklers and Choux-Ins – that boy loves a decent pun – which collected together 110 recipes, from steaks and bakes to cheesecakes.

Standards

So while his Michelin starred restaurant, just around the corner, focuses on special occasion food, Purnell’s Bistro and Ginger’s Bar is an informal eating joint, where you’re as likely to get a posh burger or a decent piece of fish as you are nibbles and snacks. From pig cheeks with apple purée to baked Alaska and baked hake with clams, from poached summer fruits to cherry clafoutis and Balearic prawns with chilli butter; Purnell’s Bistro is all about big flavours, comfort food and easy eating. And because it’s conceived by one of the best chefs in the business, the standards are off the chart.

The restaurant is situated in the city’s financial district, near Colmore Row, and comprises a modern eating space with an impressive, well-stocked bar. Cocktails, glasses of fizz and stiff drinks are available to the front of the venue while diners congregate towards the rear.

My partner and I visited for a midweek dinner, enjoying an early start for our three-course supper. We started with deliciously aerated focaccia with light, whipped butter. It eased the hunger pangs as we perused the knock-‘em-dead menu. The selection was decidedly savvy – around six starters, mains and desserts that were difficult to narrow down.

Eventually, I opted for a number of tried-and-tested classics: glazed Peking duck, beef cheek with rendang sauce followed by cherry clafoutis. She ate a delicious cured salmon starter, an appetising homemade tagliatelle main with goat’s cheese and beetroot, followed by a delicious crème brûlée with strawberry and basil sorbet. Ding dong. Ring-a-ding-ding.

The duck leg was magnificent. Served with a modest, light bed of sesame noodles and fruity mango salsa, it had been beautifully cooked so that the fat rendered out and left savoury, sticky, moist meat. A viscous glaze had been applied to the crisp skin, making for a finger-licking, lip-smacking, senses-sizzling start. Oh, and another thing, the portion size was perfect. Starters ought not to be a substitute for a main – they should whet the appetite and lead into something great. And that’s precisely what the ox cheek was. So tender that it fell away under the fork – the knife stayed on the table, redundant like a 1970s coal miner – while I pulled at tender strands of unctuous, yielding beef.

It was served in a heavenly, exquisite Malaysian sauce that was so good I’d have happily picked up the bowl and drunk it. Slithers of fried onions, coconut and a bowl of rice made it a sumptuous, delightful main. Full marks. Top notch.

The clafoutis, meanwhile, was a pleasant way to end. A sharp, sour sorbet cut through the light, pancake-ey pud, that was served in its own mini frying pan. I resisted the temptation to play an impromptu game of table tennis with it, after I’d finished.

My other half ate like a princess. A cured salmon dish was light, appetising and riven through with quality. The tagliatelle was masterful. Sticky, melted cheese gave it plenty of salty flavour, the beetroot added earthy sweetness while the silky, smooth pasta was thrilling. It had plenty of bite and had been made in the kitchen – rather than pulled from a bag and boiled.

Her crème brûlée was heaven in a dish. Creamy, dreamy and oh-so-oooooh, it had a caramel top that cracked like gunshot and the sweet/aromatic sorbet was the perfect compliment.

Service was a little slow but, that aside, we had a feast that left us replete but not overfull. The food has bags of flavour, masses of character and persuaded us to add Purnell’s Bistro to our ‘must-return’ list.

Birmingham thrives on its independents and for informal, value-for-money eating with cool dishes of oh-my-God-that’s-delicious food, there really is no better place.