Results tagged “Michelin” from Birmingham Mail - Restaurant Spy

By this time next week, we will know which among our restaurants have been awarded Michelin stars.

That blubbery judge of culinary quality issues his latest UK guide on Wednesday and between now and then there will be plenty of frenzied speculation.

So here's my contribution...

It's a safe bet that Simpson's will retain a star. Indeed, the meals I've eaten there recently make me wonder if it's worth two. A birthday dinner in March was fantastic.

I don't expect any sympathy cards, but one of the hard bits about being a restaurant critic is that I eat out so often that I don't often get the chance to revisit my favourite places.

That wasn't the case last night, though, when my wife and I went to Purnell's in Cornwall Street in the city centre for a meal that was purely for pleasure rather than to write a review.

We ate the tasting menu and, from start to finish, it was magnificent. Glynn Purnell's unerring ability to match flavours and textures is impressive. Likewise the technique deployed in his kitchen.

Congratulations to Andreas Antona, Luke Tipping and their team at Simpson's for retaining their Michelin star in the latest guide.

It's richly deserved. I ate lunch there a few weeks back and, as always in my experience, the food was fabulous.

Must say, though, I'm surprised Glynn Purnell's city centre restaurant - imaginative called Purnell's - didn't get a star. His food is inventive and delicious.

I'm sure M. Michelin will make amends in a year's time. But the blubbery French icon be warned: I'll be after him with a very sharp pin if he doesn't right this wrong.