Edmunds Fine Dining

Edmunds Fine Dining was a restaurant that first caught my eye some years ago when I worked in the Brindley Place area of Birmingham.  We’d dined there before and whilst we’d enjoyed it, I’d found the decor cluttered with large hanging lights.  The food was lovely, but not quite at the standard we’d had elsewhere in the city.  Edmunds has had a change of personel though now: a new French head chef called Didier Philipot and a new Maitre D’.  Those oppressive lights have gone and there’s a more open feel to the dining room.  Atmospherically things have changed too: it feels less stuffy and more relaxed which is helpful for a relatively small restaurant.  So we were keen to see how the food measured up.

We dined this time from the A La Carte menu.  The scallops were the stand out dish for us on the starter line up, so we both ordered them.  On the menu they are described as: Caramelised Orkney Islands hand dived King Scallops, smoked haddock and ratte potato beignet, roasted shallot puree, smoked milk. Scallops need to be cooked just right otherwise they can be chewy to eat.  These were cooked to perfection with good caramelisation.  As an accompaniment the roasted shallot puree and smoked milk worked well with the flavours adding and complimenting the meaty scallops. The smoked haddock and ratte potato beignet was an accomplished addition to the plate, but I’m not sure that it was entirely necessary for the dish.

When it came to chosing mains, we went our separate ways with my husband opting for the duck and I decided on the beef.  The beef was described as Filet of black Welsh beef, beef bourguignon, croquette potato gnocchi, parsnip, parsley cream, port jus. The beef fillet was a top quality piece of meat that had been cooked beautifully.  Here all the flavours worked well together with a unctioness port jus that brought out the flavours of the meat and tied the dish together.  The parsnip and the croquette potato added an extra texture with their crunchiness, but somehow I didn’t feel that the dish needed that element, even though from a flavour perspective parsnips were an inspired choice.

My husband chose the duck, as he often does.  In this case it was Supreme of Barbary duck breast, braised lentils on smoked duck, Parisian potato, wilted spinach, duck jus.  Beautifully presented, this dish really lived up to expectations.  Cooking of the duck breast was spot on and the wilted spinach was a revelation as a flavour combination.  The smoked duck added a depth of flavour too.

For dessert I opted for Roasted pineapple with rum and raisin ice cream.  The rum soaked raisins certainly packed a punch and the whole dish brought a real sense of the exotic to the meal.  I think though that my husband’s choice of the Bread and butter pudding with vanilla ice cream was delightful.  To make the dish complete it was garnished with a exquisite, light, little macaroon, which added an extra layer of texture plus a burst of sweetness.

A lovely touch was that Didier Philipot came out of the kitchen to chat to the diners.  He talked knowledgably about his food and seemed to take a real interest in the choices we had made.  I think overall I’d sum up Edmunds Fine Dining Restaurant as being high quality food, presented and served with care, but with a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere which puts you at your ease.  How long can it be before it earns a Michelin star?  Not long, I’d say.

I’m pleased to be able to offer my readers a chance to win a meal at Edmunds.  So if you’d like a chance to sample their lovely food, try your luck with the rafflecopter below.

The prize will be a meal for two from the ‘Taste of Edmunds’ menu, which consists if three courses and, a bottle of house wine.  If you win, you will need to take your prize from Tuesday – Thursday for lunch or dinner and by March 27th 2014.

Competition Terms and Conditions

1. No bulk, third party or automated entries.

2. Entrants must be UK residents aged 18 years or older.

3. The winners will be chosen by a random draw.

4. The winner will be notified by email and will have a week to claim their prize. Should they fail to respond within this time, an alternative winner will be selected.

5. Promoter is responsible for fulfilling the prize and full contact details of the winner will be passed onto the promoter.

6. Competition closes on 1 March 2014.
a Rafflecopter giveaway