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dINING DIGEST For this issue Dluxe Dining correspondent Anita Champaneri explores the Solihull area, looking at some exciting new venues popping up in the South Birmingham suburbs.
drive into the Warwickshire countryside to enjoy a relaxing afternoon in a cosy country pub eating your own body weight! We spent a lovely afternoon at The Crabmill near Henley in Arden, which can trace its roots back more than three centuries, and it still bears the marks of history with its tiny leaded windows, weathered half-timbered exterior, crooked beams and flagstone floors. Once a cider mill, it was clearly destined to have a life associated with the enjoyment of drink and now a packed bar sits at its heart serving local ales and a fine array of wines.
Most exciting is that Solihull Town Cente gets a pretty cocktail lounge! In the heart of Mell Square you can visit Greens, a chic little cocktail bar decorated in hues of jade green, cobalt blue and florals. Girls will love it. Of course, there is the obligatory blossom tree and lots of comfy velvet seating; but most importantly the cocktails are going to be first class, because they’ve been created by acclaimed mixologist Robert Wood. Over the past 15 years, Robert has opened over 10 venues around the UK, including 18/81, Edgbaston Boutique Hotel and 40 St Paul’s (Best Gin Bar). We can’t wait to have a Delicious girls night out here in the very near future.
Foodies can enjoy sushi, ramen, bento, katsu curry, teriyaki, donburi, teppanyaki, tempura, noodle dishes and sake in a fun and vibrant setting. The new restaurant will feature an exciting open kitchen where you can watch your dishes being freshly prepared! A 10-minute drive away in Shirley is the new highly anticipated SKVP. Set to open next to Fiesta Del Asado on the Stratford Road, the emphasis is on Mumbai’s popular street food, Vada Pav. This is essentially a spicy potato filling sandwiched between soft buns and layers of spicy garlic and green chutney!
Next to Greens is a covered outdoor pergola style seating area home to the new Taste Collective; where you can enjoy a rotation of cool street food vendors such as Sticky Beaks, Jammin’ BBQ and What The Cluck. On the other side of Greens is Vita coffee shop serving delicious desserts and cakes from local, independent bakers and sparkling wines and Champagne in a cute, stylish setting. Moving on, a hop skip and a jump away in Touchwood shopping centre, Yakinori will be opening on the ground floor. The Midlands based chain will be delivering fresh, quality and authentic Japanese food to shoppers.
We picked some unusual choices for our starters. To start we had the crispy baby squid with a side of mango and chilli sauce. The squid was cooked to perfection, soft on the inside and crispy on the outside and was topped with a tasty sprinkle of crunchy spring onions and chilli peppers. The mango and chili sauce was just right, not too spicy, not too sweet, and jam-packed with flavour. We also had a portion of crispy Halloumi chips, with a tangy tomato salsa. For the mains I had the braised shoulder of lamb, the size of which was pretty impressive. Served on a platter to accommodate the hunk of meat, it came with roast potatoes, green vegetables, carrots and red cabbage with a rosemary gravy. It was designed to put you in a food coma! The lamb was soft, tender and full of meaty flavour and the variety of mixed vegetables were crunchy and flavoursome. Although the roasties could have been better.
The UK eatery wraps together all the exciting and vibrant flavours of Mumbai street food, into an easy to eat ‘quick service format’- wowing its customers with fast, healthy and authentic Vegetarian Indian street cuisine. It’s proven to be extremely popular in and outside of London, with dedicated foodies happily making the journey to SKVP especially for their unique vada pavs. With the vegan movement gaining real momentum, SKVP is set to be hugely popular. Lastly let’s talk about Sunday Lunch and there’s nothing better than taking a short
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As I enjoyed a glass of zingy South African chenin blanc is was good to see the pub was particularly packed with smiling customers all around on this particular cold Sunday afternoon in January.
For dessert, my son had the mango sorbet, which was a real highlight for him. It was creamy and the texture was perfect and consisted of just the right amount of mango. A real palette cleanser. To round off the meal I had a decadent toasted waffle with caramelised banana and honeycomb ice cream, which was heavenly, rounded off with a glass of dessert wine. A perfect ending to a fabulous Sunday Lunch. The service was excellent and the ambience was cosy and warm. A must visit. For more food news visit www.dinehub.co.uk
