Opheem — Restaurant in Birmingham

Restaurants that charge £200 a head need to do something special. The food needs to be special or the service or maybe they just make you feel special on your special occasion. Opheem rushed us in, rushed us through, boring food and disappointing service in a grey, dim and noisy setting. There is a detailed review below but the summary is Michelin star by numbers, phoning in the service and the overall experience was a massive let down. I have had a better time at Nando’s.

We were asked if we had booked, the greeter was gone by the time I told her our names. During the twenty five minutes it took to get us a cocktail and a Cobra beer, a small glass of the latter, we had time to notice the decor. A cross between an NCP car park and an eighties themed funeral home, with lighting whose lack of design inspiration was reflected in its lack of illumination. The amuse bouche arrived in dizzying succession whilst we still longed for a drink, they were good until two chillies were served. They were actually pretend chillies, in reality being made of fluffed up wall filler and candle wax, joke shop food. Starter was a salty burned corn on the cob with a tiny ice cream cone, no idea why. Then a few highlights, some lamb pate on tasty bread, a decent trout piece covered in Sainsbury’s red pepper dip, a new take on potatoes in a foamy bowl. And some low lights, white fish with the texture of over microwaved cutlets, vegetables in a broth but the tomatoes were squishy. Main course was lamb with greens in a mild curry sauce, inspired by Waitrose ready meals I am guessing. At this point I had given up with caring about the wine flight, you can only listen to stories about wine for so long when all you get is a splash of insipid white wine that serves as neither flavour enhancer nor thirst slaker. I ordered a beer and I am still waiting for it. How a waiter can promise to take care of all your needs, as ours did, and then forget to bring you a beer, defines the evening. There was red wine with the lamb which proved finally that red wine and curry don’t go and then some weird Sherry like wine with the pate that even the sommelier seemed embarrassed about. I had my napkin taken after the first course and it took three more courses to get a new one. The table was repeatedly brushed down to a stunningly ineffectual degree, we just cleaned the crumbs ourselves in the end. A waitress was wearing perfume so strong I almost thought some of the white wines had a bouquet. It didn’t enhance the food which was barely registering on the taste scale at the best of times. And then there were the sweets, I counted at least four. One of these, which was actually the straw that broke the camel’s back for me, was a Mr Kipling standard carrot cake with some creme freche. Then more sweets and finally a Madeleine that would have made Proust give up cakes accompanied by a Japanese version of port, another ill judged experiment by the sommelier. Then they gave us sweets with our coffee and I was already on the Uber app. I was asked twenty times how much I had enjoyed the food, to the point that I actually told them I had not enjoyed it. They asked me again after the next course. The menu is confused, bland and riddled with sweet stuff. Nothing stands out, it is Michelin star by numbers and not very convincing. The wines are not well matched to the dishes, the shot size is mean and the stories tedious. The service is busy, uncaring and detached. They even turned up the music at the end of the night, although there was no need, I was more than happy to leave. The room is dim, the music during the rest of the evening as grindingly dull as the food and the ambience was noisy and reminiscent of a staff canteen during a power cut in nuclear bunker. It was a special birthday celebration, which i had communicated via the Opentable app and it cost £400 for two, for which all I got was a lesson in the avoidance of places who have a Michelin star where their...

What an experience; an entire journey that brings a smile to your face and laughter amongst the crowd.

I’ve been wanting to dine here for a few years but never managed to get a reservation on a weekend so last year I booked it a year in advance for a birthday treat.

Wasn’t expecting the experience to last so long I was tired by the end of it as I travelled all the way from Dewsbury.

From a young age I’d watch Master Chef and The Great British Menu with my dad. I have so many memories of the show and the chef - Akhtar Islam. When I first saw him I was fan girling over him and was so excited. He came over and shook our hand at the end.

I was too shy to say anything at the time but I was certainly amazed by the encapsulated experience; exceeded my expectations. As we eat halal we can’t always eat meat or poultry in fine dining spots or Michelin for that matter. And most of the dishes have a non-halal ingredient in them that we can’t eat. The flavours are not something we’re used to either.

So eating something that is familiar and still blows our minds was such a treat, being able to experience a halal restaurant ran by a Muslim, serving all halal meats on the menu is truly amazing!

I know other establishments can cater for halal – they usually have a partial halal menu. But from a previous Michelin experience I’m not sure it would be up to the same standard.

It’s nice to be able to try food that is similar palette wise from a south Asian point of view. Bold claim, but I would urge other muslims/south Asians to go as you won’t experience anything like this elsewhere.

My parents are from Bangladesh, so I felt super proud of what he has accomplished and tasting familiar flavours and ingredients in such a progressive and gastronomical way was really magical.

Of course the experience comes at a price, with a higher cost you certainly want to be wowed. As my best friend’s husband quoted - he definitely wants to eat one thing that made him think it’s the best thing he ever put in his mouth. Which of course we all felt.

The array of amuse bouche literally blew our minds, how can one encapsulate such flavour into tiny morsels. It was flavour, texture and visual explosions. What a way to begin an evening. Genius!!

Creative, explosive and unique menu. The vibe, the mood lighting, interior, cutlery, crockery, glasses, the staff, the lounge, open kitchen, the cleanliness, the toilets. Everything was so great. The attention to detail was on point.

The only thing I would say is that the non-alcoholic mocktails could have had more variety, my fave was the watermelon one but the ginger and elderflower was just OK.

I also felt for the dessert the (REWANDCHINI), the ice cream was just OK. I thought it could be creamier and packed with more flavour. It did taste like falooda and I’m sure that’s where the inspiration came from but I think a creamier ice cream would have made the dish. The pistachio fudge in that dessert dish was amazing though.

Having said that every dish was texturally, visually and tastefully satisfying. But some dishes were nicer than others.

Finally we all felt when the chefs would serve our dishes not all of the chefs waited till they served and completed our dishes to speak about the dish. This took away from the final plating experience. It was distracting and we weren’t able to focus on what they’d say about the dish so I wish they would all finish the plating then speak about the dish.

I know things are fast paced and it can be hectic in the kitchen but I do feel this would really elevate the experience.

Thank you for a wonderful birthday dinner, will hope to see you all again!...

Me and my family went for my 21st birthday meal. We had heard good reviews, mainly from friends and an article in GQ. We went in there with an open mind - very aware that we were unlikely to be served a basic curry with rice and would be served something a bit more imaginative. In order to get the best experience we (4 of us) opted for the tasting menu (~£70 each). We were prepared to pay that much because of not only the special occasion, but because of everyone's promises that it'd be worth it. We had good reason to believe it too, given the owner's prestigious rep.

On first impressions we were satisfied, the ambience and decor was amazing. You could really tell that effort had been put into the interior design and the 'feel' of the restaurant. Well... everything but the chairs - which were so slippy and uncomfy. Although, it sounds stupid, it really set the tone for the rest of the night. Sitting and feeling constantly uncomfortable throughout the long-winded meal.

The food was poor to be honest, when contextualised with the price of it. The meat was tough, the courses didn't blend together and the flavours were just so basic. One dish in particular was actually laughable - the potato on a stick. It was advertised as the holy grail of potatos which has been delicately seasoned with garlic and chilli. Was honestly just awful and tasted like a boiled potato with no flavour whatsoever. Bear in mind this was one of the first things we tasted, knowing that we had a minimum bill of £280 looming.

I would be first to admit that poor food quality can be balanced by a great decor and great staff - unfortunately Opheem had neither. Some of the staff were just so inexperienced and non-hospitable. They forgot our order of a bottle of wine, until it eventually came 20-30 minutes later. I would understand such mistakes if it were a busy night (well... I wouldn't really at a restaurant which prides itself on being on the verge of a Michelin Star), but the restaurant wasn't nearly full and most staff were standing around bone idle. One of the worst moments was when one of the staff (I won't describe them) didn't know what they were serving and forgot mid-way through. Instead of apologising, they just giggled and walked off. Was honestly tragic to be honest, it was as if they thought we didn't deserve their attention or care.

At the end of a poor meal we were given the bill which came to around £400 and included an extra service charge which we didn't notice until after the meal (which they then refunded at a later date). Let that sink in.... £400 for 4x £70 tasting menus, a bottle of wine and 3 beers.... £400 - laughable given the poor service and food. Think about what £400 could get you at any other good restaurant in Birmingham. We could've fed a family of 10 at San Carlos!

In conclusion, until Opheems and its owner sort out their act and get new staff and really think about what they're offering I wouldn't even consider going again, or recommending. Save your money and go elsewhere.... the price is just ridiculous and so unjustified. We felt robbed at the end of that meal. Much better curries to be bad elsewhere in town. And to be honest, if you're going there expecting to be wowed and the breath of Indian cuisine - just don't bother. Poor place and...