Rustic Table — Restaurant in Birmingham

Short version: Terrible food, terrible service - do NOT waste your time and money here!

Long version: my second time at this restaurant, first time was over a year ago where the service was strange and the food good/ mediocre, but my instinct is to support local independent eateries where possible, so decided to give it another chance.

We selected 7 tapas - they ranged from poor/average to outright awful. The meat/ shellfish plates were particularly bad - we left some mussels, chicken from the paella and meatballs; I NEVER waste food, and always get takeaway boxes. We persevered, eating the bearable bits, deciding to pick up something from COOP on the way home rather than make a fuss. The waitress was lovely, asking if everything was alright with our food when we requested the bill. We must have looked hesitant, as she assured us we should tell her if we weren't happy. I expressed that I hadn't wanted to finish the meatballs, or my partner the mussels, and gestured to the unfinished paella too. I suggested maybe just the meatballs could be taken off the bill, as she was extremely apologetic and wanted to improve matters for us.

She spoke to the owner (who had been on his laptop near the front of the restaurant throughout, and whom I had received the strange service from previously). I explained we hadn't been able to enjoy or finish the meatballs, and his response (as we'd eaten 3.5 out of 5) that as we'd mostly eaten them was simply: "I will not be taking them off the bill", then walking away. I completely understand that we should have flagged our dissatisfaction earlier, but the complete discrepancy with the waitress's attitude after she encouraged us to share made us feel extremely uncomfortable and unwanted. Kindly apologising that a refund wouldn't be possible and taking the time to acknowledge that we'd struggled with the food would have made a huge difference to the overall feeling of disappointment and dismassal we left with.

Verdict: Literally EVERY other option, chain or otherwise (I've lived on Harborne High Street for 10 years, and have eaten at 95% of the alternatives) would be a better choice than Rustic Table. This is the first 1 star review with extensive comments that I have ever taken the time to write, versus multiple positive restaurant reviews. If sharing my experience saves others time, money and discomfort then at least one good thing can come of our...

Nice decoration, average food, the worst service I've had in years

I always felt curious about this restaurant as it seemed chilled and promising. The decoration is nice but looking good is not everything. They have a good mix of Mediterranean food but quality is average. The paella was overcooked and - for some reason - he had to face some rolling eyes when we asked for the olives we had ordered and weren't brought to the table.

It was quite hard to get a table as they always seemed fully booked - which we thought was a good sign. We did have a few last minutes changes to the booking - of which we kindly kept the restaurant informed in advance. A misunderstanding about the number of people might have prompted an unpleasant comment when we arrived - understandable if the restaurant wasn't actually half empty.

The waiters started taking the plates away before we had finished and I asked for them to leave the plates as we were still having some bits, in a standard - I'd even say quite playful - tone. I was accused by the waiter of being rude even after saying sorry if I had came across as such, as it wasn't my intention at all.

Also, don't forget to spend at least 20£ each as they dont take card payment below that, which is a bit nonsense these days.

If you do go there, I wish that you have a better experience. I am certainly not...

GLUTEN FREE - VEGETARIAN TAPAS The Rustic Kitchen, situated on Harbourne High Street, is a cosy tapas restaurant. The menu has many tapas dishes you might expect to find, combined with new and interesting seasonal dishes to try! The restaurant is lovely inside, clean, and the service is very good. The menu is well thought out with many gluten free dishes, vegetarian and vegan dishes, and importantly for me, gluten free + vegetarian dishes! Don't worry there are plenty of meat options too, my husband especially enjoyed the steak. I will say the portions are small, as you expect with tapas, but even so, smaller than expected in relation to the price. It's definitely a case of quality over quantity, so no complaints from me. Every morsel was delicious and it was obvious a lot of care had been taken in the preparation and cooking. The service was very good, the order was taken promptly, the food didn't take too long, and after requesting the bill, we were happily on our way home in no time at all. We will definitely visit again! It was a very pleasant experience and I would certainly recommend visiting. My favourite dishes were the 4 veg, 4 ways winter edition and the Blood orange and...