Tattu Birmingham — Restaurant in Birmingham

My wife found this restaurant last year and finally managed to get a reservation as you have to book online and usually well I’m advance.

Check out my YouTube video - google Tattu Restaurant review by The Khan Family .

We went as a family and it was a very pleasant experience from start to finish , even in this current climate - hot weather and Covid 19 restrictions. They had hand sanitizer stations everywhere and a state of the art photographic temperate reader.

The service from all the staff was excellent; the lady who initially welcomed us, to the lady who sat us to our table (Diana), the waiter (Robert) and the ladies who served us our food. The manager also checked on us too.

The deco was also very eye catching - the foyer upstairs had a rustic stony look, then the marbled tiles leading downstairs was very posh and then the centre piece / cherry blossoms hanging from the ceiling in the main restaurant downstairs.

We were given a lovely booth for the four of us, and my eldest son was shouting how much he liked this restaurant. We weren’t rushed and we were asked for drinks and any special requirements. We went for tap water and then a non-alcoholic mocktail each , the Sweet Skullduggery is a must as it came in a very fancy cup with nitrogen flowing out and the taste was just one of the best we’ve ever had for a mocktail. The Red Lotus mocktail was ok but there wasn’t much in the glass.

We required halal food and our waiter confirmed with the chef and marked what was halal, mainly the chicken dishes , obviously prawn we could have but they also tell you if any dishes have alcohol. The waiter recommended the Prawn and lobster toast which was very different to other Chinese restaurants and we also went for the Chicken Truffle Shumai (tasty but a little salty) and Special Fried Sweet Potato) and ordered the boys a chicken and prawn noodles for starters as they usually get hungry early. Then for mains I had a Wok Fried Angry Bird - a spicy chicken, pepper and cashew dish cooked in honey and my wife had the Kung Po Prawn - a very hot king prawn dish/ both were nice but I was quite full already for the appetisers and helping the boys finish their food (I don’t like wasting food). We had a Jasmine Rice with our mains which was also nice.

The bill came to a nice £90 to which they added a 10% service charge - which they fully deserved and I added a little extra too just to show how impressed we were. Definitely will come back one day but not very soon, even though one could say the price was high - this would be expected for a high end and very attractive establishment in the heart of Birmingham...

I have visited Tattu in Edinburgh multiple times and was satisfied by the service and food quality. However, I can’t vouch for the service provided at Tattu Birmingham especially by the reception team. Upon booking a reservation, we were advised there was a 90minute dining time for customers on a la carte menu (which btw is the most idiotic business idea I have ever heard of. I understand the idea of time limit for bottomless menu or all you can eat buffet but for a la carte? Do you really kick your customers out the door if they went over?!?). I was late to the reservation but my mate arrived within the 15mins grace period but was told they would not seat half a party due to the time limit policy. So my mate was forced to sit in the bar waiting for the next free table because based on their TIME LIMIT policy, we missed our reservation. They continued to refuse seating my mate even when I was around 10 minutes walk away. On arrival, the receptionist had to cheek to say it was for us to have the best Tattu experience. Come on. First of all, it is just Tattu, a normal fancy restaurant serving elevated Chinese foods, there is nothing exquisite about the experience. The chef does not come out to speak to us about how they source the ingredients from the deepest bed of the ocean all of those fluff. Secondly, we ALL have smart phones! We can literally look up the menu on the website or through pictures etc. We are not living in the stone age?!? I am not sure whether the receptionist was messing with us or she seriously had no idea how laughable it sounds in 2024. They finally sat us down. The foods were up to Tattu standards, the waitresses were lovely. We really took our time to enjoy the foods because that was how good they were, and purposely asked them to give us some time to rest before desserts. We managed to stayed for more than 30 minutes beyond the TIME LIMIT, which again proved how ridiculous the idea was. Oh, did i mention that for the first 30 minutes or so after being seated, the table next to us was empty while there were people waiting at the bar? They automatically added a service charge to the bill. The kitchen and the waitress that was serving us deserve all the tips and NONE should go to the reception team. I am not sure whether Tattu as a brand has got themselves carried away or the one in Birmingham has inflated ego due to a lack...

Update: in addition to the below, this morning I experienced gastrointestinal issues, which I suspect may be linked to something I ate during the meal. This has understandably raised serious concerns about the quality and safety of the food.

First time visiting Tattu with my partner and I’m not sure we’d rush to go back. The bill came to just under £200 - we don’t mind spending money if we feel like the food and experience warrants it, however on this occasion, we feel slightly cheated.

Pros:

• The food is presented beautifully. • The waygu beef and tofu are delicious. • The decor is pretty.

Cons:

• Felt cheated into the overpriced prawn crackers at the start, they were offered to us as soon as we sat down and weren’t on the menu (which made me think they were complimentary), until the bill came! • The same with the water, this was immediately given to us at arrival and charged for at the end. The water was extremely overpriced at over £5 per bottle. • Also felt pressured by the staff into ordering noodles (we’d already ordered 7 small plates to share which was more than enough). The noodles were taken away before we’d even finished them. • Fast service but too much, the wait staff were at our table every 2-3 minutes and we felt pressured to finish quickly. • Service charge was added at the end - this is usually noted on the menu at other establishments, at Tattu it was not. • And a warning for all diabetics, the food is extremely sugary - I injected a whopping 25 units of insulin for a guesstimated 250g carbs (3.5 small plates and a few bites of dessert) and this was no where near enough. Nutritional information on the menu would have been helpful.

Suggestions:

• Be clear with the customers when you are offering food, e.g. “Would you like some prawn crackers to start? Please note there is a charge for these.” • For an atmospheric feel rather than interrogation, consider having candles at the tables rather than spotlights. • The wait staff can be attentive without being at the table every 2-3 minutes. Let the customers enjoy their food. • Consider adding nutritional information...