The Blue Piano — Restaurant in Birmingham

Having visited the blue piano a good number of times over the past 4 years, the blue piano had come to me to be a place I loved to go on an extra special occasion, like birthdays and graduations, to justify the high price point for exceptionally delicious dishes and great service.

I was lucky enough to visit again today, and had been looking forwards to this event for the last few weeks. Upon arriving at the restaurant,this we were treated to a refreshed change of decor. Despite the facade lift, the menu still holds onto its routes of a wide offering of east asian cuisine, including clear staples like beef rendang, Khmer chicken curry, sea bass and other dishes. I ordered my usual - the Singapore carrot cake as a starter, along with one of their curry dishes for the main, and whilst the Singapore carrot cake is exactly as I recalled (and hit the craving id been living with since booking in the table) the curry seemed to be made with an alternative recipe to the one I was used to, with the sauce having an unusual thickness to it compared to before, and the chicken and veg had lost their previous 'melt in the mouth' texture, feeling more sandy for the root veg, and chewy in the mushrooms.

Alongside this, the service itself to our table was poorer than we've come to expect, with no follow up on the quality of the food with the table, or check ups on if we'd like to order more drinks. If I was new to the venue this wouldn't have been much of an issue, but the notable change in service style has made apparent the impact of the change of ownership. That, alongside the reduced number of tables in the venue itself from the redesign gives a different, more empty feel, with a far less enjoyable and busy atmosphere like we've experienced before. It feels as if the blue piano has lost some of its core demographics and hasn't quite worked out what is going to be it's unique offering beyond tastey food. We're it to be based in the very centre of Birmingham, I would expect despite these changes the restaurant would still do well, but given its slightly more up market and far out location, I'm not surprised that without a core sell, such as a boujee evening out with exemplary service like it had before, it's seemed to lost its heart.

Saying this, If you've never been, the food still is worth the trip alone. Whilst there has been a sharp rise in the numbers of Vietnamese and Indonesian restaurants through Birmingham city centre, the variety of offerings, and ability to cater to dietary requirements still is a good offering. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they are able to steer it into a much more rounded experience for my next return.

Also worth noting, this review is solely around the restaurant, and...

what a lovely place to stay,myself and 2daughters and my grandson stayed for 2 nights to celebrate my nieces wedding what a great time we had.We had 2double rooms adjoining, with lovely bathroom,beds so comfy with lovely cotten bed linen and plenty of towels TV and mini bar.the weather was very hot and staff provided a fan for my grandson. The staff were so obliging with a very pleasant manner and were so relaxed and made us welcome,we arrived day before wedding after 3hour journey from Yorkshire, we had a delicious meal and catered for my daughter being vegetarian,and then lovely cocktails,and breakfast in the morning.Very handy with Morriston just round the corner,nextday after wedding ceremony the reception was held at Blue piano,and what a great reception,beautiful garden with facilities for entertainment, nice and cool with shaded parts so made a very hot day bearable. Sat down to eat and what a feast the carrot cake starter was so nice the ribs were to die for the packchoy so tasty, the atmosphere so relaxed,we partied on with fabulous entertainment the atmosphere was magical,we stayed till late into night and Tom stayed up till we all went to bed about 3 am Kyl was lovely also Paul who was very funny and reminded me of Ainsly Harriot our stay was so nice. I would strongly recommend the Blue piano to any one who would enjoy a nice chilled atmosphere and if you book an event you won't be disappointed, all in all I would staythere again in a heart beet,for Jo and AdeThe Blue Piano is a special favorite place to chill and eat no wander they picked it for there wedding sorry such a long review but. I wanted to cover everything also the lady who served food with dark hair was such a hard worker but always with a lovey smile and, not to forget the lovely young lady with long blond hair can't remember her name she was delightful.Thank you to all the staff for there impecable service,I WILL BE BACK😊 best of.luuck to you Tom on your...

Disappointing. My recommendation would be don't bother. I had heard good things about The Blue Piano from colleagues but our experience was underwhelming. This was for a family dinner and we had booked well ahead as we suspected it would be busy, being close to mother's day (it wasn't busy, which is perhaps revealing). When we arrived we were asked if we had booked, but they didn't take a name or check a bookings list. We were then asked if we could wait in the (empty & unattended) bar but whilst wondering whether to order drinks, we were approached by another staff member and abruptly asked if we could wait in the restaurant. How to make guests feel unwelcome! Once finally seated at our table we were asked for our drinks order. We asked to see a drinks list, but apparently they dont have one, just a wine list or beer and soft drinks. This seemed odd, considering we had just seen a well stocked bar. We ordered food and our unopened bottle of wine was left at our table. Whilst waiting for our food (and throughout our meal) we werre treated to the musical "talents" of other diner's children all hammering out painful attempts at moonlight sonata on the blue piano in reception. Not the ambience we had hoped for for a relaxing meal. Before our dishes arrived we were informed they had run out of duck and needed to make another selection. The food was reasonable, but had clearly been sitting on the pass for some time as it was rather dry. We asked about seeing a dessert list, only to be told they don't have one but could ask what was available in the kitchen. Our waiter returned offering vanilla cheesecake, which we declined. Your restaurant is opposite Morrisons - maybe make a bit of effort and try and at least get a tub of ice cream? We...