Verbena — Restaurant in Birmingham

I had... I wanted to have a 3 course meal, having high expectations for the food, looking at the reviews and photos... Apparently, everything was wrong today... We arrived at the restaurant at 6:20 pm. The bread came on the table at 6:45pm, it was a nice entry in the menu. The 1st course came at 7:05.... Both cauliflower veloute and beetroot had a very flat taste, always compared to the presentation of the dish, which was a Michelin starred tasting menu course... The second course arrived at 7:40, chicken and cod... I had the chicken , my girlfriend had the cod. If I had the cod, I could be more disappointed than I am already... The only thing that saved this plate, was the excess butter around the barley risotto... The problem..? Like the 1st course, flat taste, no excitement in your mouth after every bite... And I say again, this is what you expect when a plate with this presentation comes in front of you.... We were already 1h45m at the restaurant and we just finished, fast, as we were hungry, our main course. To be honest, I didn't expect that a 3 course meal will take more than this to be served. We had to leave before the dessert as we had to catch the train back to London.. so neither my 3 course meal finished... And I am wondering, was it a very bad day in this kitchen, no service's fault the girl couldn't do much more than this, or this is what they TRY to serve? Because in the end, this a restaurant and a person arrives hungry and expect to leave full. You don't need huge portions, but you definitely need taste. I hope the chef see this... Ps. Five Guys...

Feeling a little disappointed after our visit today. We are big Verbena fans and this was my fifth time eating there. I've really loved it previously and couldn't fault it, so this review is based only on the experience today. Other visits, 5 stars. Delicious and wonderful. Today we went for the roast dinner, which sounded fantastic. Positives were that the beef itself was cooked beautifully and the creamy horseradish sauce was incredible. Cauliflower cheese, also lovely. But, having half a boiled carrot and half a boiled parsnip and one, egg-sized, very overcooked (to the point of being rock hard and hollow…inedible) roast potato each does not a delicious vegetable accompaniment make! We did ask about the potatoes and unfortunately there weren't any more. I think it was the end of the day, perhaps this is why we were disappointed. Also, it was my understanding that the carrot and parsnip should have been honey roasted. They weren't. I am of the opinion that if you've run out of something, just say, and I would've been cool with that or maybe give people a little more of something else/offer a discount, just something. But I think to serve that without any acknowledgement leaves you feeling a bit let down. Pudding was meringue, cream and fruit, very tasty and we did receive them on the house due to the inedible spuds, so that's fair enough. Overall, would still go to Verbena, but not for a...

It is the first time I go to Verbena and I was looking forward to trying this place.

Food was nice and beautifully presented. Staff were nice and the restaurant itself is lovely. We were a large table and we had a set menu that consisted in some dishes to share. As the food was ready, some dishes were place across the table for people to share, but I had to ask for serving cutlery as these were not provided as standard.

It seems that people were expected to use their own forks to take food from the sharing plates (which means sharing saliva with strangers). When dessert came out, no individual plates were provided and again, everyone was expected to use their own forks and spoons to eat from the same plate. (sharing saliva again). I am sorry to be this honest, but I did not enjoy the whole sharing/eating using own forks. I can't comment on the taste of the desserts as I didn't get to try them. (for the reason already described above).

Guests should not be expected to ask for serving cutlery, these should be provided as standard, and people in a big table should definitely not be expected to eat from the same plate.

Food was tasty, but the amount of food provided needs to be looked into. After paying £30 for the set menu, I went home to have a sandwich because I left verbena...