Upstairs by Tom Shepherd — Restaurant in Lichfield

You could easily walk past the door, we very nearly did despite a 10 month wait for the booking. Lichfield itself needs a shout-out. It's a charming town with plenty of great places to go.

But, this is about Upstairs, by Tom Shepherd. We were welcomed warmly, taken to our pre-designated seat, ready to be taken on a culinary journey.

We were celebrating a birthday and on the table, a handwritten sealed birthday card by Tom, a small but massive gesture that really started the whole experience brilliantly. The sommelier came and made enquiries about what we might like to drink, but we hadn't quite stopped gassing ourselves that Tom Shepherd was in the kitchen (yup, we were gawping and unashamedly too)

The service was, as expected flawless, 1 of our party couldn't eat raw tuna so a separate printed menu was for them, the initial front of house team member knew this, established it casually and ensured they didn't get the tuna sashimi tostada rather they got a tomato equivalent. Which, visually, you wouldn't have known was anything different. They (the tostadas) came with a bounty of other "snacks," which included a pecorino sable, beetroot crustade (which was outrageously good), and polenta fritter. Personally, I was aphrensive about the goats cheese as it's like my cryptonite, but honestly, i could have that as a last meal and be happy about it.

Following these morsels of delight came the roll....yep. a bread roll, but honestly, I know this sounds ludicrous, but it was honestly the lightest, tastiest roll ever. Served with a knob of cultured butter ( I'd no real idea what that was until I had it) and a disc of playful marmite mixed butter. I licked my plate (ok, not lick but scrapped every last trace with my finger). Already in my own personal heaven, we hadn't even started the "proper" stuff.

Next, the Orkney scallop...the name says enough. The sauce that came with it i could swim in and drown happily. My wife commented, "Oh, you'd only want one." I disagree. I didn't want it to end.

Then, the cornish cod...my. God.. I'm pretty sure I've hit my ceiling. Great portion, super flakey, the sauce with the little bubbles of roe...I'm just going to take a personal moment to re-live that...

Next up, the beef (for me) you know it's going to be well cooked and presented so I don't need to talk about that. The flavours..well, that's another story altogether. The ale gel was sweet but worked so well, the heart cubes on the filet were mind blowing, little umami, chewy treats that I'd honestly have on everything, ever and the "cow pie" sauce. If i ever win the euro lottery, I'm getting a pool of it. Rich, luxurious, warming, seasoned to perfection. I'm actually drooling 24 hours later dreaming of it.

Let's talk about the transition...

A little bowl arrived and the aroma was that of a green Thai curry, the bottom layer was a rice pudding with coconut flavour, then a layer of super cold mango sorbet then topping this devine bowl or winning was a light creamy emulsion that was everything you expect from a green Thai curry and some roasted, puffed rice...on paper it doesn't appeal. But and I mean this with every fibre of my being. It's epic. I (quite unashamedly so) was super pleased my wife doesn't like cold rice pudding, so I happily scoffed 2! I even (selflessly) asked the others if they needed a hand alas I was rubeffed.

At this point, we were all feeling pretty full, tetsatmet to the portion and quality, but we had already been asked which of the desserts we would like. The "no ordinary school boy" or the chocolate offering. There was only ever 1 choice for me, and that's the famous banana...

I was not disappointed. A white chocolate shell housing a light mouse which was in itself visually spectacular accompanied by a sponge cake, ice cream all married so well. The banana, rum,caramel....sorry, had to wipe more drool away. To end what was a privilege and delight, Mr Shepherd came out and said hello, shook my hand (not washed it yet) and took time to ask us how we...

My husband and I recently joined a Thursday evening sitting with a lovely table in direct line of sight with the kitchen. The ambiance was calm and inviting and staff were incredibly friendly, helpful and impeccably trained. We were delighted to see so many staff members (many in their early 20s) in their various roles being so professional and eager to please, which is indicative of a happy work environment. There was nothing pretentious about the experience but the meal was pure decadence which allowed diners to leave with feelings similar to those felt leaving a spa. Also, don’t be deceived as portions may appear petite but we were comfortably full at the end.

Now to the pièce de rèsistance - the food: We hadn’t had the chance since having little ones to make it out for a nice meal in a while so expectations were high. Those high hopes were exceeded by pure perfection. I have honestly never eaten a meal that pleased all of my senses at once.

The different flavours and textures achieved were nothing short of a work of art. We started with “snacks” with my absolute favourite being the polenta and truffle fritter, as it just melted in your mouth.

The beautiful red cabbage gazpacho with horseradish cream was a palate cleanser that I’ll never forget. The sweet Parker House Roll transported me back to the states balancing the crunchy yet soft and fluffy exterior. The two different butters, one having a marmite flavour, just melted us into our seats. The textures, colours and various flavours from the peanut satay scallop alongside the chicken with sweet corn girolles were to die for. I kept thinking each dish was my favourite until the next arrived. Then… the Herdwick pre-lamb taster and lamb dish main arrived. Now, I don’t particularly like lamb and I never order it. I can honestly say the lamb dishes were my favourite of the whole meal, which says a lot, considering how much I loved the other courses. I was stunned that a smokey flavour could be infused into a piece of baby gem lettuce, adding so much to that particular part of the dish. They even followed the lamb taster with a gorgeous smelling mint hand sanitiser to maximise your senses.

The Thai green curry transition palate cleaner was like nothing I had ever tried before. They turned a classic Thai dish into a refreshing and soothing, albeit semi-sweet, pre-dessert.

Last, but certainly not least was the show stopping No Ordinary Schoolboy! Now if you don’t like bananas, you would be tempted to give it a miss but one should reconsider. Fortunately, I do and I got to experience why this dish received 10s by the judges in the Great British Menu. It was the most beautifully presented and sensational desert I’ve ever tasted with its nutty, sweet and creamy indulgent flavours and textures. I even indulged and ordered the Banana Manhattan, which also had a similar nuttiness to it.

The only thing that could be a suggested change would be to add a local beer to the menu, given its proximity to a brewing capital. However, we appreciate that you can’t have it all and we were not there to taste the beer. I have heard from other friends that the wine tasting/pairing is very good too.

This restaurant is an actual gem of Lichfield (fitting as it’s above a jewellery store). It’s something worth experiencing at least once (if not hopefully many more) times in your life. Talent pours from Tom and his team so thank you for giving us a night to remember. We hope to see you again next summer,...

I planned my entire trip to Staffordshire around this lucky last-minute booking after a spot had opened up (it was originally fully booked for a whole year!). The restaurant was my first stop of the trip and what a great start it was!

The first course was four bite-sized starters. Each was its own absolute explosion of flavour, which alone is worth coming all the way to this restaurant for.

Next was the parker roll. This was solid, but a bit boring and was served almost lukewarm. The cultured butter was nothing out of the ordinary, but the marmite butter provided a nice lingering savoury finish.

Then came the Orkney scallop. Here, they played on asian flavours by using a peanut satay sauce. However, I felt that its flavours didn't really blend together with the scallops as it felt like I was eating two separate ingredients. I was also slightly let down as my request to not include fresh coriander leaves was not heard here. This was not a major issue as it was easy to pick out the garnish. The scallops had a lovely texture - firm but almost melt in your mouth.

Next, the cornish cod. Again, texture of the fish was great. However, the sauce was a tad too salty for me to fully enjoy.

For mains, I chose their wild brill. This was a miss. Although the aromas were wonderful, in particular with the smoky lobster, the flavours started to become dull after already having had two other heavy white fish and cream dishes. If I could start this experience over again, I would have chosen the beef instead.

For pre-dessert, I had "thai green chilli". This was a really fun palette cleansing pre-dessert which caught me by surprise as I was hit with a wild assortment of flavours on my first bite. I enjoyed tasting through this trying to identify what on earth it was I just had. Still though, a bit disappointing that they did not leave out the coriander, as I had requested!

Finally, I had their 'no ordinary schoolboy'. It looks like a banana but is instead a white chocolate shell painted to look like a banana. Hidden inside was banana mousse but with a 'surprise'. All remaining parts of the banana were used to create the banana ice cream and banana cake on the side, making this dish zero-waste. I loved the concept and the surprise was such a wonderful touch. This dish had such a lasting impression on me that I kept smiling and thinking about it long after I had arrived home.

Overall, dining at Upstairs had been a good experience. It started very well and ended amazingly with their fun and inventive desserts. I only wish that I could say the same about their mains! The portion sizes were generous as I was basically full by the end of the main course. The service team were knowledgeable, energetic, and worked phenomenally well to ensure my stay was as comfortable as possible. Although I was a bit disappointed by my request on the coriander not being met, they were able to take care of all my other requests with no...