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Eating Out
Marco Pierre’s
flagship not so White...
Marco Pierre White’s flagship Birmingham restaurant
received a zero rating for hygiene in a recent
inspection by local environmental health officers.
The restaurant, which opened in December 2011,
was informed in March that its FSA rating would
plummet to and remain at zero until its next programmed
inspection - which could be anything
up to eighteen months away. The news will come
as a shock to diners, who pay around £50 per
head at the swanky restaurant on the twenty-fifth
floor of The Cube.
Marco Pierre White’s was not the only restaurant
to be caught out, with Chaophraya on Spiceal
Street and Malmaison in The Mailbox also receiving
zero ratings.
Top award for Indian fine dining
Birmingham’s fine dining restaurant Pushkar
Cocktail Bar & Dining has beaten off stiff competition
to be named the Asian Business Awards’
Midlands Restaurant Of The Year. Pushkar’s
Creative Director, Rai Singh, received the award
from Leicester MP Keith Vaz at a recent gala
award ceremony at Edgbaston Stadium.
Rai Singh with his award
Alfresco dining on the menu
A taste of summer is on offer at Birmingham’s
Hotel du Vin, courtesy of a new Al Fresco menu.
Fresh, seasonal ingredients feature in a mouthwatering
selection of dishes, including watermelon,
feta and red onion salad, and chargrilled,
corn-fed chicken with citrus and watercress
salad.
Sweet-toothed diners can indulge themselves
with baked vanilla cheesecake or Scottish strawberries
with crème chantilly.
Summer-inspired drinks on the Hotel du Vin’s
menu include Hendricks summer punch, ginger
brewski and a selection of international craft and
fruit beers.
Caribbean joy at Turtle Bay...
REVIEW
Tucked away behind
Birmingham’s New
Alexandra Theatre on
John Bright Street is Turtle
Bay; not the Hawaiian
resort, but the city’s
newest Caribbean eatery.
Impossible to miss thanks
to its bright exterior, it’s
just as colourful inside,
with the addition of some
of the warmest and friendliest
staff around.
Following our waitress
onto the veranda, we
began our Caribbean culinary
adventure by perusing
an overwhelming
cocktail list. We were definitely
off to a good start! It
would’ve been a crime not
to try the rum punch, so I
went for the Passion Rum
Punch. My companion
chose a non-alcoholic
Watermelon Cooler. The
punch was ridiculously
drinkable; the Cooler, icy
and refreshing.
We then ordered the
pulled jerk pork and jerk
pit prawns from the
Cutters section of the
menu inspired by ‘beach
shacks & street hawkers’.
The hot pork with the
sweet orange and spicy
rocket was perfect. The
prawns were fresh, plentiful
and chargrilled.
Next up was the Trinidad
curry chicken and Mo’ Bay
chicken. The former was
simply delicious; a onepot
wonder of rich-yet-mild
chicken curry, infused with
a promise of the islands -
coconut, sweet potato and
mango.
The Mo’ Bay was a single
piece of chicken smothered
in a creamy sauce -
to offset the jerk - and presented
alongside the
crispiest sweet potato fries
around. Some fabulous
fried plantain topped it off.
With nutty, crunchy Trini
chickpeas on the side, this
was both a street food and
a home-style feast.
And no feast is complete
without dessert! The BBQ
pineapple, with its sweet,
sugary rum sauce, was
just the thing to round off
a spicy meal.
Buzzing with a holiday
atmosphere, Turtle Bay is
perfect for parties or simply
to liven up an otherwise
drab day. With a
huge menu from which to
choose and cocktails
aplenty to enjoy, it offers a
taste of the Caribbean
that’s well worth sampling.
Alev Dervish
Food: ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
Service: ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
Ambience: ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
Overall value ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
OVERALL ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
Turtle Bay
81-91 John Bright Street
Birmingham
B1 1BL
Tel: 0121 643 1303
www.whatsonlive.co.uk 65