Saturday

Today's my birthday! I, therefore, get to indulge myself more than usual.

Lunch was:

Smoked mackerel and noodle salad (oriental inspired, I guess, spring onion (scallion), garlic, ginger, sesame oil, noodles and mackerel).

Dinner was at Loves in Birmingham. We've been before, but not for more than a year, largely because we found the front of house too much 'in your face'. It's better now and the restaurant has been redesigned, though the seats are still far from the last word in comfort. The wine list by the glass is rather better than the website suggests and I had a pleasant cote be Brouilly.

We ate:

Amuse 1: Cold cucumber soup with cucumber sorbet.

Amuse 2: Curried parsnip veloute  with goat's cheese and olive oil.

Ali's starter: Carpaccio of beef with corned beef croquette and pickled vegetables.

My starter:  Slow-cooked belly pork, crispy pig's ear, pickled mussels, black pudding crumb,

Main: we shared Herefordshire middle ribeye, pickled carrots, Paris mushrooms, bearnaise sauce, pomme Mont d'Or, red wine jus.

Predessert: Passionfruit creme.

Ali's Dessert: 'White Rum', rum cake, mango, lime curd, palm sugar ice cream.

My Dessert: 5 local(ish) cheeses, each with its own chutney,

Coffee: petits four.

(By the way, I can't do French accents on this laptop!)

it was beautifully cooked and very well-presented. I've had food that wasn't as good in Michelin 1*'s. Portion sizing looks small, but isn't (if anything, the main was a bit on the big size). I'm still a little unconvinced that it was ribeye ( not a complaint, and probably my ignorance), since I was expecting a bit more fat.

The redesigned restaurant is nice, but the location (Canal Square, a bit off the City Centre's beaten track is a bit of a problem. Car parking nearby isn't good either. Nevertheless, a splendid meal with quite decent service.