After burning off a few calories from lunch at Simpsons by walking round the Bullring it was time to try a less well-established restaurant. Bistro 1847 in Birmingham has only been open for a few weeks and being tucked away in the Great Western Arcade is unlikely to get much passing trade in the evening (why can't the Great Western Arcade be moved closer to the main shopping area?-it has a really good range of interesting, independent shops). But a friend I was eating with had heard about it on the veggie grapevine, and seeing as I'd had a decent amount of fish/meat for lunch I didn't mind giving a vegetarian restaurant a try for dinner.
There was only one table occupied downstairs when we arrived at 8pm (we could here other people upstairs though). there was special opening offer of 2 course for £16 or 3 courses for £20 and although the choice wasn't extensive all of the dishes sounded imaginative and it was also clear on the menu what was vegan/gluten free.
I had the cheddar brûlée to start and thought it was tasty and thankfully not too cheesy. The main course of Hen's egg, smoked potatoes and wild mushrooms was served with a glass dome covering the smoke. Despite really being too full I tried bits of my friends' deserts-their take on eton mess and some tea loaf-both were nice although could have been improved a little.
All in all it was a nice meal and somewhere I'd think about returning to especially if dining with a vegetarian. I hope it does well but I do think it'll need quite a lot of "word of mouth" recommendations and positive reviews on Tripadvisor given its position.
http://bistro1847.com/birmingham.html
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| Battered halloumi, hand-cut chunky chips |
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| Hen's egg, 'hay', smoked potatoes two ways, wild mushrooms, date ketchup |
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| Malted tea loaf, condensed milk ice cream, brown butter digestive biscuit |
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| Rosemary meringue, cream, Chambord and blackberries |
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| Spirit selection |
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