England Guide
The West Midlands and the Peak District
Eating and drinking
1 Brasserie de Malmaison The Mailbox, 1 Wharfside St 
0121/246 5000 www.malmaison-birmingham.com Slick and smart brasserie offering a varied menu of both French and English dishes. Part of the Malmaison Hotel. Price: Mains £11–18
2 Chez Jules 5a Ethel St, off New St 0121/633 4664 www.chezjules.co.uk Cosy, commendable, medium-priced French restaurant in the city centre, with especially good lunchtime deals. The lamb dishes are particularly tasty. Price: A two-course lunch costs £8, main courses £10–15 in the evening Opening time: Closed Sun
3 Chung Ying 16–18 Wrottesley St 0121/622 5669 www.chungying.co.uk Arguably the best Cantonese dishes in the Chinese Quarter, and always busy. Price: Mains £8–11
4 Deolali 23a St Mary's Row, Moseley 0121/442 2222 No flock wallpaper here in this slick Indian restaurant with its beamed dealings and bare brick walls. Excellent food with the emphasis on southern India dishes. Price: Mains from £10 Opening time: Closed Sun
5 Edwardian Tea Room The Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Chamberlain Square This café has a great location in one of the large and fancily decorated halls of the museum's industrial section – hence all the cast-iron columns – but the food is canteen-style routine.
6 Metro Bar and Grill 73 Cornwall St 0121 200 1911 Slick, modern Brummie bar-cum-restaurant serving Modern British cuisine and bar plates. Price: Bar plates £6, mains from £14 Opening time: Closed Sun
7 
The Oriental The Mailbox, 128 Wharfside St 0121/633 9988 www.theoriental.uk.com Large, smart restaurant decorated in pan-Asian style and with a smashing location, down by the canal in The Mailbox. The wide-ranging and very reasonably priced menu features Malay, Thai and Chinese dishes. Price: Mains average £9
8 Purnell's 55 Cornwall St 0121/212 9799 www.purnellsrestaurant.com A smooth and polished prestige dining experience opened by the much lauded, Michelin-starred chef Glynn Purnell. The premises are Victorian red-brick, but the interior is modernist. A la carte choices include Devonshire crab salad and Brill cooked in coconut milk with Indian red lentils, or you could splash out on the seven-course Purnell's Tour, with a wine dégustation menu to go with. Reservations essential. Price: Two courses for £34, seven courses £65 Opening time: Closed Sun & Mon