Purnell's - Birmingham

Prefect dining experience. Greeted promptly at the door on arrival and shown to a seat in the bar area. Everything you would expect, staff who knew what they were talking about and genuinely cared/ had a passion for the industry. We had the 5 course sample menu and it didn’t disappoint each course packed with flavour and great wine descriptions. Each course was talked through and had so many different taste elements I was in heaven. They even wrote a birthday plate for me! I would return. The only thing which I felt knocked a star off was the decor, it was dated and in parts felt disjointed. I felt for a Michelin star wine coolers on make shift tables at the pole seemed like an afterthought, I would have expected a custom built unit to house them or something that actually fitted. …That carpet needs to go!

Purnell,s has always been a fabulous experience. Latest visit was for my partners birthday and she likes a little fuss made on birthdays and everyone made it a very special lunch . A big thank you to all the staff . Worth every penny and some

We went with very high expectations, and it met and exceeded them. The food was stunning, a great mix of excellent flavours combined with some theatre (especially with the mint choccy chip! . My favourite course was the 'Haddock and Eggs ', which was incredibly clever and tasty. The wine pairing was great, a good excuse to try wines from countries you don 't normally see (Uruguay and Japan in particular , the sommelier clearly knew his stuff. The service was also on point, a perfect balance of attentive without being intrusive. Every member of the team was friendly and knowledgeable. If you 're thinking of going, then get it booked, you won 't be disappointed!

This is hard to write because we had a fabulous evening and exceptional food apart from the ‘main’ course. Unfortunately this was not rare but raw and when challenged we were offered sharper knives since it wasn’t possible to cut through with the ones provided. It’s such a shame because we were having a great time and truthfully if they had just said sorry we probably would have omitted the course without issue. A little thing ! I would however hope that there is learning from this review and I would still have no issue recommending this restaurant as one of the best I have eaten in.

Warm greeting on arrival, coats take and shown to a sofa. Some time for drinks order to be taken and then arrival of very pleasant maitre d’ (we assume) who took our order and that was the last interaction we had with him. Three course lunch served very promptly but with not oodles of passion. Had to ask for more water, then had to ask if we had any wine left. The staff were pleasant but no one seemed to be conducting the flow and checking in. It was quite a perfunctory experience…bring the food, go back for the sauce, explain the dish, clear the dish….don’t get me wrong, the food was lovely, but just felt a bit disappointed by the dining experience.