This is a blog I’ve struggled to write. Not because I’m unsure what to say – but because I don’t think my words will effectively portray the exquisite experience we had when eating the six course menu at the start of February. Oh Maribel, you tease.

Maribel quite simply showcases how excellent fine dining in Birmingham really is. Replacing what used to be Edmunds, award-winning chef, Richard Turner’s new restaurant Maribel in Brindley Place has a gorgeous, sleek candle-lit setting and the food is just phenomenal. The kitchen rotates its menus frequently and creates new dishes each week. Instead of going into detail about each one that we tried (as it’ll likely have changed by now) I want to show you the style of food you can expect when dining here. I guarantee you’ll leave with a full stomach and lasting memories of a fantastic gastronomical experience. Because we certainly did.

It’s evident that Richard Turner is masterful at what he does. Serving up imaginative dishes without the pretence, his knowledge of delicious ingredients, flavours and dazzling combinations is reflected in each serving. The main of hogget was, and still is, the best lamb I’ve tasted in my life. Although we arrived thinking we were going to be sampling the eight courses, to be honest, I’m glad we didn’t. It may have been a bit too much for us to enjoy but we went in with open minds and empty stomachs.

Set menus are priced as follows:

Three course (3) £35 – Served Tuesday to Friday lunch
Four course (4) £45
Six course (6) £65
Eight course (8) £85

Maribel First Courses

Gougère, thirty six month aged gruyère
Smoked eel, Horseradish, Caviar
Cos, Anchovy, Chicken, Berkswell
Cep, mussel, spring onion
Adams sour dough, bungay raw butter

To begin, six bite-size starters are bought to the table, carefully timed, one by one. Each more intricate than the next, it was the combination of the spring onion, mussel and cep combined with Adam’s sour dough which won me over. All of the flavour combinations are so precisely put together, there’s a good reason as to why Maribel is one of the most highly rated places for dining in Birmingham. Here are some photos to prove it – in order of the menu.

As soon as we sat down at our table for the evening, our glasses were filled up with water by our server. Me and Faye weren’t drinking that evening so decided to order some mocktails instead. One niggle of the night is that we ended up paying a fair bit of money for Voss water where tap water would have been fine. We only noticed when paying the bill that we were being charged extra for the water, so on arrival be sure to tell your server your preference before they begin to pour. Sadly our two mocktails and water for the night cost us £30 alone. Although the mocktails were delicious, you might want to think about ordering something alcoholic as it costs roughly the same per glass. Bottles are also quite costly at around £40+ per bottle.

Maribel Main Courses

Scallop, English Wasabi, Cucumber, Kohrabi,
Duck, Beetroot, Orange
Turbot, Pickled Pear, Oxtail, Parsnip, Watercress
Hogget, Alliums, Feta, Thyme
Eccles Cake, Barkham blue
Rhubarb, Blood Orange, Vanilla

As with the starters, mains were brought out separately and in good time. I’m still dreaming about the hogget, it was the most tender piece of lamb (accompanied by a lamb style hot pot) and it was insanity. Everything from the scallops to the duck was also perfectly executed. I also find it bizarre how good an eccles cake with blue cheese can taste. I would have never put that combination together myself and it was so delicious, I stole the cheese of Faye’s plate too. I can’t fault the food, it was flawless.

I’m aware that I haven’t gone into detail about each and every dish, but this place honestly has to be tried to be believed. With each course, the server explains what is on the plate in case you forget. I’m looking to go back there soon for another meal as I think the price for the quality of food you receive is excellent. I can understand now why so many people rave about this place, it’s certainly one of a kind. We had a stunning meal, great service and next time, I might even go for the wine pairing. I’m certain a Michelin star awaits this place, it’s too good not to. To see all of the lastest menus, I highly recommend visiting their website. Dishes change frequently. Minus the drinks hiccup which we swiftly told our server about, I can easily say I’ll be returning again in the near future.

6 Brindleyplace, Birmingham B1 2JB

A huge thanks to East Village PR for inviting me to try the food at Maribel, it was wonderful. Please note, I was invited with a +1 for a complementary meal but we paid for drinks. Note that with drinks and service charge at 12.5% , your meal will come to more than what you see on the menu.