Paris

Paris is now closed!

Food was good but let down by price and service.

Pat's now focusing on Epic in Bromsgrove which is worth a visit
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Rich Ormonde
Thursday, May 31, 2007

Regarding the review by - obviously - a southerner. I am appalled at the anti-north sentiments expressed here. Ok so you didn't enjoy the restaurant and food - which I have to say when I have visited have both been excellent - but I really do object to the Brummie bashing. Leave Birmingham alone - if you'd taken time to explore you would have found that we are awash with reasonably priced very good restaurants - unlike London where everytime I have eathen I have either been disappointed or vastly overcharged or on occasion both!!
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Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Rubbish... Pretension Brummie style, these three words sum up this restaurant in a nutshell, or should I say in shell nuts, as the pseudo French (who is actually Belgian) maitre’d would say if his English was up to standard.

I’ve been to this, shall we say, establishment a number of times, as each time what I have heard about it does not live up to my past experience; so I go again, only to be disappointed once again.

Now let’s get one thing straight, this place is costs a lot, and I’m not talking Boxwood Café or Hakkasan, I’m talking Sketch and Nobu. Sure it will not cost you as much as Sketch, but may I remind you, my dear friend that we are in Birmingham, if we are talking relative terms, considering overheads, this place is more expensive than Sketch, we are not in Mayfair damn it, Pierre Gagnaire has not designed the menu, nor is the service up to Sketch standards, and the décor and ambiance certainly is not. I’m all for paying for what I get. Nobu and Sketch actually offer outstanding value for money, this place does not.

I’m really stuck for where to begin actually, you walk in and are greeted by the Belgian maitre’d, to be shown into a deserted oasis, of modern tack, with a rare vision of a doctor in a grey m&s suit, or the couple who have never set their feet outside the M42, and invested their pension funds to come here… only to order the cheapest wine (or shall we say champagne – we are in the north after all) on the menu. You are then served a feeble attempt at amuse bouche, which is clearly the industrial England interpretation of it. The wine list is pointless, when I am being served such awful food; I am hardly going to order a Petrus, let alone adventure to an Alsatian wine. There was one good starter I had here, it was… wait for it… the smoked salmon served with caviar, now wait a moment… let me ask you, how much gastronomic expertise goes into that? They take it out of the respective packaging and slap it on my plate… great pal… just great. I have been served boiled chicken here as a main course, which was absolutely ridiculous, it was not even supposed to be boiled, but hey wait up Birmingham, you think I don’t know! The scallops are okay, but again how could one possibly go wrong with scallops, well let me tell you, this place does, because if scallops are anything short of excellent, its simply not good enough. This brings me smoothly onto the Foie Gras, it is served cooked! As in pan fried with apples! You have to be kidding be, if I even dreamt of going for a fine Yquem, I would not even like to think of the sugar explosion in my mouth, especially in the first course of my meal..

Add to this pretension, with an added element of tack when it comes to service.

And then add an almost non existent crowd, who seem to be silent, as always my table is the only table talking (I guess its worth nothing that I once overheard an adjoining table ask what Foie Gras was!) and you have gastronomic hell.
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Thursday, February 09, 2006

A magnificent fusion of classical expertise and precision with ground breaking invention and flair, A truely magical experience.

Never before have i tasted food quite like it, The best in Birmingham!
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Miss L Taylor
Thursday, January 19, 2006

We visited Paris for the gourmet menu in Oct 05 and found all 9 courses of food to be exquisite and the service attentive yet discreet. The only thing to fault would be the library-like atmosphere. With palatial ceiling and sparse seating plan, there was no music and we felt as though we should whisper! Besides this, the whole experience was a real treat.
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Gemma
Thursday, January 12, 2006

This is my best gourmet experience ever, since I have tried Paris Restaurant at the Mailbox in 2005, my partner and myself are regularly trying to find a event to celebrate to enjoy this French cuisine. We are always welcolmed with a lot of cortesy and the staff is very classy. The environment is out of this world, with a very artistique touch (even the toilets are an experience!). The food is always different and cooked at perfection (and believe me I am a fossy girl...)
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Boubou
Tuesday, January 10, 2006