Restaurant VMF (Villa Midlands Food) is a fine dining restaurant offering locally-sourced food, and based in the Directors’ Suite at Villa Park Football Stadium.
My husband and I travelled by car to the restaurant and at first had trouble working out where we ought to park. Fortunately, the staff were very helpful and soon pointed us in the right direction. I thought this could have been made clearer on the website or signed better on approaching the stadium.
atmosphere
Despite the location being slightly out-of-the way, the Directors’ Suite at Villa Park is rather fancy, with exceptional service to match – perhaps not what you’d expect from a football ground! Although the service is very formal, the atmosphere manages to remain friendly and unpretentious. It would be nice to see a few more people dining there on a Sunday lunchtime, as it was pretty quiet during our visit.
food
The menu is not extensive, but there is a good selection of dishes, all beautifully presented.
My starter was a little underwhelming compared with my other courses: I had the poached pear, goat’s cheese and gingerbread, with port and honey dressing. I felt that perhaps the poached pear could have been a little sweeter and sharper to contrast more with the goats cheese. The The three cheeses themselves were mild and pleasant, and the different textures were interesting. My dining companions had the confit duck leg which they both found delicious.
I very much enjoyed my main course which was a whole chicken breast with confit chicken legs, potato rosti and broccoli (picture above). The chicken was beautifully cooked and seasoned, and the sauce it was served with brought the whole thing together very nicely. The mains also came with a side of roast potatoes and vegetables.
Things continued to get even better with the dessert. My lemon and elderflower tart with strawberry sorbet was one of the best desserts I have ever had. The tart was the right balance of sweet and sharp and the hints of elderflower added an extra dimension to the taste, and the base was baked to crumbly perfection. The strawberry sorbet had a wonderfully intense flavour and the meringue added small bursts of crunchy texture.
drinks
The wine selection isn’t huge with about four whites and four reds on the menu, but I can vouch for the house white being very pleasant. There are also a selection of ports and a couple of cocktails on the menu, although, as you’d expect, these aren’t particularly cheap, starting around £7.
pricing
This restaurant is very reasonably priced; three courses at lunchtime go for £22.95, with three courses in the evening costing £24.95. These are great prices considering the high quality of food and service at Restaurant VMF.
***Price update: for the month of May, three courses are priced at£19.95***
overall
This restaurant seems to be a bit of a hidden gem. It is well worth the trek to the outskirts of Birmingham to experience such fine dining at such reasonable prices. You don’t even have to have an interest in football!
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When I went to dine at Shanghai Blues I realised that this was the same restaurant that had put a flyer through my door two weeks earlier. I had initially been impressed by the menu so was excited to find out whether this Chinese restaurant in Birmingham would live up to my expectations.
[by Daniella Genas, CEO of Birmingham hospitality and social enterprise, Aspire4U]
When I arrived at the Arcadian complex in Chinatown I was a little confused as to where the restaurant was. I took my chances and went up the stairs to the only part of the Arcadian that was out of sight and happened across Shanghai Blues in an obscure corner over a little bridge.
atmosphere
I was pleasantly surprised when I entered the restaurant. Due to its odd location I was anticipating a poorly lit, canteen-style eatery. I was very wrong. The first thing I noticed was how light it was. The ceiling was quite striking, reminiscent of a blue far away galaxy with hundreds of little stars. I also noticed the television screens and modern bar located in the space. I could immediately envision the restaurant being used as a space for private functions as well as corporate hospitality.
food
After a quick flick through the menu I was really impressed by the variety. There are plenty of meat, fish and vegetable dishes to choose from, including many featuring my favourite meat: lamb. As I am not too keen on beef, pork or seafood, eating at Chinese restaurants can sometimes be a challenge. However, with such an extensive menu, I was literally spoilt for choice.
For our starters, my friend and I fancied trying something different. Neither of us had heard of crispy Malaysian lamb with pancakes (typically duck is used) or lamb spring rolls (normally chicken or vegetable).
The starters came out in record time which was perfect considering we were both pretty hungry.
The crispy lamb was delicious. It was served with the standard sliced spring onions, cucumber and plum sauce. While the lamb was crispy it wasn’t too chewy and I actually preferred it to the duck version of the dish. It wasn’t amazingly flavoured but it didn’t need to be as the plum sauce was so moreish. Even as I felt myself getting full I couldn’t stop myself from swirling bits of lamb in the sauce.
The spring rolls were equally good (although piping hot) and the minced lamb was well seasoned. I dislike it when spring rolls are too crispy and the flakes go everywhere. These spring rolls were a little softer and made a lot less mess.
Once we had finished, the manager kindly asked us if we wanted a break between our starter and main course. Being the greedy people we are, we declined and our mains were brought out a few moments later. I ordered Thai style lamb (yes I am a lamb addict – I’m working on it), with chicken noodles and a side of broccoli and mushrooms.
My friend ordered Thai style chicken with fried rice. The Thai style sauce was mouth-wateringly good without being overpowering. It was similar to sweet and sour but spicier than sour and not so sweet. The lamb was a little chewy which is just how I like it while the chicken was also perfectly cooked. There were lots of chillies but it it could have been a little hotter for me. However, as Sacha is scared of pepper it was perfect for her.
Both the dishes included quite a bit of coriander (my favourite herb) which complemented the spiciness. The dishes also included a mixture of bamboo shoots, green beans and colourful sweet peppers all deliciously crunchy.
My noodles had much larger pieces of chicken than I had expected and could have been a dish on their own. It tasted quite smoky which I really liked and the noodles were soft (I am not a fan of crunchy noodles). The egg fried rice was fairly standard but still enjoyable.
The broccoli and mushrooms in garlic sauce was simply the best version of this dish I have ever tasted. The broccoli was cooked to perfection, a little crunchy and bursting with flavour. The mushrooms were not too slimey which I often don’t like about shitake mushrooms. There was just enough salt and not too much garlic which is always good.
We had to take six containers home with us. The following day, my friend, my fiancé and I ate some leftovers for lunch. My fiancé then had the remaining leftovers for his dinner!
As delicious as the food was we simply could not eat much of it as the portions were so big. This is not something I would normally complain about but we literally didn’t eat over half of what was presented before us because we were so full.
drink
After a great first impression however I was a little let down to be told that the only wine which was sold was by the glass was the house white. For such a modern and vibrant restaurant I would have also expected cocktails, especially given its name. I think they should create a signature “Shanghai Blue” cocktail that includes vodka and blue Curacao. Just a thought!
pricing
In addition to the general a la carte menu they also had a number of set menus averaging around £20 per person. The pricing on the dishes was all very reasonable and two people could get a good selection for £35 - £45. Ours cost around £56 but that’s because we are greedy!
overall
I was very impressed with Shanghai Blues. The ambience, the staff and the food were all top notch. I think they need to sell more wines by the glass and consider adding cocktails to the drink menu. There should be more signage in the Arcadian to make it more accessible but in general I would most definitely recommend it.
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