
Bistro 1847 is a vegetarian restaurant in the Great Western Arcade in Birmingham City Centre near Snow Hill Station.
It is just over a year since it opened its doors in Birmingham after the success of its Manchester bistro. In that time it has taken vegetarian dining to a whole new level in Birmingham. A success with veggies and non veggies alike.
Bistro1847 is named after the year the Vegetarian Society was formed. This year it has been the winner of the best vegetarian restaurant outside London at the Cook Vegetarian Awards.
The emphasis is on creating modern innovative dishes using the finest ingredients sourced from local suppliers. With an emphasis on foraging, dishes are complex and aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
Bistro 1847 also provide a full range of cocktails, spirits, wine and beers.
A couple of weeks ago I was invited by Bistro 1847 Development chef Alex Claridge to visit with him the
Edible Eastside garden and urban allotment on Fazeley Street Digbeth. As a keen gardener this was very exciting for me.
Edible Eastside is where some of the most delicate ingredients that are found on the plate in Bistro 1847 are grown. The flowers, herbs and some of the vegetables come from this beautifully tranquil spot in Birmingham by the canal. This is the place that inspires the food that Alex creates.
The passion show by Alex to the delicate ingredients and to the food that he has created for the restaurant gave me a unique feeling for the dishes I had eaten just three days before.
See pictures to follow.
Alex works tirelessly on new food concepts, flavours and ways to improve dishes even further. It is a lovely partnership between Edible Eastside and Bistro 1847 that works because both the growers and Alex are committed to the best quality and the product. I was lucky to be able to pick my own flowered and herbs and try them in the allotment myself, a real joy in the Birmingham sunshine. Thanks Alex.
The ‘Grazing, Sharing and Exploring’ menu is is a modern approach to dining, allowing you to sample a number of smaller, mezze style plates that are perfect for sharing.
This is the menu Ruth and I chose to sample invited by Bistro 1847.
The dishes we enjoyed in no particular order were:

Tarragon polenta crisp, pickled wild mushroom, goats’ curd, baby aubergine, tahini and petals

Crispy potato & old Winchester dumpling, herbed sauce, toffee apple, mead reduction, caramelised celery & foraged herbs.

Pickled candy beet, spiced honey, & smoked yogurt, salt baked beetroot, rose hip, beet falafel.

Heritage tomato, & preserved lemon, pearl barley, Yorkshire fettle.

Beer-battered Halloumi, seashore herbs, mushy pea emulsion, smoked lemon curd, gin pickled shallots.

Garden Pea mousse, black sesame crisps, broad bean, Yorkshire fettle.
All of the dishes are were excellent, but our favourites were the Pickled candy beet, the Tarragon polenta crisp, the heritage tomato and the crispy potato dishes.
We also sampled two deserts and a chefs pre desert.

Chefs pre desert

Peanut brittle, slow-roast pineapple, Hoxton gin snow, white chocolate creme fraiche.

‘Allotment Aero’
The chefs desert and the Allotment aero were especially good and demonstrated the use of flowers perfectly.
The textures and flavours on each dish were varied and showed a great deal of understanding of the ingredients, and the importance of good sourcing.
The dishes are quirky, adventurous and make you smile and in done cases such as the aero desert reflect childhood memories. The execution of each dish was spot on.
The new menus show a highly innovative and creative touch. The food is more intricate, more advanced in thought and artistic construction than before, its a quiet joy.
Bistro 1847 is a must for veggies, vegans and non veggies alike. It’s changed the way vegetarian food is perceived in Birmingham.
Seasonal, fun, foraged and quirky.
Bistro 1847 Birmingham
26 Great Western Arcade
B2 5 HU
http://www.bistro1847 (for menus)
tasting menu available. See my previous post for more details.
@Bistro1847
Facebook/ Bistro-1847-Birmingham



Has anybody been to Bistro 1847 and tried their new menu? What did you think.
Let me know on the comments page below or via twitter @andydhare or Facebook at Andy Hare or Veggie Foodie.
Disclaimer: we were invited as guests of Bistro 1847 and thus our meal and drinks were complimentary. No review was required. All my opinions are my own and honest as always.
Thanks for reading
Andy 🙂
Edible Eastside
122 Fazeley Street,
Digbeth
Birmingham
B5 5RS
http://www.edibleeastside.net





Edible Eastside Digbeth Birmingham
Like this:
Like Loading...