Carters of Moseley
Birmingham, West Midlands
* Following the closure of Carters of Moseley, the owners are planning a three-month 'chef's table' residency at Eighteen, a members' club at 103 Colmore Row, Birmingham. This will run from 2 February to 31 May 2024 and bookings are now live. Carters' new restaurant is expected to open in central Birmingham in summer 2024.*
Brad Carter's popular spot in Moseley is an unpretentious-looking venue for exciting modern cooking of the first order. The bunker-like room, with its open kitchen at one end, creates an enclosed sense of community, reinforced by stunningly creative presentations – the dishes regularly coaxed into pictorial shapes and colours that only tangentially resemble food. First up, might be a little tuile cup of dairy-cow bresaola garnished with shaved truffle, an intensely delicious introit to the tasting menu. The chicken thigh that comes with chunks of savoury jelly in a crisp batter dusted with vinegar powder, plus a condiment pot of aged soy to accompany, might look like a mould-covered mushroom, but is a concentrated essence of glorious umami. A generous slice of Gigha halibut, steamed very precisely, topped with little chunks of just-cooked hispi, arrives with a super-fine shred of sweet, red shishito chilli and trout roe in a golden, sharp beurre blanc. It might precede magically flavourful duck breast, aged for 30 days, with confit squash, pumpkin seeds and the fruity accoutrements of mirabelle jam and elderberry sauce. Of the trio of desserts, our pick was the cloud of woodruff ice cream dressed in plum-stone oil, texturally bizarre and full of unexpected tastes. Low-intervention wines and some seriously fascinating ciders and beers – try the sour porter infused with wild mushrooms – indicate that nothing in Birmingham's brave new culinary world is predictable.
Dining Information:
Separate bar, Wheelchair access, Parking, Credit card required, Deposit required, Pre-payment required
2c St Mary's Row, Wake Green Road, Moseley, Birmingham, West Midlands B13 9EZ
0121 449 8885
