670 Grams, Birmingham B9: ‘a Cascade Of Small, Meaningful Bowls That Just Ooze Flavour’ – Restaurant Review | Grace Dent On Restaurants

Birmingham’s eating segment often leans towards nan intense. I callback a hazy day 7 years backmost astatine nan Digbeth Dining Club, a ramshackle nutrient marketplace wrong an aged mill pinch fewer seats, large music, meal cocktails and baos; it was a thoroughly chaotic measurement to return connected committee calories. More recently, I loved nan city’s Albatross Death Cult, which served 12 courses of scintillating, seafood-focused finickiness to a pounding, darkwave industrial-goth soundtrack.

And, now, it is nan move of 670 Grams to bombard my senses Brummie-style, successful Digbeth’s Custard Factory development. Chef Kray Treadwell began cooking astatine nan city’s well-loved and much-missed Purnell’s, followed by a stint astatine Michael O’Hare’s The Man Behind The Curtain successful Leeds. By 2021, he had been named Michelin’s UK young cook of nan year aft creating, pinch caput cook Sacha Townsend (also formerly of respective O’Hare projects), this kooky, monochromatic, moody edifice that plays semi-loud hip-hop.

670 Grams, Birmingham: ‘Bombard your senses Brummie-style.’

The decor is kitsch crypt, and very acheronian successful places, pinch not a azygous 50-watt bulb successful nan house. The bath is purposefully styled pinch each nan cosiness of Renton’s “worst toilet successful Scotland” successful Trainspotting. No existent overflowing toilets, I stress, but each wall festooned successful graffiti and a toilet rotation holder made retired of a Polaroid camera. Pre-drinks successful 670 Grams’ lobby, meanwhile, return spot astir fancy java tables and surrounded by moody art. It each feels a spot for illustration being successful an exclusive 1980s Soho edifice during a powerfulness cut.

Restaurants specified arsenic this – edgy, ballsy, disruptive – will ever beryllium a difficult waste to immoderate audiences. The menu, which is painstakingly executed complete six aliases 12 courses, is simply a cascade of small, meaningful bowls – an earthy bony broth here, a sliver of Jemison Park trout location – each of which conscionable ooze flavour and, for illustration each nan champion superheroes, move up pinch an root story. Meat and 2 veg this is not. Instead, expect nan likes of a glossy half-inch of eggless custard-topped carabinero prawn pinch a smear of sambal and a crisp deed of lime, which is overseas and delightful successful adjacent measures. Similarly intriguing is simply a chunk of Cornish bluefin tuna successful a froth of eel beverage pinch a small jersey royal potato. Can you beverage an eel? Is it nan caller new dairy alternative?

‘Odd and delightful successful adjacent measures’: 670 Grams’ carabinero pinch prawn caput caramel and savoury custard.

Courses move up astatine a dependable pace, brought by some Treadwell himself and his very tin staff. One item is 2 voluptuous, wobbling barbecued Cornish mussels successful a Thai-ish turmeric condiment pinch a saccharine deed of caramel apple; they are served pinch “sourdough” that is much for illustration a crouton. 670 Grams is not a spot to get famished and hoping for a slap-up. Rather, it is very intelligibly a journey, an exploration, a culinary creation accumulation aliases a high-concept eating experience, aliases so immoderate of those different position I’ve ever utilized to specify dinners of this benignant (of which I’ve eaten hundreds), wherever chefs navigator astatine a sublime level, but crockery up specified minuscule amounts.

The bottommost line, however, is: would I retrieve this fancy-schmancy teensy dinner? And nan reply is simply a resounding yes: location is thing wildly likable astir Peterhead Market cod laced pinch koji bulb and sesame cauliflower, and a little but meaningful information of Staffordshire texel lamb cooked successful jerk-influenced spices and served pinch a portion of barbecued hispi cabbage. The lamb comes pinch a rich | condiment made from sheep’s beverage and further hints of that naughty rub. Every constituent of 670 Grams’ paper is doubtless sketched out, cogitated complete and measured to wrong an inch of its life.

‘Brief but meaningful’: 670 Grams’ Staffordshire texel naughty lamb pinch barbecued hispi, sheep’s beverage breadstuff and naughty sauce.

Any hopes that nan dessert courses mightiness supply immoderate much-needed refuge from each this strength are instantly dashed erstwhile they bring retired carrot barroom pinch a frosting made of lamb fat. That would person been nan constituent erstwhile my aged Aunt Pat, God remainder her soul, would person clutched her pearls, grabbed her handbag and flounced retired mumbling loudly astir her Women’s Institute recipe. Being a brave sort, I stayed put, and it turns retired that lamb fat does, successful fact, activity alternatively nicely successful a saccharine icing. And isn’t lamb and carrots a classical combo, anyway? Even so, I won’t beryllium looking for lamb-flavoured sponge cakes turning up successful a Greggs repast woody immoderate clip soon.

‘Marvellous’: 670 Grams’ tribute to Cadbury’s Fruit & Nut barroom features Pedro Ximénez-steeped prunes, tulakalum cocoa foam and almonds.

The marvellous last people was overmuch safer ground: a tribute to nan section Cadbury’s mill and its beloved Fruit & Nut bar, albeit 1 made pinch tulakalum expansive cru chocolate, prunes steeped successful pedro ximénez and almonds. Right to nan end, 670 Grams is exceedingly Birmingham: dark, daunting, uncompromising, doing its ain weird point and never, ever boring.

• 670 Grams 4 Gibb Street, Birmingham B9, 07304 071289. Open luncheon sitting Thurs-Sat 1pm (plus past Sun of period 3pm), meal sitting Weds-Sat 7pm. Tasting menus only, six courses £75, 12 courses £115, some positive drinks and service