Brown’s Brasserie, Birmingham

Anyone who has been following the meandering path of this blog for a while, or who drops in on my social media feeds from time to time, will know that I am keen on taking myself out for lunch now and again. This is usually a solo pastime these days, with travelling around for work and The Boy sadly tied to the routine of Bammer’s school calendar. It has to be said that I much prefering dining with a friend, but we are where we are. Last week, I found myself on the way to Tamworth to hold a beer and cheese tasting, which gave me the opportunity for a quick stop off in Birmingham for lunch.

A trip down memory lane

I opted for Brown’s Brasserie, and I can tell you for why. Back in the olden days,when the world was young and I was even younger, I went to university. It was in the days before I wrote about food and drink. It was in the days before I even started my LiveJournal. I can even tell you it was before I knew a darn thing about food. My family basically never ate out of the home. I can remember very occasional visits to the chippy on our summer holidays; the whole family sat in the car on a rainy seaside day sharing a couple of portions of chips between five. I remember being absolutely floored by the occasional friends’ birthday party at McDonalds.

Going to university in Cambridge broadened my culinary horizons in a way that probably sounds absolutely ridiculous now. I remember my more exotic, cultured friends introducing me to hummus for the first time. And pesto. Can you imagine? Going out for meals became more of a regular occurence for me – the start of a 25 year love affair now, as it turns out. And getting a real taste for traditional pubs – the Eagle looms large in my memory for example. Whenever my grandparents, both sadly departed now, would visit, I’d take them to a wonderful little Greek restaurant on Freeschool Lane, just opposite the Eagle. It had the most beautifully written chalk menu board out front and the food was delicious and relatively light on the wallet (incredible for such a central part of town.)

To get to the point then

Anyway, I’m meandering slightly, but basically this is the time when I didn’t really know anything about restaurants, much less chain restaurants. So when I saw Brown’s Brasserie, it just struck me as the most amazing place. Really fancy, y’know. And while I’m kind of over that now, because I have been fortunate enough to experience a handful of *truly fancy* meals, the name Browns still holds charm for me. That’s why I decided to pop into the Birmingham branch.

The St Martin’s Square venue is much newer than Cambridge’s (although not so far off celebrating 15 years on site), perched on the dwindling terraces next to the Bullring. But this Brown’s still has all the stylish charm that I remember. A baby grand piano welcomes you as you enter, and the tall windows give it an open airy feel. Not to mention the huge swathes of spotlights and Edison bulbs artistically arranged around. I’m sure it is very atmospheric in the evening. My waiter addressed me throughout as “ma’am” which I still enjoy, in a slightly “working class girl come good” sort of way. The team are very attentive and on the politer end of the ‘friendly’ spectrum.

Set menu at Brown’s Brasserie

I took on the two course set lunch menu. Three are available but I rarely order dessert for lunch, especially alone. I’m definitely a savoury-led individual. At £18.95, this is pretty competitively priced. The affordable end of fancy – considering you’d be hard pressed to get a main in any restaurant for under £15 these days. Don’t comment that Wetherspoons or your local greasy spoon is cheaper, I know. I’m talking restaurants today thanks.

The starter was smoked salmon with a clementine and honey dressing, garnished with some perky microgreens. The salmon was of a nice quality and well-seasoned so no complaints there. The rye bread that accompanied it was full of tasty seeds and flavourful. However, it was lightly toasted which unfortunately just made it a little sweaty by the time it got to my table. It would have been fine served cold, or toasted a little more so you felt the benefit of the crisp. That is being a bit nitpicky though – it was a tasty treat to begin.

“I am a proper sucker for a pie”

The salmon was followed up with the chicken and leek pie. I am a proper sucker for a pie. If I am being incredibly honest, I would have ordered the smoked haddock and salmon fishcake for a main, had I not fancied the smoked salmon to start. But that seemed like suspiciously fishy overkill. The pie was my second choice, then, but a good shout because it was Baltic outside, and I was reet in the mood for a bit of a winter warmer.

Firstly, as all of my British Pie Awards judging training has drilled into me, it was not a pie. It was a stew with a lid. A puff pastry bouffant, welded to a white pie dish.

Crack the flaky dome and beneath I found… Well, it took a bit of searching, but eventually I found a small lake of creamy sauce. There were plenty of leeks and the allium flavour came through very nicely indeed with the creamy richness. The chicken was harder to pin down. The chunks of chicken breast were well cooked – not too much and not too little. They were just a little too sparse for my liking.

The dish was accompanied by a mashed potato that was, well, fine. Just OK. No further notes to speak of. A little herby crumb sprinkled over the top didn’t really add any flavour. The whole thing was crying out for a vegetable accompaniment. I know there were some slivers of leek in the pie, but a meal like that needs veg in my opinion. Looking back at the menu, I could have added green beans or Tenderstem broccoli, each with their own excitingly titled crumb for £4.75. But I don’t think I would have been particularly keen to add another 25% on to the cost of my meal for it.

Bang on at Brown’s Brasserie?

My meal was entirely acceptable, but in no way did it set the world on fire. I notice nowadays that these smaller chains, offering a bistro experience – especially with set menus – are generally frequented by the older generation now. An acceptable meal in a plush surrounding. Maybe I’m not the demographic they’re reaching out for. I am not sure I’m anyone’s demographic to be honest. But I enjoyed the nostalgia. I kind of enjoyed the slightly aloof service. I guess I get enough enthusiastic warmth in pubs that sometimes I need to be treated with a good humoured disdain from time to time.

It’s taken me many years to recognise what true fine dining looks like, and this ain’t it. But will I go back? Yes. Probably not to this exact restaurant, but to somewhere like it and for very similar reasons. I like a menu that doesn’t have a burger on it, for a change. I like the almost retro feel that the older vein of British bistros now give when you read the menu. It’s almost like a snapshot of how we, as a nation, really embraced the concept of going out for food from the fifties onwards.

Once again, I have left you with a write up that is confusing. Did I like it or did I not? It’s Peterborough all over again. I say take a visit and form your own opinions. Nobody is interested in experts anymore anyway.

Head to Instagram to see the reel of my visit.

I visited Brown’s because I was hungry and it was lunchtime. Then I wrote it up because I wanted to. I paid for my din dins with my own pocket money.