Gusto, Colmore Row, Birmingham - food review

When Michelin unveiled its stars for 2017, it was writing a Tale of Two Cities.

Birmingham and Manchester, the two claimants to being England's Second City, were at opposite ends of the spectrum.

The loud, brash northerner with the triple-cooked chip on its shoulder scored a big fat zero. Like Liverpool, it was overlooked by the taste-makers at Michelin who decided it didn't cut the wholegrain mustard.

Birmingham, in contrast, was lauded as being the most important area for great food, other than London. It was awarded five Michelin stars, one for every day of the week with the weekend to recover. And if you count Solihull, where Peel's Restaurant, at Hampton Manor, in Hampton-in-Arden, was a winner, the total rose to six.

Birmingham six, Manchester zero. It sounds like an improbable football score. Or the title for an album by a Housemartins-style band.

In truth, the decision of Michelin to ignore Manchester was unfathomable.

Manchester House, headed by former star holder, author and TV star Aiden Byrne, and The French, overseen by L'Enclume's owner Simon Rogan, were both deserving of more.

The absence of stars for Aiden and Simon is, put simply, bonkers.

Michelin seems to have a chip on its shoulder with both of them, after they appeared in a BBC TV show declaring their determination to win a star. In a fit of huffy, Gallic indifference, Michelin seems to have been determined to ignore both of them.

The balance, however, is very much leaning towards Brum. Luke Tipping and Nathan Eades at Simpsons, Glynn Purnell at Purnell's, Adam Stokes at Adam's, Brad Carter at Carter's and Richard Turner at Turner's make it a class apart.

Paradoxically, the fact that Brum is so, so successful makes it a target for the trolls.

The city's out of touch with ordinary diners who don't want to blow the cost of a car service on lunch, so the cat-callers say. It's all well and good having restaurants like Simpsons and Adam's, both of which have been refurbished or relocated with costs at between £1-£1.5 million, but where do the proletariat eat if they fancy something nice?

The answer to that is simple: Gusto.

Gusto is the new kid on the block and offers affordable eating in a sophisticated environment on Birmingham's Colmore Row.

It's located in Birmingham's former Grand Hotel and has the style and class that one might expect. Exposed walls, beautiful wood panels and delightful lighting are included with the admission price and there are expansive views of Colmore Row through vast windows – a delight for those who want to see or be seen.

The service is decent. Gusto opened in September and so it's still going through a process of bedding in staff. New recruits will hone their skills as weeks and months pass, though they start from a good place. The team that visited the table we had booked for a midweek dinner à deux were friendly, polite, efficient and charming. And you can't go far wrong with behaviour like that.

But, as in all the best restaurants, it was the food that dazzled most of all.

Though the environment was convivial and buzzy and the staff engaged and welcoming, our food was both cleverly designed and brilliantly executed. Oh, and it didn't cost the earth, either. The prices at Gusto are perfect for Yummy Mummies, Yummy Brummies and any of group of people who can somehow rhyme their demographic code with the syllable 'ummy'.

Gusto is all about informal dining and its menu has been designed with considerable thought and expertise.

So there are breads and nibbles to start – the olives are well sourced and of a high quality. Then there are deli boards, for sharers who want to pick and chat their way through platters of cured meats or fine cheeses. The starters are, broadly speaking, a mix of the Med with modern British, hints of North Africa and North America and there are wide selections of pasta dishes, risottos and pizzas. The Italian influence is the dominant.

Steaks, seafood and robust Euro-inspired mains complete the selection and there are decent salad options and more sides than you can shake a steamed tenderstem broccoli at.

The clever part of the menu, however, is that Gusto offers pretty much all of its dishes – except for the steaks, seafoods and pizzas – as starter or main portions. That means you can graze the menu, as we did, opting for a selection of small platters, as you would in a decent tapas restaurant.

So as tempted as my friend and I were to order a pan fried chicken breast with wild mushrooms, tarragon cream and herb polenta, or a lobster and prawn spaghetti in a light tomato sauce, we opted to mix and match.

Deep fried calamari with a lemon mayonnaise were tender, coated in a light, crisp batter and served deliciously with plenty of fresh lemon and a citrusy mayo. The cooking was spot on.

Tiger prawns were elegantly cooked – and they were only-just cooked, so that the texture was damn near perfect. They were served in a garlic, tomato and cream sauce that was so filling and delicious that my friend ate the lot while I was looking the other way. Grilled ciabatta served as a scoop for the remaining sauce.

Handmade beef tortellini with pickled walnuts and atomato jus was brilliant. The pasta was thin and silky, like a Strictly Come Dancing Dress, and the filling seasoned with considerable skill. Next time, I'll order it as a main. The sauce was good, too. Robust, refreshing and deliciously light and sweet, it was packed with flavour.

A salad of smoked duck with shaved fennel and orange was sublime. The luxurious and intense duck worked perfectly with sharp orange, peppery radish and delightful salad leaves. It would have worked perfectly as a main. A side of stick-think courgette fries completed our selection and my friend and I happily talked and ate until the table was clear.

Oh yes, and I almost forgot the meatballs. Dinky, flavoursome and savoury, they were topped with cheese and served in a hot tomato sauce with ciabatta for dipping. Delish.

We'd saved room for dessert: a bowl of mini doughnuts with orange Chantilly and chocolate sauce and a breathtaking and light almond milk panna cotta with flaked almonds and lemon curd. The latter was as easy on the eye as a vase of Stargazer lilies and proved a perfect way to end our Italian-tapas-inspired evening.

The critics who knock Brum for having too few mid-priced, budget-friendly restaurants for a good night out have got it wrong. Gusto is an in-with-a-bullet restaurant that's here to stay and will become one of the city's most popular ventures.

The name resonates with enjoyment and enthusiasm in doing something. And that pretty much sums it up. A real delight.

By Andy Richardson