The best restaurants in the West Midlands

Rock and roll fine dining restaurant The Wilderness is certainly one of a kind. Chef Alex Claridge's tasting menu reads as a deliberately vague assortment of ingredients, designed to evoke surprise, mystery and conversation. 

Expect the unexpected at this dark, Michelin-starred Jewellery Quarter gem. 

Planning a foodie getaway that combines quality cooking with a luxurious overnight stay? The Bower House does both.

Situated within a Georgian building in Shipston-on-Stour, the restaurant offers a sophisticated tasting menu curated by head chef Leo Kattou alongside breakfast, dinner and Sunday lunch. When dinner is done, rest your head in one of the hotel's boutique bedrooms. 

Zindiya is a bright, immersive 'streatery' serving Indian street food - chaat, gol gappe, dhaba curries - alongside a playful high chai twist on afternoon tea.

With colourful interiors, sharing-style snacks and Indian-inspired cocktails, it's a great spot for group dinners, birthday parties and dinners with friends.

Moody, blossom-hung interiors set the scene for contemporary Chinese sharing plates at Birmingham's branch of well-known restaurant group Tattu.

From duck spring rolls to caramel soy aged beef, the menu provides a delicious backdrop to a celebratory evening that extends late into the night. 

Riverine Rabbit is an intimate, counter-only restaurant serving daily-changing South African-inspired small plates from co-founders Ash and Erin.

One of Birmingham's most distinctive dining experiences, the restaurant is known for its dimly lit interiors, adventurous 'kitchen snacks', and impressive South African wine list.

The more relaxed sister restaurant to Grace & Savour, Kynd shares its walled-garden setting but trades tasting menus for bold, comforting plates like flat iron steak and Sunday roasts.

With a low waste, farm-to-table ethos, dishes here are rooted in quality produce, seasonal ingredients and heartwarming flavours. 

Set inside the popular World of Wedgwood, Lunar offers a sophisticated dining experience shaped by the season's freshest produce. 

From breakfast through to dinner, the restaurant serves an array of classic dishes such as beer battered haddock with triple-cooked chips, Chalk Stream trout with polenta, and wild mushroom risotto with olive tapenade. 

Del Villaggio is a lively Italian restaurant on Broad Street, offering a classic spread of fresh pasta, pizza and antipasti.

Counter seating is suited to solo diners looking for a quick bite, while the main dining room accommodates larger celebrations, like birthdays, group dinners and special occasions. 

Just 24 seats make up this Jewellery Quarter gem, centred around chef Ravinder Ubhi's Punjabi cooking.

The Goat King is built around ethically sourced goat, venison and wild boar, offering punchy plates packed with personality and flavour. Expect everything from succulent fried chicken thighs to slow-cooked goat curry. 

A Tudor-style pub on the banks of the Severn, The Boathouse features a sun-drenched terrace, an outdoor pizza oven and a log fire in winter.

The menu spans Shropshire baps and Moroccan lamb tagine, with both dogs and little ones very much welcome!

Michelin-starred Grace & Savour once topped SquareMeal's UK Top 100, and we haven't stopped loving it since. 

This Hampton Manor restaurant serves 12-14 course tasting menus, designed to tell a story of the produce on the plate. Each dish showcases locally sourced ingredients from quality suppliers, with much of it grown in the estate's own walled garden.

The only Michelin-starred Indian restaurant outside London, Opheem single-handedly puts West Midlands on the map.

Here, chef Aktar Islam draws on his Bangladeshi heritage for a tasting menu that reinvents dishes with real precision. Don't miss his signature dish: a highly complex combination of pink fir potato with mango and tamarind. 

Tropea is a Calabrian-inspired Italian restaurant in Harborne from husband-and-wife team Ben and Kasia. Rooted in quality ingredients, friendly service and a neighbourhood restaurant ethos, it's the kind of place you'll keep coming back to.

Dishes include rabbit ragu, aubergine parmigiana, and burrata with English strawberries. 

Cuubo is a pared-back, two-dozen-seat dining room run by Dan Sweet, who previously honed his skills at Michelin-starred Simpsons. 

Here, he builds intensely flavoured British-Italian plates around set lunch, dinner and tasting menus. Intimate, unique, and genuinely worth booking ahead for.

The proud recipient of a Michelin star - just six months after opening - Adam Stokes' city-centre restaurant pairs poetic, seasonal British cooking with a dramatic, mirror-lined dining room.

Guests can choose between a multi-course meal or the signature tasting menu with optional wine pairings.

Twine Restaurant is the flagship dining room at a 600-year-old Warwickshire hall, serving elevated British cooking with a gentle Indian influence.

With perfectly formed plates, a premium drinks selection and optional overnight stay, it's a proper occasion restaurant just outside Coventry.

The Bull's Head is a remote, unspoilt drover's inn in the Black Mountains with a farm-to-table menu built around local suppliers.

The esteemed pub menu features elevated gastropub dishes such as fried pig's head with celeriac remoulade, home cured charcuterie with pickled fennel, and braised beef shin with trotter suet pudding. 

Cheal's is a fine-dining restaurant in the village of Knowle, near Solihull, offering seasonal tasting and set menus paired with an extensive sommelier-curated wine list.

Centred around modern British cuisine - think roasted venison, lobster salad and braised beef rib - the menu sets the tone for a charming, elegant dining experience. 

Docket is the chef-owned restaurant from Stuart and Frances Collins, offering a high-end tasting menu built on Shropshire, Cheshire and Welsh Borders produce.

Inspired by Stuart's travels, the menu takes you on an ingredient-led journey, with each plate individually paired with a glass of wine. 

The Hope and Anchor offers a riverside pub-and-restaurant combination, with a relaxed all-day pub menu alongside the smarter Pavilion restaurant for dinner, brunch and afternoon tea.

From breakfast to Sunday lunch, the pub is a reliable go-to for family outings, quick bites, and al fresco lunches. 

This 16th-century townhouse hotel serves elevated pub classics and a well-regarded Sunday roast with a strong focus on locally-sourced produce. 

Think of it as a blend of fine dining and hearty pub grub, with dishes like wild mushroom parfait with shallot marmalade, and venison haunch and black pudding scotch egg. 

With extensive experience in Michelin-starred kitchens, including L'Enclume and Ynyshir, FIR marks Matt Sampson's first solo venture.

The intimate five-table tasting-menu restaurant resides in Hay-on-Wye - and the detour towards the Welsh border is seriously worth it. 

Set within University of Birmingham's Edgbaston Park Hotel, this relaxed all-day restaurant offers gastropub-style fare alongside afternoon tea, kids meals and more. 

Expect elevated, globally inspired pub classics such as chicken supreme schnitzel, masala grilled lamb rump, and teriyaki salmon fillet, plus a dog-friendly bar perfect for a post-meal drink.