The story
For over three decades, Simpsons has been a defining presence on Birmingham’s dining scene. Chef-patron Andreas Antona opened the restaurant in Kenilworth in 1993, and within four years it had earned a Michelin star — an accolade it has held continuously since 1999. In 2004, the restaurant moved to its current home, a graceful Grade II-listed Georgian villa in Edgbaston, where the bright, modern interior respects the building’s inherent elegance.
The kitchen, led by long-time colleague Luke Tipping — the first recipient of the Midlands Chef of the Year award — produces what the restaurant describes as a contemporary take on British cuisine. Dishes draw on impeccably sourced seasonal ingredients, combining classical technique with influences from around the world. The lunch and dinner menus change regularly, but examples from a recent menu include Cornish lamb with Isle of Wight tomatoes and cumin, or Merrifield duck with celeriac, Roscoff onions and peppered pineapple. A dedicated plant-based prestige menu has also earned Simpsons recognition from PETA as one of the UK’s top ten restaurants for plant-based dining.
The atmosphere is relaxed and welcoming, with attentive, friendly service that allows guests to focus on the food and wine. Andreas Antona, who was honoured with a doctorate by University College Birmingham in 2013 for his contribution to the hospitality industry, has built a restaurant that balances luxury with genuine warmth. The team’s commitment to modern cuisine, rooted in tradition but never bound by it, continues to make Simpsons a destination for discerning diners in the Midlands and beyond.
Recognition
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High quality cooking
*Chef-proprietor Andreas Antona has announced that he is retiring and has put Simpsons up for sale. He will continue to oversee the menu at the Cross at Kenilworth.* There was a time, though it seems scarcely credible now, when England's second city was rather bereft of ambitious, upscale dining. That such an era is firmly in the rapidly receding past is due in no small measure to the influence of Simpsons, which reached its 30th year in 2024, no less. It remains the model of an oasis in the city, a Georgian mansion with a dining room and a series of private spaces that anticipated the vogue for eco-decor by a generation. Unfaced stone, unclothed wooden tables and picture-window views on to the garden and gazebo make a counter-intuitively rustic impression, one that the faintly over-dressed staff belie. Luke Tipping continues to run an industrious and highly qualified kitchen brigade, an impression encapsulated by the serving of two breads with wild garlic butter and taramasalata. Among the highlights on a set menu at inspection was Newlyn plaice with Jersey Royals, asparagus, monk's beard and basil in citrus beurre blanc – the fish lightly floured and fried to a golden crust with a just-cooked interior, the grapefruit-tinged sauce given welcome body with chia seeds. Elsewhere, a generous pavé of sirloin with roast, pickled and puréed carrots, plus softly buttery maitake mushrooms and a classical red wine sauce proved that textbook ideas can be achieved with genuine flair. Where dishes fall short of these heights, however, they can seem muddled in conception: an arrangement of beetroot variations, for example, lacked a unifying element and was dominated by copious buttermilk sauce and dill oil. To finish, a dessert of poached Evesham rhubarb with a matching sorbet arrived with a fetching green woodruff custard and a scattering of roasted marzipan. A group of enterprising wines by the glass, including Greek, Uruguayan and Alto Adige selections, heralds a quality list that gets into its stride in the classic French regions.
3 Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence
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