Simpsons

Simpsons was opened in 1993 in Kenilworth by Andreas Antona. In 1999 it received a Michelin star, which it has retained ever since. The restaurant relocated to Edgbaston in 2004. It is in a Georgian building and has a cookery school in addition to the restaurant. The Cross at Kenilworth is a sister restaurant. The chef director is Luke Tipping, who has worked here since the opening. The tasting menu was £145, with three courses at £70 and five courses at £100. The dining area is large and comfortable, with widely spaced tables. 

The wine list had 235 labels and ranged in price from £33 to £1,800 with a median price of £65 and an average markup to retail price of 2.8 times, which is very reasonable by modern standards. Sample references were Marques de Burgos Crianza 2019 at £48 for a bottle that you can find in the high street for £18, Ferraton Pete et Fils Crozes-Hermitage Les Picheres 2020 at £65 compared to its retail price of £26, and Domaine Drouhin Pinor Noir Dundee Hill 2021 at £95 for a wine that will set you back £40 in the high street. For those with the means there was Perrot-Minot Vosne Romanee Champ Perdrix 2016 at £200 compared to its retail price of £167, and Chapoutier Ermitage L'Ermite 1996 at £400 for a wine whose current market value is £565.

The meal began with canapés of smoked eel doughnut with imperial caviar, which had good texture and nice eel flavour, and mackerel tartare with calamansi, whose acidity went well with the oily fish. I enjoyed fluffy light truffle gougeres, which had truffle custard inside the choux pastry and a little Parmesan on top (canapés average 15/20, but more for the gougeres). 

Bread was homemade white sourdough and black olive rolls, served warm and having good texture. The first formal course of the meal was cured Loch Duart salmon with pickled cucumber, oyster emulsion, dill oil and horseradish snow (15/20). Barbecued lobster cane with pilaf rice, coconut, pineapple, almond and a little curry flavour. The lobster was tender and the gentle touch of spice enlivened the shellfish nicely without dominating it (15/20).

Seaweed cured cod came with fennel and artichoke and was topped with Imperial Caviar, along with a shellfish vinaigrette blanc sauce. I am not a fan of cod but this was made very well and the sauce in particular had plenty of flavour (15/20). Beetroot came with sorrel, wasabi, iced beetroot and buttermilk. This was a lovely dish, the contrast of textures worked well and the bite of the wasabi just nicely lifted the earthy flavour of the beetroot (strong 16/20).  

Quail was from Rennes in Brittany and apparently wild rather than farmed. It came with cauliflower purée, pickled walnut, Bradley apple, grain mustard and a nicely cooked piece of celeriac to provide some earthy contrast to the richness of the bird (15/20).  Beef was Irish and the cut was pave (or heart of rump). This was cooked in a water bath and then finished in the barbecue. I wasn’t taken by this, the flavour being rather muted and the texture just a little dense. This came with a sauce poivre that could have done with a lot more peppercorn punch, as well as hazelnut and cep pesto, Savoy cabbage and winter truffle from Catalonia, supplied by Wiltshire Truffles. The cabbage was nice and the truffles added some fragrance but this dish just lacked flavour for me, especially the sauce (13/20). 

Rosehip and hibiscus creme brûlée had a caramel top and was very nice. It was a touch rich for a conventional pre-dessert but was very well made (15/20). The best dish of the meal was the last one, an evenly cooked rhubarb soufflé with a light, fluffy texture and some pieces of rhubarb at the centre, the souffle having nicely risen (17/20).  

The coffee supplier was Difference Coffee and there were several choices. Brazil Yellow Bourbon was priced at £7.50 for a single espresso, and you could move up the gears to £18 for the award-winning Jesus Mountain Farm coffee from northern Nicaragua. This price included some very good petit fours: a miniature lemon tart, pate de fruit and a chocolate feuilletine.

Service was friendly; our Portuguese waitress was excellent, though the wine topping up could have been slicker. The bill came to £219 per person. You could eat for a lot less than this if you went for the £60 three-course menu and shared a modest bottle of wine, which might come to around £95 or so per person with coffee, water and service. Simpsons provided an enjoyable experience with an appealing menu and nice staff. 

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