Location: 48 Summer Row, Birmingham B3 1JJ | Category: Fine Dining / Two Michelin Stars | Occasion: Birthday Celebration | Published: June 2026
There are restaurants you visit. And then there are restaurants that visit you — that stay with you long after the last course, long after the bill is settled, long after you have driven home and removed your coat. Opheem is the latter. Emphatically, memorably, beautifully the latter.
We arrived on a Wednesday evening in April to celebrate a milestone — Vaishnavi’s 32nd birthday. A date worthy of something exceptional. And Opheem, without being asked to do very much at all, immediately understood the assignment.
⭐⭐ Two Stars. One Vision. A Singular Chef.
Opheem holds two Michelin stars — a distinction it shares, in the realm of Indian fine dining in the United Kingdom, with only Gymkhana in London. It is, at the time of writing, the only two-starred Indian restaurant outside of London, and one of just four such establishments in the entire world. Its architect, chef-patron Aktar Islam, was born and raised in Birmingham — a fact that lends the entire experience a quietly profound sense of homecoming and pride.
Islam’s philosophy is not merely to cook Indian food at the highest level. It is to interrogate it, to honour its history, to draw from the subcontinent’s extraordinary culinary heritage — the trade routes, the migrations, the cultural crossroads — and reimagine all of it through a contemporary, produce-led, deeply personal lens. The result is a restaurant that does not simply feed you. It takes you on a considered, unhurried journey through the history, imagination, and craft of one of the world’s most complex and beautiful culinary traditions.
🌹 Arrival: A Welcome That Sets the Tone
From the moment we stepped through the door, the experience was choreographed with quiet precision. The space at Summer Row is strikingly modern — dark, considered, deliberately unhurried. No subcontinental clichés, no ornamental brass elephants or faded Bollywood posters. Instead, a sophistication that speaks to the seriousness of what is being done in the kitchen. We were guided to a beautifully laid table, and within moments, something rather lovely happened.
The team at Opheem had prepared a personalised tasting menu card — printed with our names, Pratik & Vaishnavi, and a handwritten birthday message inside: “Happy 32nd Birthday. Have a lovely evening celebrating with us. From all the team.” Alongside it, a small, beautifully considered memento for Vaishnavi. It was the kind of gesture that costs very little in material terms but communicates something invaluable — that you are not simply a booking reference. You are a guest, and your occasion matters. Vaishnavi was genuinely moved. As was I.
🍽️ The Ten-Course Tasting Menu: A Journey in Ten Acts
The menu that evening was a ten-course tasting experience described, on the cover, simply as “Spring Tasting Menu.” Each course bore a single evocative name — drawn from a region, an ingredient, a tradition — and beside it, a quietly poetic list of components. Let me take you through it.
I. Pakora — Pulses
The journey opened with the Pakora — deep fried chick pea leaf with a trio of chutneys. At a lesser establishment, this would be a starter. Here, it was a statement of intent. The chick pea leaf was delicate, gossamer-thin in its batter, carrying just enough spice to awaken the palate without overwhelming it. The three chutneys — layered in flavour and contrast — demonstrated immediately that this kitchen operates with the kind of precision that doesn’t shout. It simply delivers. One bite in, and you understand you are somewhere special.
II. Marag — Hyderabad
The Marag arrived next — Wye Valley asparagus, morel mushroom, wild garlic, and mint, drawing its name and inspiration from Hyderabad. This was a dish of extraordinary restraint and beauty. The asparagus was impeccably sourced, the morels earthy and deeply savoury, the wild garlic lending a gentle pungency that balanced the mint’s brightness. It was the kind of course that reminds you why provenance matters. Every component earned its place at the table.
III. Badami Korma — Persia
Then came the Badami Korma, inspired by Persia — Granny Smith apple, mooli, almond, and balachaung. A korma reimagined entirely. Where a traditional korma leans into its richness, this version was architectural in its balance: the apple bringing acidity and freshness, the mooli a clean crunch, the almond a gentle nuttiness, and the balachaung — a Burmese fried garlic and dried prawn condiment — adding a layer of umami that lingered thoughtfully. History and modernity in a single spoon.
IV. Aloo Tuk — Achari Pink Chilli, Potato, Mango
The Aloo Tuk course was perhaps the most playful of the evening — a Sindhi classic, twice-fried potato with achari pink chilli and mango. It arrived with the confidence of a dish that knows its roots absolutely. The potato was perfectly crisp at its edges and yielding within; the achari spicing sharp and fermented; the mango a burst of tropical sweetness that cut through the richness with elegance. Street food elevated to something close to art.
V. Amla Tok — West Bengal
From West Bengal came the Amla Tok — Cornish seabass with Indian gooseberry. This was, for me, one of the defining courses of the evening. The seabass was cooked to a technical perfection that is genuinely difficult to articulate — the skin achieving a crackling crispness while the flesh remained tender and yielding beneath. The amla, tart and faintly astringent, cut through the richness of the fish in a way that felt inevitable. As though no other accompaniment could have ever been right. This is the hallmark of a kitchen operating at the very highest level.
VI. Wazwan — Kashmir
The Wazwan course paid homage to the grand ceremonial feasts of Kashmir — laminated paratha, hogget belly, and shorba. The paratha was extraordinary: flaky, buttery, with a structural integrity that bore the hogget belly’s weight without so much as a tremor. The hogget itself — richer and more complex than lamb, not yet mutton — was slow-cooked to a yielding, deeply flavoured softness. The shorba, poured tableside, was a fragrant, saffron-kissed broth that united every element on the plate. Kashmir, served in a single, luminous course.
VII. Saagwala — North India
The Saagwala brought us to North India — guinea fowl, shami kebab, green tomatoes, and spinach. A classical combination, reimagined with immense care. The guinea fowl was perfectly rested, the shami kebab crumbling with a tenderness that spoke of long preparation. The green tomatoes brought an unexpected brightness; the spinach, rather than a supporting player, had been treated with the seriousness it deserved. This was North Indian cooking stripped of excess and allowed to breathe at its truest.
VIII. Seb — Himachal Pradesh
The pre-dessert arrived in the form of Seb — Granny Smith apple, sorrel, cinnamon, and brown butter, a nod to the apple orchards of Himachal Pradesh. Cool, clean, and precisely calibrated, it served its purpose with grace: cleansing the palate, resetting the senses, and preparing us for what was to come. A small masterclass in the art of transition.
IX. After Eight — Scrafford Road, Shirley
The dessert — After Eight, inspired by Scrafford Road, Shirley, and composed of Valhona chocolate and mint fondant — arrived with a quiet theatricality. The Valhona chocolate was characteristically deep and complex, the mint fondant clean and cool, the combination evoking the after-dinner mint as a fine dining artefact. There is something deeply personal in naming a dish after a street rather than a region, and it spoke to the intimacy and autobiography that runs through Aktar Islam’s entire menu philosophy.
X. Mithai — A Selection of Sweets
The evening concluded with Mithai — a selection of treats to enjoy back in the lounge. We were guided from the dining room to the bar and sitting area, where small, exquisitely crafted Indian sweets were presented as a final, unhurried act of generosity. It was the perfect denouement: the meal dissolving gently into conversation, candlelight, and quiet contentment.
🌟 The Experience Beyond the Plate
It would be remiss to review Opheem solely through the lens of its food, extraordinary as that food is. The service throughout the evening was exemplary in the truest sense of the word — present without being intrusive, knowledgeable without being performative, warm without being familiar. Every member of the team navigated the dining room with an ease that only comes from genuine pride in what they are part of.
The personalised birthday menu, the handwritten note, the small gift prepared for Vaishnavi — none of these were things we had requested. They were offered freely, thoughtfully, as an expression of what genuine hospitality looks like when it is practised without calculation. On an evening that was already special by nature of the occasion, Opheem made it extraordinary.
🏆 The Verdict
Opheem is not simply the finest Indian restaurant in Birmingham. It is one of the finest restaurants in Britain, full stop. Every course of the ten-course tasting menu was flawless — technically immaculate, conceptually coherent, and emotionally resonant in a way that is extraordinarily rare. Aktar Islam has built something that goes far beyond the sum of its components: a restaurant that takes a cuisine often reduced to stereotype and demonstrates, course by course, the full depth, complexity, and brilliance of what it can be.
We came to celebrate Vaishnavi’s birthday. We left having experienced something we will speak about for years. That is the measure of a truly great restaurant.
Two Michelin stars. Fully, absolutely, completely deserved.
Bitetrail Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 / 5
Must experience: The full tasting menu. There is no other way.
Best for: Milestone celebrations, special occasions, or any evening you wish to make exceptional
Book: Via Opheem’s website directly — reservations are essential and sought after
Address: 48 Summer Row, Birmingham B3 1JJ
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