VIP feeling in our own social ‘bubble’
IS DINING IN BIRMINGHAM’S ‘SPACE AGE’ PODS AN OUT OF THIS WORLD EXPERIENCE? DEFINITELY, SAYS SANJEETA BAINS
FINE dining restaurant Craft launched its revamped outdoor seating area at the back of the ICC in December last year.
Designed with a British garden theme, the terrace overlooking the canal also includes state of the art shiny pods.
Each see-through pod can seat up to ten people and is fully equipped with heating and air conditioning.
Immediately there was huge demand for this quirky new drinking and eating waterside setting.
Then Covid happened and as we adjust to a whole new social distancing world the idea of dining in your own bubble – almost literally – has become even more appealing.
In pre-Covid times, Craft charged a nonrefundable £120 booking fee – taken off your bill – for a minimum of four guests needed to make a pod reservation.
Post lockdown, Craft and its dining pods reopened for bookings on July 9. And as lockdown restrictions were eased, so too were the booking rules.
I secured a pod booking for two on a Saturday lunchtime...
THE SETTING
Craft is situated at the Brindleyplace entrance of the ICC but has its own separate entrance through a gorgeous floral archway. This takes you to the reception area where you are directed to stand in front of a thermal camera that takes your temperature.
After taking this Covid safety precaution, I clocked Craft’s super swanky new bar – and it looked strangely familiar.
I later discovered it was the bar from the short lived Legna restaurant on Summer Row. It doesn’t strictly fit the English garden theme but does put you in the mood for drinking lots of glam cocktails.
In the garden area, there was a DJ who was just setting up as we arrived for our lunch booking – further adding to the holiday vibes. But I was delighted to discover that each pod is equipped with its own private DJ – Amazon’s Alexa!
My partner and I felt very VIP in our pods – allowing us to see and be seen, although the glass is tinted so we could watch the world go by in relative privacy.
THE FOOD
It was not all about pod chilling and pretending you’re on holiday. There was some serious fine dining to try.
The Craft kitchen, helmed by chef Andrew Sheridan, who appeared in the 2018 and 2019 series of BBC’s Great British Menu, serves a four-course, three-course or two-course set menu.
To suit the laidback pod setting, there is also a delightful sounding sharing package called Craft Garden Picnic – British chorizo and cauliflower croquette, crab and apple slice, tomato soup, doughnut, chocolate tart and custard eclair. And then there is the group friendly Afternoon Tea.
We had the option to order from the Craft app or use the paper menus. For starters, My partner went for trout, watercress and potato salad while I plumped for the crab and apple slice.
The potato aspect of my partner’s starter was a giant crisp and he barely noticed it such was his enjoyment of the hearty portion of trout rolled in nori seaweed with potato shallot and roe salad. The watercress was presented as a foam.
My crab and apple slice was beautifully presented like a vanilla slice dessert. The crab was between puff pastry slices with refreshing apple sorbet. Clever but not really satisfying for my appetite.
However I was madly in love with my lamb, garlic and aubergine main. I can’t remember the last time I ‘wowed’ so much over a plate of food.
Lamb is my favourite meat and served here – as lamb rump and pressed lamb belly, served with aubergine, onion marmalade, roasted shallots, confit garlic and lamb reduction – it was pure luxury.
It was a rich and comforting dish with every component adding depth and flavour. There was plenty of sauce and I greedily mopped it all up with my lamb.
My companion’s pickled cauliflower, chorizo and monkfish showed off the serious flair of the head chef – being very playfully presented. It looked far less ‘fine dining’ than mine but hit the spot on the ultimately classic flavour combinations.
Again there was a lot of sauciness to the dish thanks to the chorizo caramel, cauliflower puree and fish sauce.
We were both very happily full but the dessert choices sounded very enticing – doughnut coffee ice cream, hot chocolate tart, rice pudding and Hay ice cream.
There was also a cheese selection under the ‘Little Extra’ part of the menu so we thought we’d find a little belly room to indulge.
There was nothing little about the one cheese selection we ordered to share.
Instead of the usual cheese plate, we got several plates of the very best of British cheeses. It looked like it would be more than enough between a pod full of people never mind two. But I’m not complaining!
As a fromage fiend, our ‘Little Extra’ was simply the cherry on top of my dining experience at Craft.
THE DRINK
As befits a restaurant that celebrates the best of British produce, Craft’s drinks menu features some of the finest wine makers in the country.
Dining in the pod felt like a special occasion and one that should be celebrated with a glass of bubbles. So I settled for a glass of Chapel Down Classic Brut Sparkling. My partner enjoyed a Purity Mad Goose Pale Ale.
As well as beer and wines, there is a decent choice of cocktails and a stunning collection of English gins.
THE SERVICE
The service was perfectly pitched to our pod experience – attentive yet not intrusive and highly knowledgeable.
The waiting staff were mindful to let us enjoy our pod environment but I never felt I was ever waiting for them to make an appearance.
THE COST
It was £100 for two two-course set menus, one cheese selection, one sparkling wine, two beers and a 10 per cent service charge.
The set menu lunch and dinner (available outdoors and indoors) costs £33 for two courses, £39 for three courses and £45 for four courses. The Garden Picnic (available in the outdoor terrace and dining pods only – to be enjoyed by the whole table) costs £25 per person.
THE VERDICT
Perfect service cpmbined with inventive and delicious food in a pod makes Craft a true treat – something every Brummie should experience at least once.