‘Upscale’ steakhouse in heart of city shuts after just 7 months
A RESTAURANT in the heart of Birmingham has closed suddenly after just seven months of ‘difficult’ trade.
It is understood that staff at Jailbird, opposite the Council House, in Colmore Row, were informed of the unexpected closure by bosses when they returned to work after Christmas.
The restaurant and bar, part of the Lasan Group, was in a grade II-listed former bank.
Lasan Group chief executive Jabbar Khan said: “It’s been a particularly difficult 2018 for many businesses and Lasan Group has decided to focus our attention elsewhere.
“Regrettably we’ve decided to call it a day on Jailbird. There is nothing more to add at this time.”
The ‘upscale’ New York-inspired steak and seafood restaurant opened in May, replacing lobster and beer place Nosh and Quaff.
Both restaurants were owned by the Lasan Group.
The company, headed up by Mr Khan, also owns Lasan near St Paul’s Square, Raja Monkey in Hall Green and the Fiesta del Asado restaurants in Hagley Road and Solihull.
At the time of Jailbird’s launch, Mr Khan said: “This is a brand new restaurant. Expect a cosmopolitan vibe where you can escape from the humdrum and get the New York state of mind.”
The restaurant had received generally positive reviews on TripAdvisor.
However, recent ones looked less favourable.
Janina from Cannock, reviewing it in December, wrote: “Went here with friends, only four of us. We ordered a bottle of wine to be told, we don’t have that one so of course then you have to order a more expensive one.
“My friends wanted ribs platter on the special menu that the waitress gave us but then told us, they hadn’t got them either. Not a great start.
“My husband and I had the steak and seafood platter that was £52. The steak was cooked well, nice and juicy, and we had a few king prawns but not much else really for the price.
“Other meals were nicely cooked but nothing exceptional for the price. Restaurant is stylish but won’t be returning as much better places to eat for your money.”
Tobe 80 criticised the service and state of the toilets in a review posted in December.
“The food was OK, nothing to shout home about but good enough not to moan, but maybe not good enough to go back,” he posted. “The service lets the place down to be fair and the toilets are awful.
“Being a bloke that doesn’t bother me too much, but both our female guests made a comment about the state of the toilets.”