High point for city dining
ANEW restaurant set to open in the skies above Birmingham has announced its name and other details as it enters the home straight before launch.
Operator D&D London says its new venue on the 24th floor of office building 103 Colmore Row will be called Orelle when it opens in October.
It will serve a modern French menu and have space for 88 diners alongside a 24-cover bar and private dining room for 12, designed by Doone Silver Kerr.
This will be accompanied by a café and terrace at street level, with capacity for 66 people and which will be open in both the day and evenings.
The café will also feature the original 1970s cast aluminium banking hall doors, designed and made by English abstract artist Henry Haig, which formed part of John Madin’s old NatWest Tower at the site before it was demolished.
The company said the name Orelle drew inspiration
from the French words for gold (or) and her (elle) and is also the name of a French mountain village.
In the capital, D&D London runs Coq d’Argent,
Orrery and Le Pont de la Tour.
Development work on the 26-storey 103 Colmore Row is nearing completion and a string of lettings have been announced in recent months for the office space including a business club and terrace on the 18th to be run by office firm x+why.
D&D London was founded in 2006 by Des Gunewardena and David Loewi.
Mr Gunewardena said: “Orelle will be D&D London’s debut in Birmingham and has been many years in the making. The interior and views will really be something special. We hope Orelle can do justice to what is a jewel of a site.
“We are very aware of Birmingham’s high-quality and varied food scene.
“We hope Orelle will bring something new and exciting to that and in time become an established part of it.”
103 Colmore Row is being developed by a joint venture team of Sterling Property Ventures and Tristan Capital Partners.
Sterling’s managing director James Howarth said: “Right from its inception, we wanted to make sure that the people of Birmingham could access and enjoy the unparalleled views from 103 Colmore Row. We are thrilled to bring D&D London to the city, ensuring that the dining experience matches the vistas.”
Tristan director Paul Pritchard added: “We are really excited to be working with D&D London to provide a fantastic restaurant experience with amazing views and a ground floor café and bar. We are looking forward to welcoming the public to these new spaces, to the building more widely and for our occupiers to start enjoying the high-quality amenities that 103 provides.”
The interior and views will really be something special. We hope Orelle can do justice to what is a jewel of a site. Des Gunewardena