Restaurant review: Tom’s Kitchen in The Mailbox

I am guilty of sticking to what I like when it comes to dinner options. I know my favourite places in Birmingham city centre and often find it too easy to head along to a venue where I already know what to expect. The most important thing for me though is always the price.

But I figured, where’s the fun if you can’t treat yourself occasionally, right?

I headed along to Tom’s Kitchen on a busy Friday night; one of those nights where people are in the mood to party and not quite ready for Coronation Street and bed, yet. The Mailbox is somewhere I rarely get the opportunity to explore, so after handing my coat and handbag over to a very friendly waiter, I did a spot of people watching and concluded that the restaurant is a far cry from Grand Central and the Bullring.

Why? Because this place felt like an underground secret club, even though it is situated next to Harvey Nichols in a city centre.

The décor is very clever, with ‘outdoor’ seating, a central bar and long mirrors making the place look and feel much bigger than it is. Yet, it feels comfy and has character. Me and my guest settled into a booth and tried not to gasp once looking at the prices.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t just eat at fast food restaurants, but it soon became by far one of the most expensive restaurants I had been in. However, I embraced the surroundings, and the menu, and ordered.

I stuck to my normal order of a large glass of Pinot Grigio and chose Slow Cooked Pork Belly, which came with smoked sausage, choucroute and pork jus alongside a side order of spring onion mashed potato. My guest ordered Lemon Sole and Rocket with a side order of triple cooked chips.

After both diving into the meal, we came up for breath around 12 minutes later and couldn’t believe what had just happened. We both enjoyed our dishes a huge amount, they were cooked to absolute perfection and I soon started to understand what spending just a bit more cash can get you.

But after all, this restaurant isn’t like most venues in the city. Tom Aikens is a Michelin star winning chef and the restaurant in The Mailbox is his first in the UK outside of London, giving it just a bit more star appeal than other Birmingham restaurants.

For dessert, I opted for the Blackcurrent and Vanilla Mouse Millefeuille, which came on a caramel parfait and my guest chose Mrs Beeton’s Snow Eggs, which is a combination of honeycomb, blackcurrants and toasted almonds topped with vanilla custard.

They arrived looking the complete opposite to what the both of us imagined, but again, both dishes were incredibly enjoyable and made a good change to a standard apple pie or chocolate brownie.

Tom’s Kitchen definitely made a lasting impression on me and it felt great to treat myself to something a little different. The best thing about the restaurant was by far the quality of the food, followed by the members of staff, who were incredibly friendly and informative, but not the type to interrupt a conversation.

However, the restaurant is the sort of venue where you would go along to for a special celebration, like a birthday or anniversary, and not just a quick meal on a Friday evening. But saying that, where is the fun if you don’t treat yourself every now and then?

Tom’s Kitchen rating: 9/10