Restaurant near Birmingham you’ve ‘passed a hundred times without noticing’, named among the best

A restaurant near Birmingham you’d ‘walk past a hundred times without noticing’ has been named among the UK’s best. The winners of the National Restaurant Awards have been revealed in an online shortlist.

In Staffordshire, Tom Shepherd’s Upstairs in Lichfield made the top 100 – coming in at number 46. The restaurant was awarded its first Michelin star in 2022 – just four months after first opening.

Chef Tom was born in Sutton Coldfield and has worked in some of the best kitchens in the country including Restaurant Sat Bains in Nottingham, Michael Wignall at The Latymer and Birmingham’s very own Adams.

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Upstairs, which sits above Tom’s father’s jewelery shop, offers a single seven-course tasting menu in the evening – with a shorter four-course option available at lunch.

The National Restaurant Awards website says, “Shepherd’s focus is on flavor-driven dishes and produce that embraces the seasons. Time spent in some of the UK’s best kitchens is evident. The cooking is assured but unpretentious, with each dish often comprising just two or three elements. And as you’d expect, the presentation is impeccable, with Shepherd infusing each dish with an exquisite precision that’s reflected in the taste.”

Upstairs by Tom Shepherd has a 4.9 star rating on Google – and one restaurant that described it as “undoubtedly one of the highlights of our gastronomic year” said: “Great! You’d walk past the entrance to this place a hundred times without noticing, as it’s an inconspicuous door to the side of its plush parent jewelry store.”

They added: “The food is first class: innovative, tasty and superbly presented. The wine list is well-priced for the restaurant’s standard. The service is understated, informative and, like the rest of the decor, unpretentious.”

Elsewhere in the West Midlands, Opheem in Birmingham came eighth in the top 100. Opheem received its second Michelin star earlier this year – one of only two Indian restaurants in the country to receive the award. While Grace & Savour, at Hampton Manor, in Hampton-in-Arden, near Solihull, came in at number 66

This year’s top spot was taken by London’s The Ledbury, based in Notting Hill. In early 2024, the restaurant was awarded a third Michelin star – and previously claimed the title of best restaurant in Britain in 2010, 2011 and 2012.