This is the 3rd time we have been to this little gem, since they opened. The food is of the highest standards, cooked to perfection every time, the best part is, the food reflects the quality you could expect from a michelin star restaurant, without the hangover of an empty wallet. This is one to watch on the Birmingham restaurant reviews….recommend this for a night out or a birthday treat!

I will be dining at Carters on Wednesday for the first time and I am very much looking forward to it (if they have room that is) I have heard nothing but glowing reports from other visitors and was also informed that the guy who owns it is the old chef from the punchbowl in Lapworth where the food was always absolutely fantastic!!!

I have dined at carters three times in as many weeks .Excellent food,excellent service .I think carters is the one to watch well done everyone.

Somebody asked me the other day where the best place to in eat in Birmingham was. My response was if you want exceptional food at a fair price, a nice atmosphere and arguably the most relaxed, friendly yet efficient service around, there is only one option…… Carters.

The Maître d’ and co-proprietor Holly managed to book me and my partner in at very short notice for a surprise birthday meal. First impressions as you walk up to the front door are that you’re about to have a very special evening and from then on in Carters of Moseley certainly doesn’t fail to live up to that initial high expectation.

Two unsuspected but very welcome surprises were the immediate bread course (an example of just how good fresh home baked bread can be) and the pre-starter of a freshly fried soft boiled “scotch egg”, a modern fine dining twist that really kick-starts the evening’s culinary adventure.

For starters we went for the Salmon and the Smoked Wild Pigeon, the latter coming out in an enclosed box to tease you before revealing the cooked bird in “its natural habitat”, all of which added a dash of theatre to proceedings, making the whole event that little bit more special. Both dishes were executed exquisitely with clean and defined flavours marrying harmoniously with interesting and varied textures.

The next dish was a kind of pre-main course as we wanted to try the Wild Seabass but also had our eyes very much set on the 20oz Aberdeenshire Ribeye. The main worry for us was not leaving enough room in our bellies (!) however the kitchen were more than accommodating, agreeing to divide the Seabass dish into two and then suggesting we take a little break before tackling the steak. Did they have to do this? No but it was just another example of the high level of customer service delivered at Carters which was refreshing when many other establishments would be looking to get you in and out as quickly as possible. The Seabass itself was executed in a similar fashion to the previous dishes (i.e. impeccably!) with the fish being cooked literally to perfection.

So then we had a little break which gave us a welcome moment to discuss the food and wine with each other whilst also gathering the opinions of the other front of house staff, all of which showed a high degree of understanding and pride towards the food they were serving. It was also nice to be able to take a moment to just savour the atmosphere and enjoy the occasion with my partner on her special day.

…and there it was in all of its glory…
The menu suggests that this is for two to share and it really is! That said the quality of the meat is second to none and really does match the quantity ounce for ounce. The steak is cooked beautifully medium rare but without the bloodiness which can put a lot of people off and the accompanying Bernaise sauce is wonderfully rich and silky. The chips are without a doubt the best I have ever eaten in my life, and this is coming from somebody who will normally go out of there way to avoid them – that good! Pair that with the “gravy” which shares the majority of it’s physical characteristics with that of the very finest dark Vermont maple syrup but with an ultimately dense savoury flavour. This dish took quite a while to devour but in the end only the cutlery was left on the table; no way was even a morsel going to waste!

Onto the desserts and rather unexpectedly a third “surprise” dish of the evening arrived on our table! This was a salted crème caramel with popcorn which was perhaps not the most memorable dish of the evening but it would be really unfair to criticise. One thing I would say is that it did set the palate up for something nice and sweet.

We would both like to think of ourselves as Peanut Butter connoisseurs so we were really looking forward to the Parfait. Head Chef and co-proprietor Brad informed us that Carters specifically imports “Skippy” brand PB from the motherland that is the USA because they think it’s the best and I’m really not going to argue with them on that one; silky smooth with a crunchy bite and a pleasant hint of saltiness. The Chocolate Textures was, as the name suggests, a cacophony of deep rich chocolatey flavour and soft, hard and crunchy structures; very moorish indeed! We opted for two contrasting dessert wines to accompany the sweets, a thick velvety port with a distinct cherry flavour and a specialist sake with a complex and seemingly ever-changing flavour; citrus on the tip of the tongue developing into a sweet honey like flavour at the palate but with the very distinct scent of marzipan! I would strongly recommend both and I would very much like to thank Holly for introducing them to us.

A final unexpected but delightful gesture was an arrangement of Petits Fours surrounding a decorative “Happy Birthday” message written out in piped chocolate, see picture attached.

I couldn’t possibly have asked or expected any more from the fantastically attentive and infectiously enthusiastic staff at Carters of Moseley who made my partners birthday an extra special occasion and truly gave us a night and a meal to be remembered for a very long time. We can’t wait come back!

Cheers,
Patrick & Vicki