UPDATE: THIS RESTAURANT CLOSED IN 2020

As a rule, I don’t trust eateries with the word “natural” in the title. For one thing, as scientist Dr HH delights in telling me, ‘natural’ is not synonymous with ‘good for you’. “Arsenic is natural!” he fumes, whenever anyone brags about their natural lifestyle. For another, it’s usually just an excuse to double the prices. Alas, that was the case when we visited this place in the centre of Birmingham. It cost a fortune, and wasn’t really worth it.

It has great reviews on Happy Cow, as well as a convenient central location, so we thought we were definitely onto a winner. I wanted to go to try the tofish and chips, and Dr HH wanted to dig into the buffet. And so he did! He was impressed by the range of options, and found everything tasty, but not really spectacular. And it was very expensive for unspectacular food! Among other things, he had a kind of chickpea and sausage casserole, some cauliflower cheese, and various veg sides, but it felt like nothing we couldn’t make at least as well at home.

As for me, I stuck to my guns and got the tofish and chips. It’s a dish I love and order whenever I can, and this one was solid, but again, not really the best I’ve had (but probably the most expensive). It was crispy and well seasoned, but I’d have liked better, chunkier chips.

In the end we didn’t even get dessert because we were so outraged by the price:quality ratio. Everything was fine, but not worth the price (nor the rave reviews on Happy Cow!). I guess it’s just the added tax you have to pay when you go anywhere “natural”…