The top line: Top Brummie chef Glynn Purnell has joined forces with wine merchant Phil Innes to launch a bold new restaurant in the city’s business district. Trillium has a relatively informal setup but serves up high-end, ambitious cooking, reflecting the DNA of Purnell’s sorely missed Michelin-starred flagship, which closed just over a year ago citing declining bookings and rising costs. Trillium joins Plates by Purnell’s, a tapas-style restaurant and wine bar on Edmund Street, and upmarket pub The Mount by Glynn Purnell in Henley-in-Arden.
On the menu: Divided into snacks, small plates, large plates and sides, Trillium’s menu includes XL gougères filled with warm Montgomery cheddar; roast Orkney scallop with oxtail Bolognese, smoked roe and basil; and Dunwood Farm Wagyu bone-in sirloin with sauce au poivre. Sweets take in caramel custard tart with winter blood orange sorbet, Manjari chocolate mousse with walnut ice cream and smoked sea salt, and zabaglione with doughnuts and fig jam. Prices are affordable given who is behind the pass, Purnell is there a lot, with snacks £6, small plates £16–£20, and large plates around £30. Wines are also good value starting at £7 a glass. Innes, who runs three wine shops and wine bars in Birmingham, has curated a list that blends classic regions with a few adventurous choices.
The vibe: Interiors feature a romantic palette of wine-stained reds, beetroot and plum, softened with sage, clay and petal pink. Hand-painted finishes, etched glass and woodland-inspired lighting create an intimate, immersive dining space.
And another thing: Trillium is named after a North American woodland plant, which has three petals, three sepals and three leaves. It symbolises balance, harmony and wholeness.
1 Snow Hill Queensway, Birmingham B4 6GH