A Birmingham hotspot has been named a finalist in the Restaurant of the Year category of the prestigious Good Food Guide Awards. Opheem, an Indian fine dining restaurant on Summer Row, is competing against the likes of The Ritz Restaurant in London to be named the best in Britain.
The winner of the award will be announced at a special ceremony at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in central London on Monday, February 3. The awards, which will be hosted by Richard Bacon, will honour ‘the best of emerging and establushed excellence in British dining’.
Opheem is going up against Osip in Somerset, Restaurant Jericho in Leicestershire, St John (Smithfield) in London and the capital city-based The Ritz Restaurant. The Birmingham big-hitter is the creation of Aston-born chef Aktar Islam who learnt his craft working at his family’s Birmingham restaurant. His fine dining menu features flavours that hearken back to his culinary roots.
Read more: BirminghamLive’s Opheem review
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In February 2024, Opheem was awarded a second Michelin Star, the first Birmingham restaurant to achieve the rating. It’s considered among the top 22 restaurants in Britain by the tyre manufacturer.
Meanwhile, the Good Food Guide review said that dining at Opheem was a ‘taste adventure that sashays in contemporary, classy style between western European and Indian influences’.
Opheem isn’t the only West Midlands restaurant to be in the running for a Good Food Guide Award in 2025. Alex Claridge’s Jewellery Quarter spot Albatross Death Cult, which opened in 2024, is up for Best New Restaurant while Grace and Savour at Hampton Manor is competing against restaurants in Berkshire, Hampshire and London for the Most Beautiful Restaurant title.
Chloë Hamilton, co-editor of The Good Food Guide, said: “This year’s shortlist is a magnificent mix of starry names alongside some brilliant lesser-known talent that anyone interested in restaurants should be taking note of. If last year’s ceremony is anything to go by, our return to Theatre Royal Drury Lane is set to be a huge night of celebration with some revelations to remember.”