The story
Adam's, at 16 Waterloo Street in Birmingham, is a modern British restaurant that earned a Michelin star in 2026. Five- and seven-course tasting menus are served alongside an à la carte option, a short walk from New Street station.
Adam Wilson and Simil Gurung share the head chef role, and the cooking leans towards classic combinations with inventive touches. One recent highlight was quail, its leg and breast cooked precisely, served with a plump langoustine, a lemongrass sauce and a spicy peanut relish. The AA has awarded the restaurant 3 Rosettes (2026).
The bar has purple velvet stools and a black-and-white tiled floor, leading into a dining room with bare wood tables. The signature tasting menu is £130, with matching wine at £95. A la carte runs £70 for two courses, £85 for three and £100 for four, and lunch offers three courses for £55.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
History
High quality cooking
Although centrally located close to Birmingham's New Street station, Adam’s feels like a tucked-away destination among the grand Georgian buildings of Waterloo Street. Behind the imposing plate-glass frontage, you’ll find a smart bar area with plush purple-velvet bar stools and a black-and-white tiled floor that leads into the elegant dining room. Seated at one of the well-spaced and simply dressed bare wood tables, you’ll be treated to a finely honed fine-dining performance, given by a team made up mostly of suited-and-booted young men. Expect lots of po-faced patrolling as five- or seven-course tasting menus are delivered (there is also an à la carte option), but the atmosphere is nevertheless convivial and lively for a restaurant of such serious gastronomic intentions. The kitchen has seen head chefs come and go over recent years, although it appears to be firing on all cylinders under the current joint custody of Adam Wilson and Simil Gurung. One of the highlights of a recent visit was a superior 'surf and turf' that paired perfectly cooked leg and breast of quail with a plump langoustine. A fragrant yet restrained lemongrass sauce and spicy peanut relish completed a memorably delicious dish. While you might also find a light dusting of coffee on the morel foam coating an gigantic Orkney scallop, the cooking leans more towards classicism with combinations such as chateaubriand with a bordelaise sauce. There’s a decent measure of creativity here, but the food always remains crowd-pleasing rather than ground-breaking, with impressive technique adding to the pleasure of beautiful-looking desserts (French gariguette strawberries alongside a lozenge of almond sponge topped with a delicate strawberry-sugar tuile filled with caramel mousse, for example). Serious Bordeaux lovers with deep pockets will particularly appreciate the wine list, especially as selections by the glass and bottle do not attract a service charge. Bargain hunters won’t find much under £50, but a full page of wines by the carafe provides consolation.
3 Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence
Location
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