The story
Simpsons, at 20 Highfield Road in Edgbaston, Birmingham, is a Modern British restaurant that holds a 2026 Michelin star. The kitchen has operated from this Grade II-listed Georgian villa since 2004, when it moved from Kenilworth, where it first opened in 1993.
Chef-patron Andreas Antona and Luke Tipping built the house style, and Tipping continues to run the kitchen brigade. Three AA Rosettes for 2026 point to consistent cooking across the menu. Antona has announced his retirement and put the restaurant up for sale, though he will still oversee the menu at The Cross in Kenilworth.
At inspection, Newlyn plaice arrived with Jersey Royals, asparagus and monk's beard in a citrus beurre blanc. The fish was floured and fried to a golden crust, with a just-cooked interior. A pavé of sirloin with roast, pickled and puréed carrots showed how classic ideas can be executed with real flair. Menus change with the season, so the line-up you find may differ.
Recognition
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History
High quality cooking
*Chef-proprietor Andreas Antona has announced that he is retiring and has put Simpsons up for sale. He will continue to oversee the menu at the Cross at Kenilworth.* There was a time, though it seems scarcely credible now, when England's second city was rather bereft of ambitious, upscale dining. That such an era is firmly in the rapidly receding past is due in no small measure to the influence of Simpsons, which reached its 30th year in 2024, no less. It remains the model of an oasis in the city, a Georgian mansion with a dining room and a series of private spaces that anticipated the vogue for eco-decor by a generation. Unfaced stone, unclothed wooden tables and picture-window views on to the garden and gazebo make a counter-intuitively rustic impression, one that the faintly over-dressed staff belie. Luke Tipping continues to run an industrious and highly qualified kitchen brigade, an impression encapsulated by the serving of two breads with wild garlic butter and taramasalata. Among the highlights on a set menu at inspection was Newlyn plaice with Jersey Royals, asparagus, monk's beard and basil in citrus beurre blanc – the fish lightly floured and fried to a golden crust with a just-cooked interior, the grapefruit-tinged sauce given welcome body with chia seeds. Elsewhere, a generous pavé of sirloin with roast, pickled and puréed carrots, plus softly buttery maitake mushrooms and a classical red wine sauce proved that textbook ideas can be achieved with genuine flair. Where dishes fall short of these heights, however, they can seem muddled in conception: an arrangement of beetroot variations, for example, lacked a unifying element and was dominated by copious buttermilk sauce and dill oil. To finish, a dessert of poached Evesham rhubarb with a matching sorbet arrived with a fetching green woodruff custard and a scattering of roasted marzipan. A group of enterprising wines by the glass, including Greek, Uruguayan and Alto Adige selections, heralds a quality list that gets into its stride in the classic French regions.
3 Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence
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