I’m somewhat in love with this weird, bold, silly restaurant Trillium , the latest Birmingham restaurant by Glyn Purnell , is absolutely not one of those po-faced, sedate, mumbly kind of places where some Ludovico Einaudi is piped plinky-plonkily throughout the dining room while guests stiffly eat six teensy courses. In fact, it’s quite the opposite, even if Purnell, via the likes of Purnell’s and Plates , is pretty much synonymous throughout the Midlands with fancy, special-occasion, Michelin star-winning refinement. Yet on a recent Saturday night, in this brand new, glass-fronted, multicoloured mock birdcage, the talk is loud, the music is roaring and the plates of battered potato scallop with soured cream are appearing thick and fast. Trillium is a genuine attempt by a Michelin-starred restaurateur to translate some of their best bits into a semi-rowdier yet still upmarket stage. It’s been attempted many times by other chefs (see Corenucopia and Bar Valette for details), but, miraculously, Purnell seems to have pulled it off. There’s a general feeling of people – gasp! – actually enjoying life. Naturally, you can, if you feel like splashing out, add some Sturia oscietra caviar to that spud scallop for an extra £25, but, as with most plates at Trillium and as I quickly find out, that potato is designed to feel luxuriously hedonistic anyway. Continue reading...