The three Michelin restaurants that Birmingham has now lost

The closure of Glynn Purnell's eponymous restaurant has us reflecting on the other top eateries the city lost

When Purnell's closed on Saturday, October 12, it took the overall number of Michelin Stars in Birmingham down to four. We have three restaurants still flying the flag on the prestigious guide, Adam's, Simpsons and Opheem (the latter of which has two stars), but now we have three in our rear view too.

Birmingham's food scene is renowned across Britain for its excellence. We have a diverse independent scene, some of the very best street food vans you'll find anywhere and a mix of casual and fine dining spots that cover quick breakfasts, chilled-out brunches, special lunches and multi-course extraordinary fine dining dinners.

Our Michelin Star spots tend to best serve those latter two categories. Though the tyre manufacturer never explains exactly what a restaurant can do to earn the rating, it does take into consideration 'the quality of the ingredients, the harmony of flavours, the mastery of techniques, the personality of the chef as expressed through their cuisine and, just as importantly, consistency both across the entire menu and over time'.

Read more: Top Birmingham restaurant Purnell's closes after 17 years as chef says 'no one is bulletproof'

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The city's first Michelin Star was earned by Andreas Antona and his staff at the Edgbaston restaurant Simpsons back in 1999. Andreas is now known as the 'Godfather of Modern Birmingham Food' given how many of our other highly-revered chefs spent time in his kitchen.

Since then, inspiring chefs have brought five other Michelin Stars to Birmingham. Here, we're taking a look a those that have been and gone:

Turners at 69

Chef Richard Turner was awarded a Michelin Star in 2009 as recognition for the high quality dishes he was creating at his Harborne High Street restaurant. It was a flag the restaurant flew until 2017 when Turners at 69 made a huge change that would cost it the ranking.

The chef announced he would be scrapping fine dining tasting menus, likening them to a 'straitjacket' for chefs. At the time, Richard said: "The tasting menu-style of cooking can be a straitjacket and I think it will be liberating to offer a more casual style of food.

"I will never sacrifice my commitment to quality but I believe quality can be delivered on a more accessible basis. Birmingham is very well served with top-end Michelin star restaurants but there is a huge gap in the middle market for great quality food.

"The city has been a victim of its own success in attracting chain restaurants, many of them churning out food of dubious quality. I think my home city deserves better than that. I admire the dedication of Birmingham's star chefs and wish them well.

"But after almost a decade of unrelenting, high-pressure cooking, I think the time is right for a change of direction – and, most importantly, I think the public is hungry for a change too."

The restaurant closed four months later.

Carters of Moseley

Unlike Turners at 69, Brad Carter's Moseley restaurant didn't lose its star due to a change in its style of cooking. Instead, owners Brad and Holly Carter closed their spot in 2023, when they were at the top of their game, to cook somewhere new.

The St Mary's Row restaurant earnt its Michelin Star back in 2015, holding it for eight years before moving the operation, temporarily, to Evesham. There, Brad cooked in a glasshouse at the source of much of the restaurant's produce before taking up a spot at 103 Colmore Row's Eighteen club.

During the move, Brad maintained that he had plans to relaunch Carters in the city. However, by April of 2024, his focus turned to the capital.

It was revealed then that Brad would be opening a new eatery in the crypt of an old London church and the plan was to launch over the summer. However, according to Restaurant Magazine, Brad stepped away from that plan in September.

Foodies in Birmingham now await Brad and Holly's return to the city and, hopefully, another new star for Brum. We'll bring you news when we have it.

Purnell's

This past weekend, Yummy Brummie Glynn Purnell announced that he would be closing his eponymous restaurant after 17 years. Glynn said that he shut the doors on the Cornwall Street spot due to the economic pressures faced by the hospitality industry.

Purnell's won its Michelin Star back in 2009, two years after it welcomed its first customer. As well as thanking those who had dined at the spot over the years, Glynn's statement served as a warning, with the chef saying 'no one is bulletproof' when it comes to the difficulties faced by restauranteurs dealing with high costs.

It hasn't yet been revealed what is next for Glynn Purnell, but he does still have two eateries in the region. The Mount by Glynn Purnell, which opened in 2022, is a top-rated gastropub in Henley-in-Arden and tapas restaurant Plates by Purnell's on Edmund Street remains open for business too.