What: A 16-seater neighbourhood restaurant located in the Worcestershire village of Barnt Green that launched on 9 June.
Who: Black & Green is the latest restaurant to come under chef and restaurateur Andrew Sheridan’s Birmingham-based About Dining restaurant group. The restaurant is owned by Sheridan, alongside husband-and-wife team Sam and Emma Morgan, who live in the neighbouring village, Blackwell. It joins the group’s other venues, its flagship atmospheric restaurant 8 (described by The Sunday Times’ Marina O’Loughlin as offering ‘a procession of dreamy dishes with a side order of sinister’), as well as Divide and garden dining area Craft, all located in Birmingham.
The food: Sheridan serves a ‘micro seasonal’ dinner menu that changes weekly, priced a £60 for seven courses and £70 for eight courses with an optional drinks pairing of £60 and £70 respectively. Example dishes include snacks paired with English sparkling wine; wagu beef and root tartare; scallop, parmesan cream and Isle of white tomatoes; lamb, onion and aubergine; passion fruit and chocolate; and chocolate and cherry pie. Its ‘sparkling oyster’ lunch menu allows diners to choose between six and 30 oysters (more can be pre ordered) accompanied by English sparkling wine.
To drink: Sheridan and the Morgans have worked with small suppliers from the Midlands and across the UK to create a British-focused drinks list that includes a number of niche and exclusive options as well as and fortified, low-intervention, organic, and bio-dynamic wines.
The vibe: Black & Green is described as being ‘akin to all those restaurants you've eaten at in Europe and wish existed in the Midlands’. As the name suggests, Sheridan has opted for a dark colour palette with a black ceiling and black and green walls as well as black and photographs of pianos. There is an open kitchen and also a two-seater chef’s bench (guests dining there are required to order the drinks pairing and additional cheese course) but given the small size of the restaurant no one is particularly far from the action.
And another thing: The restaurant’s name refers to its approach, with black symbolising classical cooking and green emphasising its approach to sustainability.
49 Hewell Road, Barnt Green, B45 8NL
