Why I’m delighted my favourite Birmingham restaurant in up-and-coming suburb received a Michelin award
The Harborne restaurant has earned rave reviews since opening its doors
One’s of the city’s best restaurants won a prestigious Michelin award on Monday night (February 10).
Harborne’s popular independent Italian restaurant Tropea was awarded the Michelin Bib Gourmand award at the Michelin Guide Ceremony for Great Britain and Ireland. The event was held at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow.
The accolade shows of venues that can offer a three course meal at a reasonable price, which is certainly true of Tropea. The stylish Italian restaurant on Lordswood Road serves modern Italian dishes, inspired by the owners’ time in the country and has been hugely popular among locals since opening its doors in 2022.
Tropea is owned by Ben and Kasia, two local chefs who travelled around the world, gaining further experience in food before moving back to the city in 2016. It’s named after the idyllic town on the Calabrian coast of Italy, and has featured in both the Michelin Guide and Good Food Guide 2024. The venue recently extended into the next door premises to add 25 more covers and double the kitchen size.
I have been to the restaurant a couple of times since it opened and it’s my favourite Italian venue in the city. They serve an ever-changing variety of Italian food: antipasti, fresh pastas, seafood and regional specialities. New dishes available also champion the restaurant’s Italian connections and include Beef carpaccio, Sicilian Arancino with butternut squash, Sardines ‘in soar’ on crostini, and Sardinian fregola pasta with chilli and native mussels.
Tropea offers a fine dining Italian experience like no other in the city, enjoyed in a relatively small but calm atmosphere away from Harborne’s lively high street.
The portions and variety at Tropea make it the ideal setting for sharing dishes. Tropea offers something a bit different for Italian food lovers in Birmingham, and it’s definitely one you need to try.
‘Proud to be in Birmingham’
Posting a statement on their Instagram page, Tropea’s owners wrote: “To be awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand tonight means so much to us as it represents what we always hoped Tropea would be. That is: a restaurant with great food, that’s good value, cooked with care and served with love.Once again, our hearts are full. We’re so proud to be in Birmingham.”