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Fresh and relaxing is the only way to describe this lovely Spanish restaurant set on Birmingham's Brindley Place within an art gallery overlooking the canal areas and open bar where you can enjoy sherry and olives or a full tapas dinner. Inside it's clean and bright with an airy feel and it continues to please the lunchtime crowd or just about anyone who'd like to try some good, robust Spanish cooking.

An inventive menu makes sure it helps in infusing sociability amongst diners with a medley of tapas dishes such as red pepper with anchovies, cured ham, Spanish omelette and Catalan olives. Main courses demonstrate an interesting blend of flavours; chorizo with chickpeas, sherry and tomato sauce, sardines with capers and olives, and roasted vegetables with a basil dressing. Well presented desserts include crème Catalana, pastry with almond filling and chocolate praline truffle.

Ming Moon Restaurant in Hurst Street offers a value-for-money Chinese buffet with an array of starters, soups, salads and mains from various regions of the republic. All the advantages of a buffet, that it is quick, convenient and offers enough choice, are present here. Guests can relax in the contemporary setting with the friendly, eager to please staff at their service.

You could begin the meal with rolls of egg, roast pork or shrimp, scallion pancakes, chicken fingers, barbeque spare ribs, steamed vegetable dumplings, fried baby shrimp, sliced roast pork or teriyaki beef. The hearty start is followed by more variety with chicken in black bean sauce, Hunan beef, kung po shrimp, roast pork with Chinese vegetables, beef or shrimp chop suey, lobster and crab lo mein, Singapore rice noodles and roast pork egg foo young.

Food is cooked in the traditional Chinese style with emphasis on preserving the natural flavours while also using modern techniques to make it healthier. As a result dishes such as shrimp and scallop with vegetables and bean curd, sautéed broccoli with baby corn and snow peas, eggplant with garlic sauce and moo shu chicken incorporate the best of both worlds.

More variety comes your way with chef's specials of scallops sautéed with broccoli, snow peas and bak choy in oyster sauce, fresh jumbo shrimp, scallop, crab and lobster meat in a special white wine sauce and crispy boneless duck with chicken, beef, pork and vegetables. Vegetarians can look forward to an interesting range too.

We're living in an age where people are obsessed with food more than they were before and Birmingham's vibrant dining scene is no stranger to this trend;  if you happen to drive around Broad Street places like Celebrity Indian Restaurant demonstrate this better. Housed within a Grade II listed building the interior oozes with character with period features such as chandeliers and mirrors.

The menu is an exceptional convergence of contemporary dishes as well as tried and tested old favourites, so there could be haash shashlik, tender pieces of duck marinated with garlic and spices, grilled in the tandoor; chicken tikka and onion bhajee. It's comforting to see venison in an Indian carte and here it arrives as horin steak soaked with fresh herbs and spices and then pan-fried till tender. Before hitting the stop button, take time off to explore the dessert list that moves beyond the usual Indian sweets; try menta Bianca e cioccoloto, white mint flavoured ice cream coated in chocolate syrup with a chocolate centre.

The stylish Piatto, situated in Ladypool Road, Birmingham, is popular in the area for its authentic Italian cuisine. The classy interior is done up in dark brown and white, with well laid out tables and large floor to ceiling windows that make the dining area bright and airy.

Piatto's Italian chefs ensure they use quality ingredients from around the world and where possible from Birmingham, to create fresh dishes all from scratch.

Appetizers of salads, mushrooms cooked in garlic butter and garnished with mozzarella cheese; and smoked salmon with prawns and Marie Rose sauce help set the stage for the main course. Pizza, pastas such as the chef's special risotto al pollo of Italian rice with chicken and fresh greens; a choice of grills that could include sirloin steak; strips of chicken breast with peppers, and a platter of mixed fish that delights lovers of seafood can be had as mains.

Piatto hosts weddings, banquets, meetings, and special events. A private function room can accommodate up to 100 people.

This restaurant, earlier situated at Albert Street, has now shifted to its city centre location and is back to  doing brisk business. However, there's nothing brisk about the service and ambience which is smooth and self assured, making for a restful and civilised occasion. Rajdoot is one of those agreeable Indian restaurants where the emphasis is on delicacy of approach, particularly when it comes to reaching for the spices.

Starters from the tandoor include quarter spring chicken marinated in spiced yoghurt with fresh herbs and tender duck breast marinated overnight in mild spices, touch of garlic, honey, red wine and orange juice. The diversity of the subcontinent is captured in the main course section which features dishes such as lamb pasanda and whole lobster cooked with special Himalayan herbs. Desserts amaze with kulfi, Indian ice cream, with pistachio, almonds and cashews.