Restaurant-Guide.com
hand picked restaurants

The Handmade Burger Co. chose the fashionable Touchwood shopping centre in Solihull as the location of its second restaurant. Specialising in gourmet, handmade burgers, it offers a bewildering array of beef, chicken, lamb and vegetarian options.

The menu consists of a total of 40 adult burgers and 4 junior burgers, each handmade on the premises daily, using the freshest produce and tastiest ingredients, and topped off with one of their speciality relishes. The company especially takes pride in its beef burgers, which are made with traditionally reared, grass fed, 100% fully traceable prime beef.

And what gourmet beef burger is complete without a portion of fresh cut chips, one of the tastiest guilty pleasures on offer in the Midlands. Not for you? Well why don't you try one of their many other sides dishes, including the handmade coleslaw and the rather delicious flame grilled vegetables. No wonder that it suits a wide market, young or old, vegetarian or full blown meat eater, as they cover all the bases.

Gabriele warmly welcomes guests to his restaurant Da Santino to discover a genuine taste of Italy. He is from the sunny bay of Naples founded by the Greeks as Neapolis, later followed by the Romans who famously created the city of Pompei, built to take advantage of the climate and fertile land where excellent food and wines are produced. Today Naples is a bustling city where people are passionate about life and food, where even a poor man eats like a king.

The venue offers a wide range of delicious starters, a varied menu of authentic Italian pasta, veal, chicken and beef dishes, and an excellent selection of fresh fish served with homemade superb sauces. Specialities here include dishes such as golden crisp whitebait dusted with paprika, fine slices of parma ham and melted cheese wrapped in a butterfly chicken breast, and fillet of beef in a brandy cream with black peppercorns.

A comprehensive wine list is at hand to complete your meal.

Recently refurbished to help meet the apparently never ending demand for eating out cheaply but well, the Olton relies heavily upon a carvery straight off the new-wave of culinary must-haves, well backed up by a wine wall with wine supplied by Bibendum and therefore beyond reproach.

When I read that they offer to go with the carvery main items, free-range Yorkshire puddings it was all of a nano-second before I realised that this referred to the eggs involved. The traditional carvery has long been overdue a face-lift and this high-tech version is a real stunner. And they still manage to give table service.

The menu contains a good range of more traditional dishes such as fish and chips, sausage and mash, caramel apple pie, the atmosphere is lively, cheerful and conducive to a pleasant meal out with complete informality but no lack of professionalism.

Things seem to move fast at Wagamama - the Asian inspired, noodle restaurant chain that was started in 1992. As soon as you decide what you want to eat, your order is taken via a PDA, and wirelessly networked to the kitchen, so it can be made fresh and served right after. The restaurant chain does not believe in taking reservations, and all customers are seated on a first come, first serve basis. In fact, be aware that most of the tables are long ones and you will often be asked to share them.

The restaurants are modelled on traditional Japanese ramen bars that have been popular for hundreds of years - ramen are Japanese style noodles, served in a meat-based broth, topped with pork, dried seaweed or even corn. Chilli beef ramen, made of noodles in a spicy pork and chicken soup topped with a marinated and grilled sirloin steak and fresh vegetables, is hearty and satisfying.

Apart from ramen, you could opt for the coconut soup based kare noodles or teppan, cooked on a hot, flat griddle. They also offer many rice dishes like katsu curry, chicken fillet deep-fried in panko breadcrumbs, served with a lightly spiced curry sauce and sticky white rice. Vegetarians are definitely not ignored, as they can opt for saien soba, made using whole-wheat noodles in a soup topped with stir-fried vegetables, seasoned with soy sauce, sesame oil and garnished with sliced spring onion.

Meat and vegetable dumplings, skewered chicken, deep-fried prawns and raw salads double as both sides and starters. Steamed green soya-beans, called edamame, go well with drinks - hold them up to your mouth and squeeze the succulent beans from the pod. If you've noticed, Wagamama is more about eating healthy food fast and less about the order. Don't be surprised if you're served the main course before the side dish - order isn't important, the aim is, don't wait - just tuck in and share.

Wash down your meal with sake, plum wine or even a Japanese beer. Wind up your meal with coconut reika - three scoops of dairy coconut ice cream topped with a fresh, tangy mango sauce and toasted coconut flakes or the tamarind and chilli Pavlova, with a crunchy meringue base served with a raspberry and tamarind sauce.

At Wagamama, you can also shop for cookbooks, sauces, ramen bowls and t-shirts. The restaurant is all about enjoying genuine, reasonably priced, Pan-Asian cuisine in a sleek but informal setting.

A new concept in relaxed drinking and dining with its distinctive decor of cowhide furniture, chunky corduroy sofas and welcoming stainless steel and walnut bar. A large, open design means you can sit where you like, eat where you like and drink where you like. Large, arched modern windows look out onto the tree-decked terrace. Mortons offers tempting dishes including Brunch at the weekends, salads, spit roasts, pizzas, burgers and grills, plus everything can be ordered as food to go.