Sutton Coldfield - Ryan Review

I was lucky enough to attend with Marc on a dry run day - and it certainly didn't disappoint!

This restaurant is located less than half a mile from Sutton Coldfield train station and is also very close to multiple car parks, such as at The Mall - which is reasonable at £1.20/2hrs, £1.80/3hrs, £2.40/4hrs - or at Victoria Street which is even cheaper at £0.40/1hr, £0.70/2hrs, £1.00/3hrs etc.

As this is in the town centre, there are plenty of shops nearby, but also an Empire Cinema (less than half a mile walk) and also less than half a mile from the fantastic Sutton Park.

I have to start by saying just how friendly the staff were. Most of my reviews give the staff a 3, few give a 4 and rarely do I think a 5 is in order - but wow, one of the manager's Gary did a bang up job and made the whole table feel right at home. A very enthusiastic and friendly chap - who gave us a nice little sneak peek at the new ovens and provided plenty of info about how the decor was decided etc. Lee (another manager) also made us feel welcome along with all other staff who waited on us. Very good stuff.

We were all sat on a large circular booth as soon as you enter (which was easily big enough for 8 people). Just to the right of the entrance is a wonderfully decorated wall with dozens of large and bright canvas paintings and bright upholstery on the seating - and to the left a nice wooden abacus effect from floor to ceiling. Our booth was underneath a lovely green lighting display of old jars/bottles. Heading down to the back of the restaurant are multiple square 6-seater booths with a couple extra longer tables - a branch that will easily accommodate multiple large parties at once. Other lighting consists of orange wicker-style orbs and yellow glass bowls. Something which was really nice is the wine rack/display above the cooking area too. Toilets were upstairs - and as you'd expect were spick and span, and three wash basins!

Anyway, onto the food! There was no queue to order and all the food came in just under 10 minutes - but all six dishes also came together, which you don't always get! This let everybody tuck in at the same time :-) The food was also delicious. The half chicken was cooked to perfection (it must be those new ovens) and mine was dripping in sauce. The chips were hot and crispy and the rice was hot and moist. Maybe not the biggest portion of chicken I've had, but still a delightful meal. This was followed by a sumptuous piece of cheesecake - and somebody at the table also had given to them the biggest slice of carrot cake I think I have seen!