On a warm summer evening, we dined at Fumo - a new concept cocktail bar and restaurant owned by the San Carlo Group.
To be honest, I didn’t think Birmingham needed a new Italian restaurant; there seems to be a plethora of average Italians everywhere, and I didn’t expect Fumo to be much different.
How wrong I was! Nestled on the corner of Waterloo Street and Temple Street, it oozes Italian class without trying too hard, in a very Dolce & Gabbana kind of way. Greeted by a charming doorman, we went upstairs to the bar area. Curvaceous and with ample seating, the bar was buzzing with life, a sense of excitement hanging in the air. If this is what bar life is like in Italy, then I need to be saying Arrivederci Birmingham and Ciao Venezia very soon! I did wonder why Fumo was situated directly next to San Carlo; surely they were offering the same thing?
No. Fumo’s late lounge serves small dishes of Venetian tapas known as Cicchetti (pronounced chi-KET-tee). Venetian tapas?! Now that’s something which is definitely new to Birmingham! We had a window seat in the far corner, with a good view of another luxurious European brand, Louis Vuitton. I can just imagine Italian footie player Mario Balotelli spending his days in there, and spending his nights in Fumo! I gladly accepted the suggested appertivo, Bellini Veneziana, offered by the good-looking Italian bar man - although I had to resist the urge to say Ciao and Bella. After sharing a variety of tasty bruschetta, the real taste test began. All the dishes we ordered arrived quickly and were, on the whole, fantastico. We started with some fritti - fried zuccini (courgette) stem, which was perfectly cooked - and then some calamari, which was thin and lightly fried, delicately seasoned and on the right side of chewy. We couldn’t get enough of it. On to the pesce; the lemon sole fillet with asparagus, mint and butter was a big hit, as was the seabass ravioli, which was light and full of flavour. I didn’t want to come to an Italian restaurant and have the pizza and pasta, so I had just one mouthful of calzone, to ensure I had enough room for the carne. And I’m so glad I did, as this was another firm favourite - a tender joint of lamb osso bucco, served in a roasting bag that captured all the flavour and made it ever so tender.
In a short space of time, Fumo has quickly become one of the best restaurants in Birmingham. It’s chic and it’s classy, and in the week that Madonna came to town, Fumo very much confirmed that ‘Italians do it better’.
Fumo Bar and Restaurant,
1 Waterloo Street ,
Birmingham
B2 5PG
sancarlofumo.co.uk
Telephone: 0121 643 8979
Email: fumo@sancarlo.co.uk
On a warm summer evening, we dined at Fumo - a new concept cocktail bar and restaurant owned by the San Carlo Group.
To be honest, I didn’t think Birmingham needed a new Italian restaurant; there seems to be a plethora of average Italians everywhere, and I didn’t expect Fumo to be much different.
How wrong I was! Nestled on the corner of Waterloo Street and Temple Street, it oozes Italian class without trying too hard, in a very Dolce & Gabbana kind of way. Greeted by a charming doorman, we went upstairs to the bar area. Curvaceous and with ample seating, the bar was buzzing with life, a sense of excitement hanging in the air. If this is what bar life is like in Italy, then I need to be saying Arrivederci Birmingham and Ciao Venezia very soon! I did wonder why Fumo was situated directly next to San Carlo; surely they were offering the same thing?
No. Fumo’s late lounge serves small dishes of Venetian tapas known as Cicchetti (pronounced chi-KET-tee). Venetian tapas?! Now that’s something which is definitely new to Birmingham! We had a window seat in the far corner, with a good view of another luxurious European brand, Louis Vuitton. I can just imagine Italian footie player Mario Balotelli spending his days in there, and spending his nights in Fumo! I gladly accepted the suggested appertivo, Bellini Veneziana, offered by the good-looking Italian bar man - although I had to resist the urge to say Ciao and Bella. After sharing a variety of tasty bruschetta, the real taste test began. All the dishes we ordered arrived quickly and were, on the whole, fantastico. We started with some fritti - fried zuccini (courgette) stem, which was perfectly cooked - and then some calamari, which was thin and lightly fried, delicately seasoned and on the right side of chewy. We couldn’t get enough of it. On to the pesce; the lemon sole fillet with asparagus, mint and butter was a big hit, as was the seabass ravioli, which was light and full of flavour. I didn’t want to come to an Italian restaurant and have the pizza and pasta, so I had just one mouthful of calzone, to ensure I had enough room for the carne. And I’m so glad I did, as this was another firm favourite - a tender joint of lamb osso bucco, served in a roasting bag that captured all the flavour and made it ever so tender.
In a short space of time, Fumo has quickly become one of the best restaurants in Birmingham. It’s chic and it’s classy, and in the week that Madonna came to town, Fumo very much confirmed that ‘Italians do it better’.
Anita Champaneri
4 Stars on Tue, 31 Jul 2012