Plates by Purnell's in Birmingham

We enjoyed the meal here, all dishes were freshly prepared and tasty. It was a bit odd that each dish was served separately with a gap between each. Staff looked a bit pushed and space was at a premium. There were a lot of fried dishes, not many healthy options. Prices are quite high for what you get.

Turned up on the off chance of a table, they were more than happy to accommodate us. Staff were super friendly, efficient and couldn't do enough for us. We probably tried 60% of the menu and it was all fantastic. When next in Birmingham, we'll definitely eat there again....

Welcomed by a wonderful waiter called Keaton who was very helpful and knowledgeable about the different dishes and wine. Food lovely and great atmosphere. Very cosy great Spanish feel. Definitely recommend.

Food and service terrible bland and greasy Rude staff and tapas very disappointing We will not be returning or recommending.

I had the best experience at this tapas spot with a friend today! We found it last minute and tried to walk in, but it was totally packed and booked for the rest of the evening. Just as we were about to leave and look for somewhere else, a gentleman stopped us and asked if we were still hoping for a table. Turns out, it was Glynn Purnell, the owner, and he offered to give us his table! Super generous and such a nice surprise. The food was amazing, the service was top-notch (big thanks to Mr. Purnell for that), and the wine was perfect. Honestly, I’d recommend this place to anyone. Great atmosphere, even better food, and a really memorable experience!

BE AWARE: other restaurants by this chef have gone into liquidation. Do not buy vouchers for here, they may not be honoured elsewhere if the same happens here.

¡Suave, suave, suave! Sooo decepcionado - la comida en el mejor de los casos era muy promedio. Manager preguntó si todo estaba bien y le dijimos que estábamos decepcionados ella nos ignoró TOTALMENTE y no hizo ningún intento de abordar nuestras quejas! REALMENTE no me molestaría tanto por lo que obtiene y el piso también era peligrosamente resbaladizo, así que un accidente esperando a suceder.

Soy española, y la comida me recordó a casa, pero con un toque de distinción y refinamiento. Muy recomendable. Excelente

Nice tapas menu with more than the usual run of the mill dishes Favourite dish was the Aubergine chips and the Chicken thighs. Enthusiastic service and plenty of cocktail recommendations/discussion.

Was a bit worried by the mixed reviews- didn’t need to worry- food and service 10/10

What an absolutely fantastic meal! We can’t recommend this restaurant enough. The food was beautifully cooked and presented, every dish we tried was 10/10 for us. The service was also brilliant. This restaurant is a credit to the Birmingham food scene and is not one to be missed!

Absolutely amazing and a good entry into fine dining as a whole. it's really small and compact, but can bring a pleasant and welcoming experience for those who are open to try it! :]

Originally booked Purnells main restaurant for my 40th birthday celebration as I’d wanted to go for years. Sadly received the news 2 weeks before my birthday that it had closed so we chose Plates instead. Food was absolutely fantastic but the service was pretty abysmal. Waited 15 minutes on arrival for anyone to offer us a drink and this level of service continued throughout. Ordered prawns with bread on the side and it was delivered without bread. Asked for the missing bread, didn’t arrive, asked three more times and was told it was on the way every time. Over 15 minutes later still no bread and we’d had to eat the prawns without and the sauce was now cold. There were generally quite long delays in getting to order and food being delivered. Would have been 1 star for service but the floor manager (I think) was eventually very apologetic and offered fresh prawns and bread. A real shame because the food was really really good but the service was so disappointing especially when we’d booked the Michelin star experience originally for a special birthday.

Me and my partner had a really lovely evening, the service was great (shout out to our lovely curly hair waiter - sorry we didn't get your name!), and the food was stunning! Can't wait to go back ❤️

Went to Plates for an early dinner and drinks. The place is cosy and has a nice Spanish themed atmosphere. The staff is very friendly but professional at the same time. Had some cocktails to start that were amazing. The menu is tapas style and everything is made to share. After ordering about 7-8 dishes they started arriving very quickly. Everything was plated beautifully and was nice and fresh. Absolutely loved the chorizo and the burrata. The prawns with the bread were delicious too, that sauce was perfection! Ines was amazing, very professional and provided perfect service, Yoan was the one that made our tasty cocktails, special thanks to both! Overall very nice experience and definitely will be going again.

Terrible manager and zero hospitality. We had a booking but we had to cancel in the last minute when we arrived there and they told us to leave due to the booking mistake they did. They took the booking over the phone for the table we requested (lower table). We turned up for the dinner but the lower table was not ready. Additionally, The main issue is the attitude of the manager (the young lady). The manager ( the young lady) was recently just a waiter and then she became a manager. She has terrible soft skills and social skills and she is not the right fit for the role. Purnells should replace her or risk losing customers. In this environment it is very important to keep your customers. Also, when she was a waiter in the same restaurant, she was crying in the restaurant area in front us the customer. It is giving the impression that she has some issues. Additional note - we did not know we would be classified “unpleased customer and rude” when we returned just one “uncooked” aubergine chips sorry but I have sensitive stomach as I can’t eat raw food. And the time you were crying we were the only customers who asked if you are okay, so how are we rude. It does not make any sense! We have been there many many times and each visit paying significant amounts of money. After last experienced manager left we wanted to try again but the quality has dropped and attitude completely changed!

Very disappointed, well below average food, sent some of the food back. Deep fried calamari was awful, buratta with plum pickle was nice. Staff were lovely and helpful. It is expensive for what we were served, and we won't be returning.

Hands down the best tapas in Birmingham, not only is the food absolutely perfect, we tried rose sangria for the first time as well and was absolutely gorgeous, on top of perfect food and perfect drinks we were served by Inês who was so helpful and lovely. For food to come the Purnell name, it was a beautiful price as well, worth the money and more!!! Thank you all for a lovely experience

Nice place for a light bite. Food was nice but nothing exceptional. Atmosphere was OK except for an incredibly loud woman at the next table. Cocktails were lovely, but the evening was made by our lovely server Keaton. Glyn Purnell, give that lad a raise!

The dishes were too expensive for the amount of food

Amazing food - can't recommend enough.

Delicious tapas, great wine choices, excellent service.

Unfortunately, we did not have a good experience here and judging by some of the other reviews, we are not the only ones. Starting with the positive: we were welcomed and seated with a nice table at the back of the restaurant. They were able to accommodate an extra person who we had not booked for, so we were a table of 7. The bottle of cava we had was nice, and all of the dishes that arrived were okay (but nothing more). The negative: the service was not up to scratch. Menus were left in a pile at the end of the table instead of handed out. I wouldn’t necessarily expect water to be poured out at a place like this (and it wasn’t), but I would expect wine to be poured. The cava was brought over to us already opened, put in a bucket and left behind our table with no offer to pour anyone a glass. Once the rest of our party arrived we requested 2 more glasses which took around 10 minutes to arrive. We ordered one of everything, but after 5 or 6 dishes came out we told the kitchen to stop preparing any more. This was because the food was very average in taste and the portion sizes were pathetic. I was simply not happy to pay for such mediocre food in such tiny quantities, for the price they charge. I am from London and so am used to steep pricing, but I expect the service and quality of food to justify it, and it really didn’t. The potato chip (pictured) was £5! And the broccoli was the smallest portion I’ve ever received, and over done. When we asked for the food to stop being prepared it was with the intention of paying for what we ate and then going elsewhere. The woman that my partner spoke to, however, was quite rude and belligerent about the request and kept my partner talking for ages when we really just wanted to leave. She then insisted that the manager speak to him, for which we had to wait a further 10 minutes. When the manager came he was polite, courteous and apologetic, which was appreciated. Drinks were taken off the bill (although service was left on!). We would happily have paid for everything because nothing was dreadful, but I just felt that the prices we were paying for the food and service received was totally unjustified. Oh, and the place smells like old oil. We must have been very close to where the deep fat fryers are…

Super friendly service, but terrible cooking. They manage to serve so-called "patatas bravas", which are in fact cardboard-textured fried potatoes covered with industrial tomato sauce and grated cheese. The "pulpo a la gallega" is also ridiculous in both taste and size.

Amazing place to spend time with the family

It was busy, but one of the chefs Oscar came over and took some time to explain the menu. Great food.

Great food and drink and wonderful recommendations by the chef Oscar

Thank you for celebrating my 60th birthday thanks to all the staff for been friendly, professional, happy staff a credit to the Management ***** A special that you my daughter Emily and Kieran for my treat xxx

Very disappointing food.Tasteless meatballs with a texture like cotton wool.Maybe we chose the wrong things off the menu....

Fabulous little tapas bar. Not cheap but very tasty.

Seriously average tapas. Undercooked bravas and padrons. Nothing wow about it. Not authentic. A bit bland. Had to send back the padron peppers to be re cooked. Bit disappointed.

Best tapas I’ve had outside of Spain (and better than most I’ve had in there too!). Delicious dishes in a fantastic setting. We had the pleasure of sitting on the high tapas style bars in the window on a calm summer evening next to the open kitchen which is on display for all to see. The buzz of the staff and the smells of the food made for a dynamic and inspiring evening. We were amazed by the diverse and top quality food they were able to pour out of such a small kitchen - testament to the chefs’ precision and expertise. Reasonably priced given the highest of standards. The staff were expertly professional and made us feel relaxed (even when a random false fire alarm next door threatened to disrupt the evening - but they had it all under control (and to be honest the food was so good we paid no attention to the alarm!)). Will he go again? Absolutely. Special occasion, date night, client dinner, any reason at all I’ll be back soon.

We had high hopes, having eaten well in the Purnell's offshoot in Henly-in-Arden, but Plates was a bad let-down that damages the reputation of the brand. The building is attractive but the food is poor. The olives-artichokes were poor-quality tinned offerings in assertive brine, battered aubergines greasy, octopus tasteless and, I guess, from a can, the oil for the prawns tasted buttery, patates bravas aggressively tomatoey, the albondigas tasteless. Only the bean salad and chorizo parcels were acceptable. The chef(s) need to visit Spain and experience real tapas of high quality.

Firstly I was given the bill without asking, the man at the door was also incredibly rude (mutton dressed as lamb) , they have no idea how to communicate with guests and have a lot of attitude, ps the fries portion is a single chip !!!!

This is a jewel in the Birmingham food crown. Stunning food, amazing service, & an absolute bargain via the Birmingham Restaurant Festival. It’s a crime to miss this place for food - it’s worth every penny

Nice place let down by the service. There was a long wait between our first dish and our other dishes, they seemed to come out when convenient for the kitchen and not when best for us. The food itself was good but we had 6 dishes between 2 and were still hungry after. The staff were quite unfriendly and abrupt, no “how was your food” or “thanks for coming”, just took payment and left.

Exceptional food. Good portion sizes. Small in size but great decor. Relaxed environment. Definitely worth a visit.

Overall not bad, it was a fine experience. Food was quite good but not really creative or interesting like I might have expected from a Michelin-star offshoot. Service was quite bad and it took about 20 minutes for the server to take our order, very little guidance or care taken, and were having noisy conversations with the kitchen staff which made it hard to talk to the wifey without interruption.

My friend and l enjoyed a selection of tapas dishes this afternoon at Plates by Purnells, they were delicious. We particularly liked the pork belly and prawns, but overall the individual plates were really tasty. Excellent service and atmosphere. Definitely worth a visit 😊

The venue is small with some seating outside. Really nice on a summer's day. The food was delicious and well presented. The staff was tentative and accommodating. Little hidden gem. Great for quick light bites.

Simply excellent Tapas! Been twice and will definitely go again!

Lovely little place. Great for lunch.

We walked in without a reservation on a Saturday lunchtime and although the restaurant was busy they managed to find us a table. Food and drink menu's were handed out immediately and we were given ample time to peruse both. Our orders were taken and drinks came quickly. Our small plates, tapas, orders came at a reasonable pace and were cheerfully served. Price point was slightly higher than other tapas restaurants but the quality was much higher.

Visited Plates by Purnells for lunch and was blown away by the food, service and atmosphere. The staff went above and beyond to ensure we had the best experience. The food was outstanding - yummy small plates packed with flavour. Already planning our next visit!

A little tapas restaurant that met my big expectations! Every dish was fresh and so delicious, with my personal favourite being the aubergine chips. I can’t fault the impeccable service either in any way which just made the whole experience even more enjoyable. I will definitely be returning and i cannot recommend this restaurant enough!

This is a top quality restaurant with very good food as you would expect from a Purnells venue. It is quite small with a tiny kitchen which amazingly produces a fairly extensive Tapas menu. Every dish we ordered was excellent from the bread with Tomatoes, to the prawns in garlic and the pistachio foam desert. The wine list is not huge but has a good variety and excellent quality. The whole meal of 5 shared dishes, 2 deserts, cheese, wine, beer and cocktails was under £140 without tip which we felt was very good value for money given the quality of the food and drink. Service was good and couldn't fault anything from our visit. Would highly recommend but should book as the place is quite small

There are no photos of our food as it looked too delicious to wait for photos! This is a stunning venue, with a mouthwatering menu! We had a range of food between us and settled on 8 plates between 2 people. The red sangria is FABULOUS! We couldn't fault a thing and will certainly be back in the future!

Brilliant service (girl with the tattoo on her arm - sorry didn't catch your name), tasty food and great atmosphere! Nice little gem in Birmingham!

Just had a great Sunday lunch here with my wife. We ordered 8 dishes, which was well plenty, and 2 glasses of wine. All the food was excellent (the portions just right for tapas), and the service was prompt, polite and attentive. It's lovely to see young people cooking and serving to this standard. Favourites included calamari, pork belly, prawns and aubergine chips. Bill came to £80 odd including service, which in this day and age, and for the quality, we thought was fair. Now for a good Sunday afternoon snooze.

Didn’t get as far as the food. Poor service even though restaurant was fairly quiet. Dirty toilet facilities— inexcusable Judging by other reviews, we didn’t miss out on food. What a shame. Surprised Purnell is associated with this poorly run establishment with inexperienced staff.( not their fault)

Great food but terrible service. 30 minute wait from the first dish to the last dish being served (we only had 5 dishes) had to get up and ask for more drinks and enquire where the remaining dishes were. The waiting staff never looked around to see if we needed anything. Would make me think twice about going again.

Food was delicious and well presented, probably ordered 8 or 9 dishes between us and they were prepared fresh and brought out a few at a time with staff being fully aware when we were nearly ready for the next plates. Not all allergens and ingredients are on the menu though so for example if you don't want cheese or nuts etc then please ask when ordering otherwise you might have a bit of a surprise when the food arrives

A hidden gem. Didn't think I was hungry until I started eating here. Fresh, clean flavours. I have no idea if this is authentic tapas or not but it was great. Veggie options superb. Recommended.

Tried Plates by Purnell based on the reputation of Glynn Purnell. Obviously it’s not a high end restaurant but we were expecting interesting and delicious tapas and a nice restaurant as it’s located in one of the better parts of Birmingham city centre. Sadly we found the environment more of a cafe experience and most of the dishes we ordered were uninspiring. For example the potato based dish was fairly flavourless chunks of potato possibly oven cooked but not enough to be tasty, in a minimalist tomato purée. The one dish we particularly liked, however, was the aubergine chips - these were flavoursome and well cooked. I sure with some changes to the menu, the restaurant could be great, but as it stands, we found the dishes generally pretty basic. As an aside, we also noted that the disabled toilet has a small step down into it, which seems a bit of a design fault if catering for people with disabilities. This could be easily addressed.

This is our favourite tapas around and we love the intimacy of the restaurant. I can’t believe some of the reviews below. We’ve been here a few times now and always leave wanting to come back. Staff are always pleasant, cocktails are tasty and the food is delicious. We look forward to dining again here next month.

A tiny and intimate restaurant, which had a nice ambience for an evening meal. We loved the food but we're sad to discover that they had ran out of the special for a 7pm dinner booking. The plates are on the smaller side for tapas but tasted great and we just kept ordering until we were full. Total bill that included carafe of sangria, 2 large beers, and 10 plates of loveliness, was extremely reasonably price (£111 total) We've paid much more for lower quality pub food. We definately recommend.

3/5 stars A cosy and intimate experience of tapas style dishes at Purnells. A concise selection of meat, seafood and vegetarian dishes, nicely presently and full of flavour. The restaurant is small and intimate, but still offers privacy. I enjoyed the wine selection on the easy to read menu. Good service, not excellent. I was disappointed with the lack of harmony in the menu, some of the dishes clashed in flavours and didn't work together. The menu was also printed on white paper, I expected more professionalism and formality. I recommend the aubergine chips, sea bream, and the prawns. The rest of the dishes were lacklustre, the meatballs were nothing but balls of oregano, and the patatas bravas was not seasoned. I'm sad to say I expected more. For such a beautiful location and interior, Purnells has let me down! I won't be returning.

Disappointed. This spanish tapas bistrot is the little sister of Purnells gastronomic restaurant. And let me tell you that this place is damaging the reputation of Purnells. The place is missing a soul compared to her big sister, the decor is cheap and the food is not great. For the prices the bite sized dishes are ridiculous. We were 2 and took 7 dishes, we didn’t take dessert and went directly to another restaurant for a quick meal and dessert. On top of that our server, which looked like the manager doesn’t know her wines by the glass, had to bring me the menu again as all she could say was the word Rioja. The organic grenache and the alvarinho were good. Foodwise the eggplant were good as well as the bread con tomatoes. The cheese was not great, the octopus was small, the prawns didn’t taste of garlic, the artichoke and olives were a joke.. straight out the jar. I still put 3 stars because I work in the food&beverage industry and I know that 1 star reviews can easily damage the overall score. I hope that the chef will wake up and put more love in his food.

An intimate, and delightful little venue with amazing service and food. The small setting is definitely one to be experienced, and the knowledge and hospitality extended by the staff is second to none. Authentic food, and a great atmosphere.

It was so good. The food was amazing. Get the aubergine chips. Honestly the best “chips” I’ve had in my life. The sauces that came with the prawns and the fish were incredible. Get extra bread to dip. The service was lovely. And the atmosphere was nice and intimate!

Don’t recommend Plates. OK ish food, stale oil used to deep fry and I felt sick through the night (not food poisoning but felt sick). Service was nonexistent. No one asked how the food was, did we need a top up of the wine, we paid and left. No smiles, no thank you, no see you soon again. Like I would. It’s hyped up by Mr Purnell’s name but I doubt he has ever sent a mystery guest to keep a check on his food quality and service delivery.

I'm going to first put the spotlight on the staff, what a super nice team that works here. The passion shines through. And now the food, I ordered 5 dishes, and everything was delicious. Add a bottle of Albariño. The dish of the day/week was pork belly with chimmichuri… 10/10 Yes, you should just go here to eat something and give yourself time to order more than you can eat. Because you just have to taste everything.

Some outstanding Tapas. Plates by Purnells is a touch of Spain in the heart of Birmingham city centre. If you're out for business lunch or friends. Chatting over some perfectly cooked tapas is a fantastic way to relax and unwind. This is my third visit, I miss some of the old menu items but love the new ones. Everything was the responsible price. The service was good with the waitress suggesting items that would go with dishes. I used the independent Birmingham app to save even more money.

We have fined at plates several times previously and were keen to return with friends. Sadly this time the whole experience fell short of our expectations. We were served water promptly on arrival and then advised there was no draft beer no truffle chips and there were no special dishes as we’d always been told of previously. Thus being early on a Saturday evening which seemed surprising to be so low at this point. . We waited some time before anyone cane to take our order. We made an initial order of a tapa selection of 10 or so dishes, we had a steady flow for the initial part of the evening then waited and eventually chased up the remaining 3 dishes and added on cheese and charcuterie. By this time we’d been there almost 2 hours! We ordered red wine at the start of our meal and were presented with the smallest glasses. We faked for a larger red wine glass and were told they only had 2 in the restaurant and were in use!! We did indeed notice later in the evening another table of 4 getting served their white wine in the said glasses sling with 2 gin bowls. For an establishment that’s carrying the name of Glyn Purnell this all seemed very poor. We asked the staff why it was all so wrong and said we felt they were trying their best but it was obvious there was no organisation and the whole experience was disappointing and very average. We did ask if GP was actually still involved as we couldn’t believe this is the standard he would allow. I see no one comments on reviews so I doubt this will be read or taken into consideration and a training plan implemented but felt the need to hopefully get the message over and really hope this wonderful gem of a place isn’t heading downhill and we were just unlucky. And that Glyn sends some decent glasses over.

Cosy tapas restaurant with good service and delicious beautifully presented small plates. The meatballs are superb. Will return.

A really disappointed experience at this restaurant. They claim they do "sharing plates inspired by classic Spanish tapas"...well, I think they need to be more inspired and practising and testing more dishes before including them on a menu for sure. Very average food and cero knowledge of the waiter who served us about the menu (maybe a bit more training to the staff could help on this) The floor toilet was sticky dry and very dirty (probably from the night before) and the music is another concern, latino american music is not Spanish music. For whatever reason this place is not right, it seems more like a "I wanna be a restaurant" than a restaurant. It could have potential in the right hands.

Best tapas I've had outside of Spain with Purnells level of quality and service.

We booked this for an anniversary lunch as I previously lived in Spain and adore tapas. The menu was small but sounded delicious, some classic favourites. Sadly these didn’t live up to expectations. They brought no olives/bread on arrival, gambas al ajillo was served without bread and not sizzling but like warm. The berenjenas con miel were served like churros and were fatty not crispy. Patatas bravas were mediocre and the only saving grace from our selection was the croquetas which were hot, tasty and flavoursome. Staff were lovely but after ordering the Spanish named dishes they confirmed the order with the English translation of the dishes. The table we were given was too close to the gents for my liking and a little cramped. Sadly not the best first impression of a Purnell experience. Quite underwhelmed overall and a little disappointed ☹️

Food was enjoyable but the biggest shock was a charge of £14.50 for 1 glass of wine! Also my husband told the manager at the table he had left them a £10 tip in cash. She didn’t mention that a service charge had already been added to our bill? Couple of things that didn’t sit right so I doubt we will recommend or return

It was just alright... I'll start of by saying that the food quality is very good and tasted very nice so in that regard can't fault them really with the stars being the focaccia and the pork belly. The amounts you get are absolutely tiny though even for tapas, we had about 10 plates between the two of us and left hungry. There was something really odd as well which I could just not wrap my head around, for a place that has mostly 2 seater tables (1 4 seater) it seemed so odd that every single dish served came in odd numbers so really wasn't very sharing friendly, seems like something small but was actually a bit annoying after a few dishes. Atmosphere was nice inside, we were in the "corridor" section and were comfortable enough, they achieve a lot with the space they have. Service was generally good but plate clearing could have been better, we were overflowing with plates at one point and they wanted to add more. The order of the dishes seemed a bit odd too, more than happy for things to come out as they are ready but would have expected at least a tiny bit of grouping i.e cheese board, cured meats and bread together Won't be rushing back any time soon.

Amazing experience, and the staff was so lovely. Food was amazing, Honestly the best tapas we’ve had! Will definitely be returning!

My second visit and I was not disappointed, all the tapas were of the highest quality. The staff were attentive and friendly

Cute tapas spot, delicious food, friendly staff . Would recommend booking a table as there is not a lot of tables

Superb food, great service. Great value. Staff are so friendly & helpful. Will definitely be returning.

Plates had been on our list of places to try for a while. Despite this surely being one of the smallest restaurants in the City Centre, they do a great job at making you feel at ease and relaxed in the surroundings. it’s definitely an intimate feel without being overly cramped. The menu includes many of tapas favourites - Patatas Bravas, Chorizo, Squid. We felt the food was good without being exceptional. All the dishes were enjoyable, without any standing out as truly wow. It is though incredibly good value, a nice ambience and well worth a visit

Nice atmosphere on a Saturday evening It’s Tapas so you know what size the food is and it’s recommended that you have 3-4 each but including a desert we had 10 & they were all good (could have done with a couple more pieces of bread). There’s not loads of choices but I would say just about enough. Good selection of wines & at reasonable prices So for 10 dishes & a bottle of wine we spent just over £100 inc Tip & I think that is very reasonable. I will be returning & definitely recommend

First time visit on Saturday 20th January, staff were very friendly and attentive. Food was delicious, piping hot and so flavourful. We really enjoyed the seafood dishes. One less star on atmosphere due to the seating, but that would not put us off going again. Would definitely recommend to others. I wish had taken pics but was too busy enjoying the food!!

Great place, we couldn't fault anything. We went for lunch on a Saturday and the food was amazing. The portions are quite generous and each tapas plate can be shared between three people. We ordered 6 plates + 2 desserts for our party of three people and it was quite filling. The quality of the food is some of the best I've had on Birmingham

My fav tapas experience ever! Food is incredible and staff are so helpful and friendly. Prices very good too, my new weekly visit!

Amazing little venue, inès our waitress was fantastic! Can't wait to go back for more anchovies

Food was excellent as usual, but on this occasion i felt badly let down by the service- we were a table of four and the service was much slower than usual even though it was an early evening table.Another group of 3 who came in just after us were told there was a delay as they were busy .However the main issue came towards the end of our meal when we were reminded of the time to vacate our table- this wouldn't have been a problem if desert had been served promptly - it wasn't, and it was accompanied with our bill !!!!! I have never experienced that before .On leaving we had to literally push our way past waiting diners who had obviously been told that it was us holding up their table - and they made their feelings very well known to us - including slamming the door behind us .

I came with my partner for some food and drinks and everything was so nice! The best tapas i’ve had in England and the drinks were exceptional. Amelia and all of the team were more than happy to look after us the whole time!

We received a warm welcome, we were looked after very well our waiter was called Ines was a real sweetie advised us on the tapas selection which was all delicious, our only criticism was the bread 2 small slices of bread £5 over priced so don't order bread!

The food was excellent throughout. We even had to order more Calamari it was that good. However, it is the first time I have been given the bill with dessert. We ordered 1 dessert then waited 15 minutes for it to arrive. As it was served the waiting staff apologised but said that as we had overstayed our welcome we needed to settle immediately. On leaving we had to make our way through waiting customers who gave us verbal abuse about being so late even though the delay was due to slow service and it was only 15 minutes. They then slammed the door shut on the back of the final guest. Previous visits have been far better for all four of us but this one was very disappointing and far from welcoming.

While Plates by Purnell bears a Michelin recommendation, my experience was somewhat underwhelming. The dishes, though served with care, leaned towards lukewarm, and the flavours were subtler than expected. The chorizo, unfortunately cold, and the prawns, somewhat tasteless, left room for improvement. Nevertheless, the restaurant's ambiance and service were commendable and the drinks cocktails and wine were very good. We did raise this with the staff and they did remove the dishes from the bill but it really left me disappointed having expected so much more :(

Had an amazing espresso martini, the tastiest lemon vanilla margarita and a delicious basque cheesecake with rubarb compote made by the kitchen manager! The waitresses and staff in general were really friendly and chatty, the perfect little spot to have snacks and drinks. We will definitely be back to try some small plates in the future!

DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY, absolutely shocking! We received a voucher from our daughter as a present. We were so looking forward to visiting after the matinee performance of the pantomime at Birmingham Hippodrome as had heard good reviews. An hour after we sat down we received frozen prawns, white and disgusting in a watery sauce. Next up the waiter chucked the chickpea dish on the table, I had to ask him what it was🙈lukewarm and disgusting. We cut our losses and left, had a nice bottle of red wine but that’s about it! How can GLYNN PURNELL put his name to this restaurant? No atmosphere, staff lacked training, it was a shambles We went to Riva Blu to have a pizza as we were starving! Do not waste your money on this establishment!!

Loved it. Particular praise due to the two servers: their brilliant Portuguese colleague and their new colleague, who was only on Day 4. Great chefs who engaged with us and had a laugh. Nice to see Glynn pop in to make sure all was well! And of course the food - superb Tapas. Best calamari I've had, best cheese croquettes I've had, an amazing Sea Bream on a rich smoky paprika Thai curry-style sauce, even the simple tomato bread with smoked anchovy and coriander salsa was absolutely delicous.

Fantastic food, great food selection and excellent service. Thank you for a wonderful meal.

We had dinner here last night, all of the staff were friendly and attentive. We ordered many dishes and every single one was delicious! Our favourite two were the chicken wings and patatas bravas. The sparking sangria was a real treat. We look forward next visit!

We went to the restaurant for dinner, sat on the table close to the kitchen, nice to see the chef working hard but please do something for those christmas decorations on the windows as i found myself fighting with those light repeatedly during the dinner. Food was average but tasty, I would personally work more on the presentation seen the price of the whole experience. We ordered a bottle of wine that was decent, overpriced for the quality. Service was ok, again for the name of the place I was probably expecting a little bit more from the service, both manager and waitress looked like they didn't want to be there. Presentation and price quality/ratio, 100£ for a bottle of wine ans 6 tapas. Will not come back

We dined here 6th December having seen the restaurant listing in the Michelin guide. The food was amazing. The restaurant serves tapas style plates and has plenty of choice. We had seven different dishes. Of particular note were the meatballs, bream and croquettas. The prices are reasonable too. Our bill came to just over £100 including drinks and wine. If we lived closer to Birmingham we would definitely frequent this restaurant on a regular basis

Really lovely food, one of the best meals I’ve had for a long time. Only downside was that it became quite smoky in the restaurant from the kitchen which made our eyes sting and left our clothes smelling once we’d left (maybe need better extractor in the kitchen!). Would defo return though as the food was so good.

Great food, loved the sauce on the chicken wings and chorizo too, literally a game changer. Nice venue and good location but a bit of a squeeze if you are one of the few sitted at the front. The Sunday menu looks a bargain 👌 Will come again 😋

It's a great place, with brilliant food at a great price. Service and atmosphere were excellent 😀

We booked a table and we're greeted courteously and seated at the far end of the restaurant. We were provided with menus and left to our own devices for a dlfew minutes before the waitress came to take our orders. We ordered several tapas to start and the house red which was good. The stand out dish was the aubergine fries which were beautifully crispy on the outside and melt in the mouth on the inside 10/10. The prawns in ginger were excellent with a great spicy kick from the sauce 9/10. The chorizo was tasty but not exceptional,8/10, as were the meatballs and the potatas braves, both 7.5/10. The potato croquettes were very nice, 8/10. The patron peppers were nice without being outstanding. The tomatoes served with them were nicer than the peppers, 7/10. We doubled up on some dishes. Overall the food was good, with one or two outstanding dishes. For the price (£170 for 3) with 2 bottles of wine, I would say it was decent, but not exceptional, value for money. Without checking the price of the wine, hard to say how much the food was, maybe £40 per head for approx 15 dishes? Would go again as the standard was good.

They could do with a friendly staff. We sat at a table and a waiter abruptly asked us to move (there was no Reserved sign on that table). That went on twice. We decided to leave. Definitely NOT going back!

Food was amazing. Really enjoyed the fact that we weren’t rushed. Shout out to our server Layton who was an absolute delight.

Absolutely top evening with the most delicious food and wine, and great service. Loved every dish we chose. Almost every dish deserves a mention but the chickpeas and prawns really were something else. Desserts were fantastic too - light and airy and utterly delicious. Lovely atmosphere. Can’t wait to visit again.

Great food and service. Then charged £40 as a no show! Yeah it will be in your bank in 5 days. Cheers