Harborne restaurant Umami has been shut for four months. It’s now reopened with more than just a new name.
Harborne Indian Kitchen staff prepare for the ‘revolution'(Image: Harborne Indian Kitchen)
A Birmingham Indian restaurant that’s been closed for four months has reopened and is planning a ‘balti revolution’ in one of the city’s prominent foodie neighbourhoods.
Harborne Indian Kitchen is the new name of the former Umami restaurant, a neighbourhood spot which earned great reviews over the last decade for its ‘excellent’ service and ‘exceptional’ food.
The Lordswood Road restaurant has rebranded the venue, overhauling the space and introducing a ‘bring your own’ drinks rule.
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The restaurant, managed by Abdul Hoque, remains under the same ownership, though a Kashmiri chef has been brought in to specialise in baltis and help diversify the menu at the Harborne hotspot.
Abdul told BirminghamLive: “When we were Umami, we served North Indian food but now it’s a spectrum of North Indian, with south and Kashmiri influences too.
“The reason we did that is because balti has started to lose its identity in Birmingham. It needs to be revamped and rejuvenated because it’s a tradition.
“Being in Harborne, an affluent area, there was nowhere better to start than here. It’s a balti revolution.”
The restaurant served its first customers under the Harborne Indian Kitchen name on Thursday, April 25.
Harborne Indian Kitchen has reopened(Image: Harborne Indian Kitchen)
“We’re all very excited,” Abdul said ahead of opening. “We’ve been here ten years and the neighbourhood has a great reputation, it’s like the Notting Hill of Birmingham!
“But when you come in our restaurant, it’s a homely feel. The neighbourhood is great and everyone’s been really wonderful.
“The love and affection the community showed us when we were closed told us that we should come back.”
Abdul said the restaurant has a Kasmiri balti chef he says is the ‘best of the best’, and that guests are welcome to bring their own drinks to accompany the dish in their preferred way.
“We’ve seen the cost of living impact customers so we kept that in mind when changing to ‘bring your own bottle’.
“It also isn’t sustainable for us, with the way business is going, to stock everybody’s favourite. So we let customers bring their own drinks and we just focus on what we know we can do well, which is the food.”
Harborne Indian Kitchen is at 25 Lordswood Road, Harborne, B17 1RP.