August 2013

Restaurants get a Revamp

Read time: approx 1 mins

UCB’s award-winning restaurants are being given a cool, modern make-over before service resumes in early autumn.

Both the Atrium and the Brasserie, which are hugely popular with Birmingham food-lovers, will re-open in October following a refurbishment of the dining rooms.

The restaurants traditionally close during the summer vacation and the university has taken the opportunity to carry out a facelift.

The Brasserie floor is being re-laid with a brushed oak finish while the Atrium, UCB’s fine dining establishment, will have a black/graphite floor.

Both rooms will benefit from an “earthy,” organic feel with warm sandy-coloured drapes and stylish wallpaper. The refit includes new light fittings to provide enhanced mood lighting.

The restaurants, in Summer Row, will reopen with a selection of exciting and competitively priced new menus in October. The dining options range from the Brasserie’s informal £13.95 three-course menu to the Atrium’s fine dining-style £26 three-course dinner.

The Brasserie and the Atrium are professionally supervised training restaurants for students on UCB’s acclaimed chef, food service and hospitality courses.

Customer feedback is an important part of the students’ “on-the-job” training and enables them to widen their knowledge and build their confidence.

Despite the age and experience of the young chefs and front-of-house teams, the levels of service and the high standards of cuisine attract frequent customer praise and industry accolades. Inspectors from AA Hotel Services have awarded the restaurants AA Highly Commended status, which is the equivalent to two rosettes in the industry.

Two regular Friday night diners in the Atrium were so impressed with their dining experiences last year that they have delivered an “extended round of applause” to the students.

Intelligently designed menu choices, well-balanced food combinations and the intriguing and varied amuses bouches.

Paul Dolan and Karen O'Rourke

The smoked salmon, smoked on the premises, and with blinis cooked at the table, is a tour-de-force, as well as being a good test of students' skills as well as nerves.

Paul Dolan and Karen O'Rourke

The students’ polenta was better than anything the customers had tasted in Italy and favourite pre-desserts included sorbets and panna cotta. 

These are just the highlights, but we are proud to say that we have tried everything on the menu, more than once.

Paul Dolan and Karen O'Rourke

There was praise, too for the wine pairings. However, the enduring memory was of the students'.

Friendly and warm professional service.

We know that any employer lucky enough to employ any of these students will be assured of staff who care and take the trouble to consider the customer's total experience and view this experience through their eyes.

Paul Dolan and Karen O'Rourke

The booking line for the restaurants is now open and restaurant reservations manager Anna Byrne can be contacted on 0121 604 1010.

*UCB is always keen to receive customers’ feedback about the Brasserie and the Atrium.

Or maybe you have been dining at UCB for many years and have an interesting story about your experiences.

Either way, we would love to hear from you.

Please contact Richard McComb by email at: r.mccomb@ucb.ac.uk

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