Alex Claridge launches Albatross Death Cult in Birmingham

Chef Alex Claridge has opened his second restaurant, Albatross Death Cult, in Birmingham, with his partner Rachael Whittle.

The intimate tasting menu restaurant is housed in a Grade II-listed warehouse in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter and only serves 14 covers around a monolithic kitchen counter.

The Albatross will only serve one sitting and dishes have been described by Claridge as being “brutalist in style”, which suits the restaurant’s minimalist and industrial interiors.

Dishes on the 12-course tasting menu include chalkstream trout with yuzu butter ponzu sauce and XO; carrots with lemongrass curry and coriander; and Riesling poached pear with cinnamon and bayleaf.

Claridge is also the night-time economy advisor for the West Midlands and chef patron of the Wilderness, which he first launched in 2016 before moving the fine dining restaurant to a larger site in Hockley in 2018.

The kitchen is being led by Wilderness alumnus Piotr Szpak and University College Birmingham student Oliver Grieve, who has also worked at the three Michelin-starred L’Enclume in Cumbria.

Meanwhile, wine and sake sommelier Camilla Bonnannini leads the restaurant’s drinks programme with support from Kelly Barra.

Image: Tom Bird