Atop the beautiful and new Park Regis building at 160 Broad Street, is a gorgeous and equally new Japanese restaurant, Rofuto.
The Venue
This venue is absolutely stunning. You can’t help but compare it to Marco’s at the Cube, and I’d say it’s on par, if not better. Even from the fancy toilets (which in themselves are getting attention online), you can see far and wide across our beloved city skyline. The Kurabu Cocktail Lounge, attached to the restaurant, is particularly spectacular and well worth going into to catch the sun going down in its rich, warm, golden atmosphere.
The dining area itself is spacious, simple, and modern. It’s incredibly open, with a 7-metre long yakatori bar showcased in the centre, but otherwise lending itself to that surrounding 16th floor panoramic view.
Panoramic views of Birmingham give Rofuto a high-class dining edge.
The Food and Drink
The menu is “Asian Funk Fusion” – Which is a great way to define the casual but high-quality and authentic food on offer. It’s certainly nothing short of unique. The menu is divided into six sections, offering sushi, tempura, sashimi, grill, or you can opt for a three course starter, main and dessert kind of affair.
To start our meal off, we had an “Oriental Fizzu” – Yuzu, Kumquat and Prosecco (£8.50). For food, we went for sushi and then mains, because it’s only fair to try everything you can to give a review, right? Yellowfin Tuna Nigiri (£6), Loch Duart Salmon Nigiri (£4.50), Hand Dived Scallop and Ponzu Pearl Nigiri (£10) and I was feeling adventurous, so I tried the Sea Urchin and Ikura from the Specials (£11). Everything is so fresh, and melts in the mouth. They don’t overload the rice with sugar, so you’re advised to dip your sushi fish side down. You can actually taste the difference in comparison to chain sushi restaurant offerings.
They’ve got some gnarly choices of sake, and I absolutely recommend you try some. Because of the quality, they serve it cold or room temperature so you can taste the flavour profiles, which again was a slight twist on what you might be used to, and I genuinely preferred it this way to the usual warmed version.
For main, I went for the Saffron Miso Black Cod with Razor Clams and Pancetta (£24). It was so pretty (so pretty, in fact, a fellow reviewer also posted a photo of this dish on Instagram that night!). I worried it might not taste as good as it looked, but I was wrong. The fish is soft, the razor clams and smoky pancetta bring a wonderful saltiness and texture. I had this with a side of duck egg fried rice (£4.50), and I don’t know how much one can rave about rice, but I had to eat all of it because it was so moreish. My friend had the Chicken Katsu Curry (£16). The chicken is thin and crispy, and the sauce really hits the spot. I know this because I ate half of it because I have no self-control around good food.
We both had a glass of Riesling with dinner. I usually like a sweet one so this time I went for a dry one, and vice versa for her. There’s an extensive list especially dedicated to Riesling, and I believe this is because it goes so perfectly with the dishes, so I recommend you ask your server which one they think will go with your food.
Moreish and fresh, Rofuto have done Eastern culture and dining proud.
The Atmosphere and Clientele
Laid back and casually high-class. The wait staff are so welcoming, polite and knowledgeable that you really don’t have to worry about anything other than enjoying your meal. They’ll recommend and explain anything you like. Sitting in such a relaxed atmosphere, enjoying excellent quality service, was a real pleasure.
The clientele, I image, will initially be those staying at the Park Regis, but once word gets out about that gorgeous view and twist on what we know as a typical sushi dinner, I think it’ll draw in a wider audience.
Indulgent interiors and a welcoming staff make Rofuto the ultimate dining experience.
Summary
Rofuto is very new and finding its feet, but it’s off to a wonderful start. They’ve got some ideas about what they’d like the place to become, and I think it’s great that they’re open to evolving rather than opening with a strict and unbending idea of what they want it to be like. The offering is really very high quality in terms of food, drink and ethos. Providing they keep those basics, this place can only do well.
