Simpsons

A Georgian Mansion in Edgbaston, and What It Represents

Arrive at 20 Highfield Road on a mid-week lunch service and the setting does something that most fine-dining rooms in British cities no longer attempt: it reads as genuinely domestic. The Georgian mansion facade, the unfaced stone walls inside, the unclothed wooden tables, and the picture-window views onto a garden and gazebo create an atmosphere that sits closer to a well-curated country house than a metropolitan restaurant. That impression is worth pausing on, because it is not accidental — it anticipates, by roughly a generation, the move toward natural materials and pared-back surfaces that now defines much of contemporary restaurant design. Simpsons made this choice before the trend existed.

For context on where this sits in Birmingham's dining evolution: there was a period, now difficult to recall, when the city had almost no serious fine-dining infrastructure. Simpsons, which reached its 30th year of operation in 2024, is a direct argument against that history. Alongside later arrivals such as Adam's and Opheem, it forms the core of Birmingham's Michelin-starred tier, though Simpsons predates both by many years. Its influence on the city's ambition is documented rather than merely asserted: the restaurant's training kitchen has produced chefs now operating at senior levels across the region.

Thirty Years, One Star, and a Kitchen in Transition

The evolution of a restaurant over three decades rarely follows a straight line. Simpsons has been through several distinct phases, but the constant from 2000 onward has been its Michelin star — held continuously, a credential that places it in a relatively small group of British restaurants with that kind of longevity. For comparison, the national peer set for 25-plus years of continuous Michelin recognition includes rooms like Gidleigh Park and The Hand and Flowers, restaurants that have built identities inseparable from their sustained recognition.

The most significant recent development at Simpsons is structural. Chef-proprietor Andreas Antona has announced his retirement and has put the restaurant up for sale, while continuing to oversee the menu at The Cross at Kenilworth. This transition matters because Antona's philosophy , quality product, classical technique, no concession to passing trends , has shaped the kitchen's identity since the beginning. Head Chef Luke Tipping, who has run the day-to-day cooking operation, now carries that identity forward. How a restaurant navigates a founding figure's departure while maintaining the precision that earned its reputation is one of the more interesting questions in British fine dining. At Simpsons, the evidence so far is that the kitchen's standards have not shifted.

Tipping's cooking is described by Michelin inspectors as assured and confident, with the discipline to hold back when restraint serves the dish better than addition. That is a specific skill, and one that separates technically proficient kitchens from genuinely mature ones. The same Michelin commentary singles out the clarity and balance of the cooking , qualities that are harder to sustain than they appear, and that tend to disappear first when a kitchen loses its anchor. The L'Enclume model of radical reinvention is not the direction here; Simpsons represents a different strand of British fine dining, one grounded in classical French influence and product-led restraint.

What the Menu Tells You

The kitchen operates on a set-menu format, which is the dominant structure across British fine dining at this price tier , see also The Fat Duck, The Ledbury, and Moor Hall for different inflections of the same format. At Simpsons, the set menu signals classicism from the opening: two breads served with wild garlic butter and taramasalata, a detail that tells you this is a kitchen interested in giving the bread course actual content rather than treating it as a formality.

Michelin's inspection notes describe a Newlyn plaice course with Jersey Royals, asparagus, monk's beard, and basil in a citrus beurre blanc , the fish floured and fried to a golden crust, the sauce enriched with chia seeds for texture. That combination of classical French sauce-making and quiet modern adjustment is characteristic of the Simpsons approach. A sirloin course with roast, pickled, and puréed carrots alongside maitake mushrooms in a classical red wine sauce draws a similar line: the reference points are orthodox, the execution is the point of difference.

Where the inspection found weaknesses, they were noted honestly: a beetroot course lacking a unifying element, dominated by buttermilk sauce and dill oil, suggested conception that didn't fully resolve. This is the kind of critical detail that Michelin commentary at this level tends to include, and it's worth taking seriously , a kitchen with a founding figure stepping back will have moments of unevenness during any transition period. The soufflé, however, is described consistently as a highlight, and the signature tapenade bread rolls have become a reference point for regulars.

The wine list merits attention. Wines by the glass include selections from Greece, Uruguay, and Alto Adige alongside the expected French regions , a range that suggests a list assembled with curiosity rather than defaulting to convention. At the ££££ price point, a wine program that commits to less-expected regions is a meaningful differentiator. Birmingham's newer arrivals, including the creative-format 670 Grams and the seafood-focused Bayonet, are building their own wine identities, but Simpsons has the advantage of a list that has been developed over decades. For further context on the city's drink scene, see our full Birmingham bars guide.

The Format and What Surrounds It

Simpsons is not a destination only for the restaurant. The building houses three bedrooms, making it one of the few Michelin-starred properties in the West Midlands that can be used as an overnight base. For visitors arriving from outside Birmingham, the ability to combine a dinner service with a room , and avoid the city-centre hotel-to-restaurant logistics , is a practical advantage. Our full Birmingham hotels guide covers the broader accommodation picture for those planning a longer stay.

The cookery school on site adds a further dimension. In the current British fine-dining environment, where restaurants like Atomix in New York and Le Bernardin have extended their brands through education and engagement programming, the presence of a teaching facility at Simpsons reads as ahead of its time for a regional British restaurant. Whether the cookery school continues under new ownership is an open question, but it has been part of the Simpsons format for long enough to count as structural rather than incidental.

Service at Simpsons is described by Michelin as enthusiastic and full of personality , a characterisation that differs from the more formal register you'd encounter at a comparable London room. The staff are noted as slightly over-dressed for the deliberately rustic environment, a mild incongruity that has been a feature of Simpsons for some time rather than a recent development. Birmingham's dining scene, from the precise technique at Albatross Death Cult to the Indian tasting menu format at Opheem, spans a wide range of service registers. Simpsons occupies the formal end of that spectrum, adjusted slightly by Edgbaston's neighbourhood warmth.

Planning a Visit

The restaurant operates Wednesday through Friday for both lunch (noon to 1:30 PM) and dinner (6 PM to 8:30 PM), with Saturday extending the dinner close to 9 PM. It is closed Sunday and Monday. Lunch is generally the more accessible session at Michelin-starred restaurants of this tier, and Simpsons follows that pattern , the lunch sitting, with its fixed window, tends to book out less far in advance than prime Saturday evening slots. With a sale process underway, it is worth booking sooner rather than later if you want to experience the restaurant in its current form during this transitional period. For the broader Birmingham dining picture, see our full Birmingham restaurants guide, as well as guides to wineries and experiences in the city.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the must-try dish at Simpsons?

Based on Michelin inspection notes and consistent critic commentary, the soufflé and the signature tapenade bread rolls are the dishes most reliably cited as representative of the kitchen's capabilities. The bread course , served with wild garlic butter and taramasalata , sets the tone for the level of care applied to the full menu, and the soufflé has been a benchmark of Luke Tipping's cooking. Fish courses drawing on quality British day-boat sourcing (the Newlyn plaice with citrus beurre blanc is a documented example) tend to show the kitchen's technique at its most precise. Simpsons holds a Michelin star recognised continuously since 2000 and is recommended in Opinionated About Dining's Classical in Europe list (2023), both of which anchor its standing in the classical modern British tier.