Dreams of little venice
"There are more canals in Birmingham than Venice," claims Steve Cox, one of the managing directors of Birmingham's Mediterranean bar and restaurant, Prego on the Water. With a Mediterranean menu, it aims to recreate a "little Venice" atmosphere.
Situated beside the canal at Aston Cross is a direct descendant of Cox's other restaurant, Prego, in Richmond, Surrey, which has a waterside location on the Thames.
Prego on the Water creates atmosphere with clever use of trompe l'oeil murals: a Canalet to copy in the main dining room; a scene of Portofino along the stairs from the bar to the dining room; a caricature of Venice in the bar itself; and the dining room ceiling is a Mediterranean blue sky with puffy white clouds.
The menu is predominately Mediterranean but not slavishly so. A dish such as salmon hash with poached egg, topped with béarnaise sauce, £5.50/£7.95, is far from the sunny Med but too good not to have on the menu. It's a menu approach Cox developed after living in New York.
Prego's menu is, as far as modern English/Mediterranean menus go, much larger than normal, with more than 50 items, not including vegetables and salads. This came about from Cox's experience with his Richmond restaurant.
"We had so many regulars coming in three or four times a week, either for lunch or on their way home, and they wanted the choice. So we expanded the menu because customers were asking us for it," Cox explains.
The menu changes three times a year and Cox does most of the development work with input from chefs working at the kitchens in the Richmond and Birmingham sites. "I'm getting to the ripe old age of 38 and I realise cooking every night is a young man's game. But I'm the best relief chef going," he says.
Occasional stints in the restaurant kitchen keep ideas flowing, and he also develops recipes in a "professional kitchen" in his home. Each time the menu changes, they produce a manual with standard recipes and photos of presentation.
But there are regional variations due to local preferences. A pot of olives and a jar of seasoned extra virgin olive oil are put on each table along with bread. Richmond diners are content with this, but Birmingham customers prefer butter with their bread.
Yes, the menu is large, but good use is made of basic preparations to offer more choice. Chargrilled vegetables, for instance, are used in three or four ways across the menu - as a vegetable, as part of a pasta dish, and a component of a fish dish. "It's just a matter of the same ingredients used in different ways."
This is a very agreeable, contemporary menu for anyone who likes Mediterranean-style cooking. Crostini change daily and always have five varieties on the plate. Some of the dishes come in both small and large portions to give more choice. Pastas are offered in half portions to order as a starter, even though it's not printed on the menu.
Three minutes from Birmingham's city centre, Prego on the Water is part of the Waterlinks regeneration project. Lunch trade from the £7.95 two-course business lunch is brisk. Coffee is included but customers invariably run up a bill once they're seated.
The open kitchen adds vitality and drama to the atmosphere. It also lets people see what is being done and gets food quickly to customers. "And from the chef's point of view it gives them contact with customers. It also removes all those silly barriers between front and back of house, says Cox."
