Chef Tom Shepherd is set to open the much-anticipated first restaurant under his own name on 8 October.
Upstairs by Tom Shepherd will be a permanent home for the acclaimed chef’s contemporary cooking, from a beautiful first-floor restaurant above his father’s jewellery shop in Lichfield, a city on the outskirts of Birmingham in Staffordshire.
The restaurant will be a relaxed and refined space in which to experience Shepherd’s thoughtful and delicious modern British menus, based around beautiful seasonal ingredients and with subtle influences from Japan and East Asia.
The flagship five-course tasting menu includes dishes like Orkney scallop with dashi, celeriac and apple, and poached Atlantic cod with wild mussel, caviar and champagne.
A three-course lunch menu, available from Thursday-Saturday includes dishes like Creedy Carver Chicken with sweetcorn, Israeli couscous and leek.
A three-course Sunday lunch menu will showcase Shepherd’s elegant and contemporary takes on classic British comfort food, such as roast salt aged Herefordshire beef sirloin and king oyster mushroom wellington with winter truffle.
Inside, the 28-cover restaurant will have a bar area showcasing local beers, wines and spirits. A central chef’s table will be available for diners who want to experience the kitchen team’s cooking first-hand. Also, a roof terrace is also planned for early 2022.
An acclaimed and decorated chef, Shepherd has experience heading up kitchens at some of the best restaurants in the UK, most recently at Adam’s restaurant in Birmingham, where he successfully retained the restaurant’s Michelin star and three AA rosettes during his time as head chef.
His previous experience includes time spent as a development chef at the two-Michelin-starred Restaurant Sat Bains, as well as two-Michelin-starred The Latymer, under Michael Wigmore, and The Samling.
After departing Adam’s in 2019, Shepherd ran the successful Dine at Home with Tom Shepherd. He negotiated the Covid-19 pandemic with a highly-thought-of meal kit service, which featured a weekly changing, seasonal three-course menu delivered direct to diners’ doors.