Aktar Islam, born and raised in Birmingham, opened Opheem on Summer Row after leaving the Lasan Group in 2016, building it into the only two-Michelin-starred Indian restaurant outside London; it won its first star in 2019 and a second in February 2024. The kitchen treats Indian ingredients and technique as a starting point rather than a script, pairing a Lucknow-style carrot dish with methods drawn from European fine dining. Service follows a set timetable across lunch and dinner, though no one is rushed out once seated, and the ground-floor lounge stays open until the last table leaves. Islam has spoken of wanting to move Indian cooking in Birmingham away from nostalgia toward something more exacting. The room stays calm and unfussy, letting the plates carry the evening rather than the décor.
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