Vieni, a small Sicilian restaurant in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter, delivers hearty dishes and a genuine happy hubbub that sets it apart from chain eateries. Chef and founder Angelina Adamo, whose Instagram bio reads "Bite off more than you can chew and learn how to fucking chew," runs the scrappy independent, balancing arancini with payroll and loo paper orders.
Location and Atmosphere
Located about a mile from the Bull Ring, Vieni sits at 41 Pitsford Street in the Goodsyard development, just beside the tiny Jewellery Quarter station. It contrasts sharply with large, impersonal venues like Albert's Schloss, Big Mamma's La Bellezza, and Tattu. The restaurant has a happy hubbub that cannot be orchestrated, manifesting from genuinely pleased diners enjoying dishes like s'mores toasted marshmallow gelato or barbecued sea bream with peperoncino 'nduja butter.
Menu Highlights
The menu is hearty and ever-changing, not trendy sharing plates. Starters include 32-hour ox cheek crispy lasagne slices, Pyefleet oysters with British strawberry and champagne vinegar, seabass crudo with peaches, basil and green chilli, and mafaldine with vodka tomato sauce. A standout is the pea, broad bean and pecorino arancini, a magnificent object in tomato sauce with pecorino. The 32-hour ox cheek crispy lasagne offers deep flavor and softness, described as "the ultimate cuddle on a plate."
Other dishes include coils of Sicilian fennel sausage with cacio e pepe butter beans, fregola with clams, and an eccentric dolce of the day, such as a maraschino cherry gelato with lattice shortcrust. A large barbecued sea bream with peperoncino 'nduja butter and burrata with melon and Brummie honey are also popular.
Comparison and Vibe
Vieni dances a fine line where British-Italian restaurants often fail. It is not a Spaghetti House or red-sauce mom-and-pop; it sits closer in spirit to Moro on Exmouth Market, London, but is not intimidating and actually feeds you. The atmosphere is a happy hubbub, unlike some restaurants where diners feel politely mugged.
Practical Information
Vieni is open for lunch Wednesday to Saturday noon-2pm, dinner Tuesday to Saturday 5pm-9pm, plus brunch Saturday 9.30am-11.45am and Sunday 10am-2pm. About £50 a head for three courses, plus drinks and service. Contact: 0121 806 0080.
