4 King Edwards Road, Birmingham B1 2PZ (0121 454 5922). Starters: £3.90-£7, Main courses: £8.50-£21, Desserts: £4-£18
Authentic, homemade cooked food is the type of food that tickles our taste buds and leaves us wanting more. Ristorante Caffe Gustami does just that.
Just off Birmingham’s Inner Ring Road is not where you expect to find great Italian food, but as soon as you enter Gustami you are welcomed into a very homely, relaxed and slightly rural atmosphere.
Cookbooks line the walls along with bottles of Italian wines that make you feel like you are dining in Italy.
Gustami feels like the sort of restaurant you’re likely to find in the city of Rome or Milan. Off the tourist trail but loved by the locals.
In the words of one diner, “You can tell the food is really authentic”.
And so, there it is. Gustami may be small, with only 20 or so covers, but both the main menu and specials board have a wide variety of dishes that feel and taste like authentic Italian food.
Yes, there is pizza and pasta, but the Italian food doesn’t end there because Gustami offers much more.
For a starter, you can have Crostino Crudo e Mozzarella, a flatbread with mozzarella wrapped in Parma ham drizzled with balsamic glaze.
For the main course, you can have dishes such as Risotto Salsiccia and Funghi, a Sardinian pork sausage with fennel that is made on the premises, or Mezzalune Della Casa, chicken breast deep fried with parmesan and mozzarella.
Where does the inspiration come from? Well, the chef told us he worked in Milan and his family comes from Bologna in Lombardy. Luckily for us he’s brought all his experience with him to England.
If you are a fan of simple, homemade Italian food at very reasonable prices then Gustami is for you. Absolutely wonderful!
