"You Choose" - Nocturnal Animals

Venue: Nocturnal Animals, 20 Bennetts Hill, B2 5QJ; website
Choice: Tuna Tartare (part of the £65 taster menu) Chooser: The Kitchen

Nocturnal Animals went from launch to 88mph in a whiplash-prompting 2.3 seconds. The moment the doors opened we were all sent, via a volley of Instagram pics, back to the 80s, without a flux capacitor in sight. There was, mind you, a crazed scientist. Brum's newest restaurant represents the brain of chef-patron Alex Claridge, spilt blood-free across the interior, the drapes, the corridors and the floors. Claridge moonwalks that finest of madman/genius lines, taking this absurd yet outstanding venue flash-dancing with him. At just over a week old, it's not perfect. Pre-meal cocktails needed re-ordering and the wait between courses was irregular. But at times the food was nothing short of exceptional. A run of three back-to-back dishes was the culinary crescendo: duck gyoza is served on a boat-like dish made specifically to aid the pick-up-and-slurp of the aged bone broth in which they bathe. Tuna cured in sugar and salt, followed, and came encircled in a mercurial mix of bonito oil, ponzu dressing, wasabi emulsion and sesame crackers. Hand dived barbecued scallops served with a 'Nduja jam, crispy noodles and yuzu gel finished this mind-blowing hat-trick of gastronomic hits. Look around you. Everyone is smiling. And it's not just because of the madness — it's the genius too.