Tropea in Harborne been listed in The Good Food Guide’s Best 100 Local Restaurants 2025, following more than 60,000 nominations for bistros, brasseries, pubs and cafes being made across the UK.
The restaurant has been commended by inspectors and reviewers, who made secret visits to every restaurant nominated to check for uniqueness, deliciousness, warmth and strength of recommendation.
Chloë Hamilton, editor of The Good Food Guide, said the inspectors and reviewers were looking for places that were the best of their kind.
She said: “These are the places where you really love to eat.
“From more than 60,000 nominations, we’ve chosen 100 of the most compelling, confident, community-focused restaurants, bistros and wine bars that turn out cooking as wonderful as the warmth of their welcome.
“Some entrants you’ll have seen on the list before, and others are new and brilliant under-the radar gems you’ve helped us to uncover.
“What’s more, you’ll find a surprising level of affordability across the list.
“A hearty lunch with a good glass of wine will set you back just £15 at many of our winners, offering extraordinary value for money.
Tropea was praised for the inspired menu and the stylish way it presents its food
Tropea, which can be found on Lordswood Road in Harborne, was praised by the reviewers for the inspired menu and design and was rated as very good, with deliciousness, warmth and strength of recommendation scored as very good and uniqueness as good.
The Good Food review said the restaurant was a love letter to Italian regional cooking and spoke about the quality of the food.
It read: “Opened in 2021, Tropea is a love letter to Italian regional cooking, set within a clean-lined space that has recently extended into the building next door, with more covers and a bar/counter offering drinks as well as the full restaurant menu.
“The feel is of modern refettorio with a sleek navy-blue frontage and a cool, softly lit interior with hints of bronze and orange tones (there are tables outside, too).
“Reporters praise the exceptional staff, and the sharing ethos of the menus, which encourages much happy mixing and matching.”
Antipasti selections such as sea bream crudo with lightly pickled apple, monk’s beard and olive oil or gnocco fritto (fried dough) with 30-month DOP prosciutto di Parma were praised for by the Good Food Guide.
They also said that the Pasta was a “sure-fire hit”, with casarecce with beef-cheek ragù or tagliatelle with sautéed morels, and mushroom duxelles held as examples, while the “robust approach to principal dishes” produced dishes such as poached stone bass in ‘acqua pazza’ with datterini tomatoes and pickled fennel or BBQ lamb rump accompanied by Tropea onions, Jersey Royals and salsa verde.
The full list of restaurants on the Top 100 list across the country can be found on the Good Food Guide website.