D&D confirms October opening for first Birmingham restaurant
Called Orelle, which draws inspiration from the French words for gold (or) and her (elle), the concept, which was first mooted back before the pandemic, will include a double-height restaurant on the building's 24th floor that will serve a modern French menu, and a café and terrace at street level that will be open all day and also operate as a bar in the evenings.
The restaurant will offer 360-degree panoramic views across Birmingham, and will comprise an 88-cover restaurant, 24-cover bar and 12-cover private dining room.
Open for lunch and dinner seven days a week, Orelle will serve a menu featuring both classic and modern French dishes.
Meanwhile, the 38-cover ground floor café and bar will be entered through a 28-cover outdoor terrace and will serve breakfast, brunch, lunch and afternoon tea, followed by a bar menu in the evenings.
Orelle’s interior have been designed by architects Doone Silver Kerr. The restaurant design has been strongly influenced by the site’s rich banking history – 103 Colmore Row is on the site of the former NatWest Tower - and incorporates richly veined marble floors, oak and walnut timbers and wall panelling.
The ground floor café space will also feature the original 1970s cast aluminium banking hall doors, designed and made by English abstract artist Henry Haig.
Inspiration from Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter is reflected throughout Orelle, in the use of golden metalwork in the café; gold veining of the marble restaurant floor and bar; bespoke light fittings; and jewel-like colours used in the furniture fabrics.
“Orelle will be D&D London’s debut in Birmingham and has been many years in the making,” says Des Gunewardena, chairman and CEO of D&D London.
“The interior and views will really be something special. I think guests will experience a sharp excited intake of breath when they first enter the space, as we did. We hope Orelle can do justice to what is a jewel of a site.”
