Restaurant in Lichfield, United Kingdom
Ambitious Midlands tasting menu, hard to book.
Upstairs by Tom Shepherd is a 28-cover tasting-menu restaurant in central Lichfield, ranked in Harden's Best UK Top 100 2025. It delivers seven-course cooking with serious technical ambition in an unfussy, intimate room above a family jewellery shop. One of the most credible special-occasion dinner options in the Midlands at the ££££ tier.
If you're weighing a London tasting-menu pilgrimage against something closer to home in the Midlands, Upstairs by Tom Shepherd makes a strong case for staying local. This 28-cover room above a Lichfield jewellery shop delivers seven-course tasting-menu cooking at a level that has earned a place in Harden's Leading UK Top 100 2025 — in a city better known for its cathedral than its dining scene. The format is tasting menu only, the room is small, and booking has historically been competitive. For a special occasion dinner in the Midlands, it is one of the most credible options at the ££££ tier outside Birmingham.
The space is a converted first-floor room above a family jewellery business on Bore Street, accessed via a doorbelled entrance. It seats 28 covers, which keeps the atmosphere close without feeling crowded. The kitchen is partially open, so there is ambient noise from service and cooking, but this reads as energy rather than intrusion. The decorative approach is contemporary and warm without being aggressively designed — expect a relaxed room that does not perform sophistication, it simply delivers it. For a date or a celebration dinner, the intimacy of the room works in your favour; this is not a place where you are trying to talk over a packed dining room.
The menu format is tasting menus for lunch and dinner, with a shorter offering on Thursday lunchtimes. The cooking draws on Tom Shepherd's time under Michael Wignall at the Latymer, Pennyhill Park and with Adam Stokes in Birmingham, and the technical grounding shows. Dishes are structured around clear flavour logic , portions are described as unexpectedly generous, particularly at lunch, where a main course can run to multiple preparations of a single protein. Desserts are singled out across multiple reviews as a genuine highlight: the 72% Araguani chocolate with crème fraîche, pecan, caramel and sherry is a recurrent reference point. Wine pairings are taken seriously, with selections ranging from Breuer Rheingau Riesling to a Turkish Syrah-based blend and a Chinese ice wine, which suggests a programme with genuine range rather than default European picks.
Kitchen's Great British Menu pedigree , Shepherd is known for his Desperate Dan's cow pie reimagining , means there is a strand of playful ambition running through the menu, but the cooking is grounded in technique and flavour rather than novelty. Every ingredient is described as purposeful, and the overall register is rich and intensely savoury rather than delicate and restrained.
Ratings dipped slightly in Harden's most recent annual diners' poll. The feedback pattern is telling: not dissatisfaction, but a sense that the very long waiting list has raised expectations to a level that is hard to meet, and that prices have moved upward over time. Neither of these is a reason to avoid booking, but they are worth knowing. If you are coming from outside Lichfield specifically for this meal, set expectations around the experience as it is rather than the mythology that accumulates around hard-to-book rooms.
Upstairs is well-suited to couples and small groups celebrating something specific , the room size and tasting-menu format naturally frame the meal as an occasion. Solo diners can book, though the format and price point make it a more considered choice for a solo visit than a spontaneous one. For groups larger than four, check availability carefully given the 28-cover capacity. If you are looking for à la carte flexibility, this is not the right venue.
The restaurant opens Wednesday evenings, Thursday to Saturday for lunch and dinner, and is closed Sunday and Monday. Walk-ins are not the model here , book in advance. The venue's reputation for a long waiting list has eased somewhat per recent feedback, but early booking remains advisable for weekend evenings. The address is 25 Bore St, Lichfield WS13 6NA.
| Detail | Upstairs by Tom Shepherd | Typical ££££ Midlands peer |
|---|---|---|
| Covers | 28 | 40–60 |
| Format | Tasting menu only | Mixed à la carte / tasting |
| Booking difficulty | Easy (was harder) | Varies |
| Open days | Wed–Sat | Typically Tue–Sat |
| Price tier | ££££ | ££££ |
| Awards | Harden's Top 100 UK 2025 | Varies |
Upstairs operates in a city that does not have a deep fine-dining bench. For the closest comparable local options, Larder (Modern Cuisine) and The Boat (Modern British) sit in a different tier but are worth knowing for more casual meals. See our full Lichfield restaurants guide for broader context, and our Lichfield hotels guide if you are planning an overnight stay around the dinner. For other local planning, bars, wineries and experiences guides are available.
For Midlands and UK comparison, the tasting-menu format here sits alongside venues like Moor Hall in Aughton and L'Enclume in Cartmel in terms of the ambition of cooking relative to setting , destination dining in non-metropolitan locations. If you are already planning a broader UK fine-dining trip, Hand and Flowers in Marlow, Midsummer House in Cambridge and hide and fox in Saltwood operate in a comparable register. For London-level benchmarking, CORE by Clare Smyth in London and Frog by Adam Handling represent what ££££ tasting-menu cooking looks like at the capital's level. Also worth knowing: Heron in Leith, Gidleigh Park in Chagford, and Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons in Great Milton for destination dining in rural or semi-rural settings across the UK.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Upstairs by Tom Shepherd | — | |
| CORE by Clare Smyth | ££££ | — |
| Restaurant Gordon Ramsay | ££££ | — |
| Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library | ££££ | — |
| The Ledbury | ££££ | — |
| Dinner by Heston Blumenthal | ££££ | — |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
The dining room holds only 28 covers, so large groups will strain the format. Parties of two or four fit most naturally into the tasting-menu structure. If you're planning a group of six or more, contact the restaurant well in advance — the size of the room means they may not be able to seat everyone together, and the waiting list is already long.
Lichfield's fine-dining bench is thin. Larder and The Boat at Lichfield are the closest local options, but neither operates at the same level of ambition as Upstairs. If you can't get a table here and are willing to travel slightly further into the Midlands, that's worth factoring into your search.
Lunch on Thursday to Saturday is the stronger value play: portions are reportedly generous, and a main course alone can span multiple preparations — the Hereford beef presented four ways is documented in reviews. The Thursday lunch runs a shorter tasting menu, which suits those who want the cooking without the full evening commitment. Dinner offers the complete seven-course format and may feel less pressured pace-wise.
The venue data doesn't specify dietary restriction policies, and the fixed tasting-menu format — where every ingredient is described as purposeful — suggests limited spontaneous substitutions. check the venue's official channels before booking, especially for serious allergies or preferences, to confirm what's possible.
The open kitchen configuration means a seat near the pass gives solo diners something to watch, which helps. That said, the 28-cover room and tasting-menu format are built around the meal as an occasion — solo dining here is workable but not the primary use case. If the counter experience matters to you more than the cooking itself, look elsewhere.
Yes — the format is well-matched to celebrations. A seven-course tasting menu in a 28-cover room above a family jewellery shop, with staff described consistently as warm and enthusiastic, frames the meal as an event. Harden's Top 100 2025 and the volume of repeat diners support that. The main caveat from recent feedback: the waiting list raises expectations sharply, so book knowing that the experience is polished but not flawless.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
