Rabbit By Ash & Erin: How Love and Passion Built Birmingham’s Most In-Demand Restaurant

Posted On November 7, 2024

Birmingham food podcast Breaking Bread cover photo for our episode with Rabbit owners Ash and Erin

Welcome To Breaking Bread Rabbit Owners Ash & Erin

In this episode of Breaking Bread, we welcome Ash and Erin, the duo behind Rabbit, a unique 12-seat restaurant in Stirchley, Birmingham. We believe Rabbit is one of the best restaurants in Birmingham right now and wanted to sit down with Ash & Erin to find out more about this awesome place.

Who Are Ash & Erin?

In a world where everything moves too fast, where the culinary giants rarely look back, Ash and Erin’s story feels like a slow burn—a kind of magic that comes together when the stars align just right, or in their case when an Instagram message lights the spark. Ash, a chef hailing from the rugged landscapes of South Africa, and Erin, a UK-based PhD student immersed in the complexity of ceramics, never planned to uproot their lives. But life has a funny way of demanding the unexpected.

This wasn’t just another love story. This was about daring leaps, transcontinental moves, and leaving behind the familiar in pursuit of something rare and raw. Their first encounter wasn’t even in person; it was online, a casual conversation that turned into an eight-hour deep dive, exploring everything from food and art to what they each wanted from life. They didn’t realise it then, but that conversation laid the groundwork for a future neither saw coming. Soon enough, Ash packed up her life in South Africa, leaving behind her own restaurant and all the memories that came with it, to join Erin in Birmingham at the height of the pandemic.

What Is Rabbit?

Once in Birmingham, the real work began. They didn’t dive headfirst into opening a restaurant—they tested, tasted, and slowly built a reputation. Pop-ups became their canvas, each one a preview of something greater, each one pulling people in like moths to a flame. They finally found a home in the Stirchley neighbourhood, opening a 12-seat dining experience. This isn’t just a restaurant; it is a living, breathing space where people can feel like they belong.

Their small, intimate dining room—filled every night with a limited number of diners—puts every other white-tablecloth, industrial-sized kitchen to shame. It’s a reminder that food is more than sustenance. Ash brings her culinary craft, sharpened and honed on the intense fires of South Africa’s kitchen culture, to this 12-seater haven. Erin’s influence, meanwhile, brings a sense of structure, an almost engineering-like precision. But there’s a warmth, a sense of community, a grit that you just don’t get in places built on big budgets and endless PR.

shop front photo of Rabbit in Stirchley Birmingham owned by Ash & Erin photo taken by Breaking Bread Birmingham

Here, in this little restaurant in Stirchley, they’ve built more than just a business. It’s a space where food, art, and life merge. Each dish, every plate that comes out, carries their story—a journey of hard-won battles, uprooted lives, and fierce determination. Ash and Erin’s restaurant isn’t just a place to eat; it’s an invitation to share in the wild, beautiful ride they’ve had. And for the people lucky enough to find themselves there, they’re getting a taste of something more real, more genuine than what most of us will find in a lifetime.