Birmingham holds no grand illusions of its standing in the pecking order of British cities. Even in the cabin-feverish pandemic era of rediscovering home soil, England’s second city remained left behind. Manchester has its music and Bristol its street art. Birmingham? Off the top of most people’s heads, and in no particular order: Ozzy Osbourne, Peaky Blinders and an accent that’s “worse than staying silent”, according to one study a few years ago.
But the city’s new reality might surprise some. Brummies have been banging on about its canals (more than Venice!) for decades but, these days, we wield a more alluring stat: Birmingham has the most Michelin stars in any UK city outside London. More interesting still, perhaps, are the clutch of new and newish openings that have brightened up a once-drab and chain-heavy food-and-drink scene into something fresh enough to rival any well-regarded epicurean British city.
The shift has been slow and steady. I was born and grew up in Birmingham. I left for London eight years ago, as the city was starting to transform. My trips home since have been spent discovering bakeries, revamped pubs and quirky cocktail bars. The city’s fine dining scene has long been unexpectedly top of its game, and a handful of cosy cafés, such as the plant-filled Medicine Bakery, and crowd-pleasing Asian restaurants, including Taiwanese bao spot Tiger Bites Pig, have been leading the charge for a few years. Now it seems this abundance of good cooking and good taste is seeping beyond the city centre and into its neighbourhoods.
The most unforeseen and all-encompassing of turnarounds is in Stirchley, which sits in the shadow of Bournville’s Cadbury factory. When the wind blows the right way, the air smells of chocolate. These days it’s as likely to whiff of hoppy IPAs coming from Attic Brew Co; fragrant spices from Eat Vietnam; or freshly made sourdough from bakery and cooking school Loaf. The restaurant scene on this small suburban high street also punches above its weight. Riverine Rabbit, a winner in this year’s UK’s Top New Restaurant Awards, is one of the most exciting openings of the past 18 months. It’s helmed by Cape Town-raised chef Ash Valenzuela-Heeger behind the pass; her wife, Erin, oversees service. The open kitchen dishes up for just 14 guests each evening. Diners might carry on their night at award-winning cocktail den Couch next door, where a local crowd piles into the dinky bar to be greeted like old pals by endlessly cheerful bartenders. The menu there changes regularly, inspired by kitsch themes such as 1990s video games, old-school body sprays or cult albums (fancy a Lot 40 rye whisky, salted peach and ginger cocktail named after Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill?). In any other city, this might come off as try-hard and gimmicky, but something about a beardy, gently piss-taking bartender with a thick Brummie brogue serving a drink based on 2007-vintage Impulse body spray takes the edge off.
This service style is a huge reason why Birmingham’s hospitality scene is on the up. It’s far from the serious, transactional, sometimes indignant – or overly familiar – service I’ve become used to in more fashionable cities, because it would be considered inauthentic here. No one comes to Birmingham on holiday. There are no sweet families pitching up at New Street station in matching Barbour jackets and Hunter wellies; no groups of 40-something friends gathering for a reunion weekend; no couples on anniversary trips. Brummie businesses don’t have the option to rely on one-and-done punters visiting from out of town. To stay afloat, repeat custom is nurtured – they have to make a genuine connection. That authentic warmth is reflected in another UK’s Top New Restaurant Awards winner, Albatross Death Cult. The tasting-menu-only, seafood-forward opening from Alex Claridge and his partner Rachael Whittle (also behind The Wilderness) operates as a chef’s table, but is certainly not a po-faced affair. Everyone who works there rattles with a frankly uncool enthusiasm for the food, the setting and the cooking, making degustation not only bearable but enjoyable.
Perhaps the city’s reputation will change. The first properly smart hotel in the area, Hampton Manor, is slick enough to draw food-snob weekenders with new restaurant Kynd, as well as its Michelin-starred flagship Grace & Savour. But for now, the thriving restaurant scene is built on self-deprecating wit and unapologetic creativity. And we don’t need anyone else to like it.
More Brummie food hotspots to know
In Stirchley, the foodiest neighbourhood in the city right now, add brunch spot Caneat for kimchi hashbrowns, banana bread with mango jam or refried beans and burnt corn salsa and sweet small plates joint Verbena to your list alongside Riverine Rabbit, Attic Brew Co, Couch and Loaf, mentioned above.
Down the road in Harborne, Italian joint Tropea nabbed a Bib Gourmand earlier this year (I also followed the team's playlist on Spotify during my visit, it was that good), while coffee shop by day, tap room by night The Courtyard is a cosy, light-filled space with local brews and fabulous coffee from the team behind porridge spot Morridge, in the city centre. In King's Heath, Early Bird Bakery is a favourite for breakfasts (or take-home treats), and Blow Water is the place to go for Hong Kong-inspired dumplings.
Out of the suburbs and into the city centre, as well as Tiger Bites Pig, Medicine Bakery and Albatross Death Cult, all mentioned above, add Bonehead and Original Patty Men to your list for great burgers, and Otto, in the Jewellery Quarter, if you're craving pizza.