Birmingham is a city that still struggles to cast off its past but anyone who has visited in the past decade will tell you that it’s a city that’s undergone a transformation. Located in the West Midlands, Birmingham is now a spectacular modern city, offering you all the best in shopping, culture and of course…food. Birmingham has an incredible range of eating experiences available for all budgets in and around the city.
Thanks to its cultural diversity, the city is bursting with authentic and delicious cuisine from around the world. So whether you’re looking for a Michelin star restaurant experience or something cheap and satisfying, Birmingham has everything you could want. Here are our recommendations for the best places to eat in Birmingham.
1. Al Frash Balti Restaurant
If you only eat one meal in your stay in Birmingham, it has to be a balti. Birmingham is the home to this unique Pakistani dish, just don’t make the mistake of thinking of it as just another curry! The term “balti” actually refers to the bowl the dishes are served in, with a unique taste made up of the best ingredients and spices. There are many balti restaurants across the city, but the connoisseur always finds their way to the renowned Balti Triangle, including the Sparkbrook, Balsall Heath and Moseley areas of the city. Sure, it’s a cab ride from the city center, but the tastes and prices are well worth it.
Award-winning Al Frash balti features a clean, modern interior that is pleasing to the eye. The staff is friendly and welcoming; they will even help recommend dishes that are mildly spicy if you prefer it. Browsing through the menu is like opening a jewel box filled with exotic treasures – prawn makhani, lazeeza fish, archar gosht and the intriguing afrodesia, just to name a few.
Al Frash Balti Restaurant
Address: 186 Ladypool Road, Birmingham, United Kingdom
Website: Al Frash Balti Restaurant
2. Original Patty Men
Starting out at the pop-up Digbeth Dining Club, Tom Maher and Scott O'Bryne’s OPM built up a huge reputation for serving the finest burgers in the city and opened the OPM restaurant to serve the city’s burger cravings. The chic industrial restaurant offers a small but tasty range of burgers, mostly served on a delicious yogurt and buttermilk bun. Open Thursday to Sunday, this is a must for burger lovers.
The “patty pimps and purveyors of filth” were once a humble pop-up booth that wowed customers at a food hall. But they have since moved on up to their own permanent premises in Birmingham. Rest assured that they have not missed a beat in terms of the quality and wow factor of their food since the transition. The burgers remain juicy, flavorsome and well-seasoned.
Original Patty Men
Address: 9 Shaw’s Passage, B5 5JG Birmingham, United Kingdom
Website: Original Patty Men
3. Carters of Moseley
Take a quick cab ride out of the city center to Moseley Village and experience the delights of this fabulous Michelin starred restaurant, winner of the Good Food Guide 2015 Restaurant of the Year. Amazing food, served without all of that pretentious nonsense you might expect from a Michelin starred place. The menu says it best: “simple, affordable, fun.”
A food critic once called it “wonky, weird, perfect,” and The Guardian claims that “this restaurant’s experimental, bafflingly affordable cooking will restore your faith in fine dining.” And don’t let the unassuming single room setup fool you; dining here is guaranteed to be an experience to remember during your holiday in Birmingham.
Carters of Moseley
Address: 2c St Mary’s Row, Wake Green Rd, Moseley, B13 9EZ Birmingham, United Kingdom
Website: Carters of Moseley
4. Ristorante Caffe' Gustami
Ok, first things first, the location isn’t ideal. Yes, it’s close to the city center, but it’s also right on the edge of a rather down at heel estate. But get a cab, walk inside and you’re going to eat the best Italian food on offer in the city. Offering incredible homemade food, wood fired oven pizzas, and delicious pasta, all for an outstanding value.
Everything about the restaurant is understated. The space is rather small and plain, though clean and bright. But it may seem more like a nondescript cafe rather than a fine dining restaurant. The menus are printed on plain paper and stapled together. The tables are uncovered. Ah, but the food! You must experience it to truly understand why Ristorante Caffe Gustami claims to be the best Italian restaurant in Birmingham.
Ristorante Caffe' Gustami
Address: 4 King Edwards Rd, B1 2PZ Birmingham, UK
Website: Ristorante Caffe’ Gustami
5. Bistro 1847
Vegetarian delights in the heart of the city. On a small menu, you’ll find stunningly presented food full of taste for vegetarians and vegans. Take that meat eater and they’ll be instantly converted! The battered halloumi and chips are simply amazing, so tasty and crisp.
Bistro 1847
Address: 26 Great Western Arcade, Colmore Row, Birmingham, United Kingdom
Website: Bistro 1847
6. Lasan
Another one of Birmingham’s incredible Indian restaurants, Lasan in the delightful St Paul’s Square won best local restaurant in Gordon Ramsay’s F-Word show. I always mean to try everything but keep coming back to their incredible hyderabadi biryani, with a succulent slow-stewed goat that almost melts in the mouth.
Lasan
Address: 3-4 Dakota Buildings, James Street, B3 1SD Birmingham, United Kingdom
Website: Lasan
7. Chung Ying Cantonese
A fixture in Birmingham’s Chinese Quarter for over three decades now, there are three Chung Ying restaurants, but we always head for Chung Ying Cantonese for the very best Chinese the city can offer. Opening after refurbishment in mid-August, this restaurant offers everything you could want and more, including ostrich, veal, and kangaroo!
Chung Ying Cantonese
Address: 16 – 18 Wrottesley Street, Birmingham China Town, B5 4RT Birmingham
Website: Chung Ying
8. Scottish Steak Club at the Macdonald Burlington
When your partner has tried steaks from all over the world, having her declare the Filet Mignon at the Burlington the second best she’s ever tasted (the first is at Hugo’s Cellar, Las Vegas) you know you’re onto a good thing. Located in the Macdonald Burlington Hotel, this restaurant looks over Birmingham High Street and offers not just that second best filet in the world but one of the best desserts, the deliciously frozen pineapple souffle with blackberry compote.
Scottish Steak Club at the Macdonald Burlington
Address: Burlington Arcade, 126 New Street, Birmingham, United Kingdom
9. Adams
One of the finest eateries the city has to offer, this Michelin starred restaurant would sit perfectly in amongst London’s finest, but we’re lucky to have it right here in Birmingham. Rated the third best restaurant in the UK in 2016. And it all started as a pop-up restaurant by the husband and wife team before moving to a permanent location in 2015. Contemporary British dining at its best.
Adams
Address: 16 Waterloo Street, Birmingham, United Kingdom
Website: Adams
10. Purnell's
Another of Birmingham’s Michelin star restaurants, Glyn Purnell was born and bred a Brummie and has been serving delicious top-quality food at Purnell’s since 2007.
Purnell's
Address: 55 Cornwell Street, Birmingham, United Kingdom
Website: Purnell’s
Birmingham: A foodie lover's heaven
With so much on offer, from the cheapest of eateries to the finest restaurants not just in the UK but in the world, Birmingham truly is a food lover’s heaven.