Weekend in Birmingham - give me your tips!

[Lottapianos]

Hi all. DP and I are planning a few nights in Birmingham. We've never been before. No kids, no car, will stay in city centre. We like the usual city stuff - walking, bit of shopping, pubs, good beer, restaurants (curry especially) with good food but nothing too flash

All advice welcome, pub and restaurant recommendations especially. Ta!

Hi!

dishoom, mowgli, Tamatanga are all within walking distance of the train station and all fab Indian food! The best is Asha’s but is a lot more pricey but again not far to walk.

On colmore row you have the alchemist and joint stock pub for drinks which id recommend. Bacchus bar is great and underground! Great for wine!

The head of steam is fab for beers and good food too!hope you have a lovely time!

Also the jewellery quarter has fantastic bars and food, the hen and chickens is an amazing Indian!!

2nd Asha's lovely food.
Dirty Martini's for drinks.
Albert Schloss for food,drinks and atmosphere but you will need to book.

'the hen and chickens is an amazing Indian'

Had a look at the website - looks DREAMY! Thanks ☺️

Oooo the lost and found too is a great bar!

gusto is great for Italian food as is riva blu (next to the ivy)

in the mailbox there’s a lovely Italian called lucarelli, really beautiful food

The team also run the rolling mill in JQ which is great food and the best Sunday roast if you’re here on a Sunday!

my only tip: take the first road out of there

(Stratford upon Avon is close by)

<I’ll get my coat>

Dishoom if you haven't been there lots of times already.

If you want a bit fancier and don't mind vegan, Land is amazing and very reasonably priced for what you get.

If you're feeling very rich, Opheem is absolutely incredible - very high end Indian. You might be able to get in for lunch, which is much cheaper.

In the Jewellery Quarter, Tierra Tacos is good, with 1000 Trades across the road for drinks (and a cocktail bar upstairs but you'd need to book).

In Digbeth, Wine Freedom if you want to feel a bit poncey. KiloZero is great for drinks/cheese plates.

For great beer, you really need to head into the suburbs - Stirchley would be ideal: amazing indie bars/breweries. Eat Vietnam or Verbena Kitchen for lovely food - definitely book well in advance.

I didn't like Lucarelli - thought it was over-priced, tiny portions and not very exciting.

'Dishoom if you haven't been there lots of times already.'

Love it, have been loads (we're in London). Thanks for all the recommendations, they all sound fab! Please keep the tips coming....

The Good Intent (opposite Land Restaurant) is a not for profit pub in a lovely building.

It is decades since I moved away, but the Botanical Gardens were always lovely if it is hot and you are craving some green (be aware that about a million Brummies may have the same idea )

www.birminghambotanicalgardens.org.uk/

The Museum and Art Gallery are about as central as it gets. Superb Pre-Raphaelites and a gorgeous tearoom

www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/bmag/

Symphony Hall has lots of free music if you want something different at lunchtime, and is very close to Museum and Art Gallery and lots of restaurants bmusic.co.uk/whats-on/category/free

If you want to push the boat out (and can get in) - Wilderness does an amazing tasting menu.
40 St Pauls is a great gin bar.
Fiesta del Asado on the Hagley Rd is great if you like steak.
The craft beer place just off Victoria Square is great if you like nice beer.
If you fancy heading out of the centre, there's a peruvian restaurant in Moseley which is supposed to be great. Moseley is nice for a wander anyway. Zindiya is a nice Indian street food place there.

Ghetto golf is fun for something to do.
The library is worth a visit.
Canal St Basin for canal wandering

There might be something good on at the Alexandra, or the Rep theatre, or the Symphony Hall, or the arts centre in Cannon Hill Park.

If you want an afternoon close by, jump on the train to Warwick and have a nice wander around all the indi shops, quaint tea rooms, nice bars and take in views of the castle.

Tamatanga!!! Get the black lentils.

Don't forget Brum has the worlds biggest Primark (well it was a draw card for me anyway...)

Medicine bakery is great for brunch or baked goods

BMAG and the Mailbox are both nice places to visit. The Jewellery Quarter is worth a wander around also.

Ibthought the Brum Museum &Art Gsllery was still closed?

The craft beer place just off Victoria Square is Purecraft - it's good.

BMAG has just re-opened after some refurb work, but only has a couple of galleries open, plus the tea rooms.

The Ikon gallery is worth a look because the building is amazing (nice cafe too).

Winterbourne House and Gardens at the university is lovely if the weather is nice.

The Cube is good for a drink and views, especially if you can get there just before sunset. Personally, I wouldn't bother with the food.

Worth going to Bham Museum and Art Gallery (check how much is open, seeing posts above) then wandering through to Centenary Square.
The new Library - not sure what has reopened but it has a viewing gallery / outside terrace near the top for views around City Centre. Also a lovely Shakespearean Library.
Go through the Symphony Hall and wander down the canals for a bit. Loads of places to eat around Brindley Place.

As others have said the Jewellery Quarter is an interesting place to wander round if you haven't been there before, and has several nice eateries.

If you are here for a few days, you could hop on the cross City line out to Bournville and wonder round the 'Garden Village'. Cadbury World is good to visit (get a deal - often available with rail travel), and Selly Manor is a smallish Manor House on the edge of Bournville Green. There's lots of history around but you'd probably need a trail to follow.

The BBC place in the mailbox is quite interesting.

The Nature Centre on the edge of Cannon Hill Park is lovely - you'd hop on a bus out along Bristol Rd (A38) or Pershore Rd (A441). Then you aren't far from B'ham University which has some lovely architecture, and the Barber Institute of FIne Arts if you like art, is worth a visit.

There's The Think Tank at Millennium Point - where a lot of the Science Museum stock went. Bit pricey, but a lot to see if that's your thing.

Thanks SO MUCH for all your suggestions. They all sound great ☺️

www.electricbirmingham.com

The University has a really good botanical gardens (Winterbourne) - better than the other botanical gardens in the city on my opinion. The Barber Institute of Fine Arts is a really good art gallery on the campus too. It's a ten minute train ride from the city centre.

This might seem like a daft question but I haven't been back to Brum for years. I remember the previous new library, spent many happy hours there on the way home from grammar school. Is it still there or was it demolished when they built the new new library?

Sorry, not really relevant but for some reason I've been wondering about it lately. DI Ray might be to blame.