19 Best Places to Eat in Birmingham City Centre in 2024
London who? You’ve just finished shopping around the Bullring and need a bite to eat, or you’re planning a day trip and want to ensure you’ve got food sorted. Fortunately, you’ve come to the right place as this blog will give you the 19 best places to eat in Birmingham City Centre, covering breakfast, lunch and dinner.
We are both from Birmingham, so we’ve been there enough times to know where the must-visit spots are. In fact, our first 3 dates were in Birmingham, so you can be sure we know where the best places to eat are.
Carry on reading below to see our SURPRISE addition that most people don’t know about, and check out our guide on Halal restaurants in Birmingham to learn more about the city.
Introduction: Things To Know Before You Visit Birmingham City Centre
Birmingham is a city that has undergone a lot of change in recent years. However, it’s not just the buildings and infrastructure that have been transformed, but also the people, as Birmingham is more multi-cultural than ever! Leading to unique culture and diversity.
The city centre is lively and bustling with things to do, see and eat. So if you’re visiting Birmingham for the first time or you’re a local looking for something new to try, here are some things you should know before going into the City Centre:
Birmingham has a lively nightlife scene with many restaurants and bars open until late at night.
The Bull Ring shopping centre is home to some of the best stores, and it’s great to just walk around. We recommend going through Selfridges before you go for food, as it has one of the best clothing selections of any department store in the country.
There are many little hubs, from the Bullring to the Mailbox, Digbeth, Broad Street and New Street; you won’t be short of choice.
We recommend parking in the Mailbox when you arrive, walking down New Street to the Bull Ring, having a mooch through Selfridges before then looping back around New Street to Pigeon Park, before then stopping for a drink on Colmore Row. This was the route Henry did when he worked in the city for a year, and we know you’ll love it too.
Enough of the preamble; keep reading below to see the 19 places you must eat in Birmingham, covering the best places for lunch, breakfast and dinner in Birmingham City Centre.
The Best Place to Eat in Birmingham
Before we break down the best places to eat by category, covering breakfast, lunch and dinner, first we’re going to cover the hands-down best place to eat in Birmingham.
From our experience, there had never really been a real luxury restaurant that you could compare to the like you find in London. That was until Orelle opened on the 24th floor of 103 Colmore Row - Birmingham’s tallest office building.
Orelle has it all - food, service and views. We were lucky enough to be invited to Orelle for dinner, and it did not disappoint.
As we show in some of the photos below, we had a blast of the time - for starters we had oysters and cured salmon, followed by 36-day dry aged fillets, finished off with dark chocolate mousse and chocolate madeleine.
We’re already planning a trip back to Orelle, but this time, bringing our parents, as we believe it’s something that has never been available in Birmingham that we want them to try.
Probably the thing that stuck in our mind about this place was the service, which was absolute top draw, making the whole experience even better and putting a cherry on top of what was incredible food.
5 Best places for breakfast in Birmingham City Centre
It’s the start of your day in Birmingham, and we all know that breakfast is the most important meal, so you need to get it right.
You of course don't want to just go to somewhere basic like Boston Tea Party - you want the full shabam, with French Toast, fancy eggs and full English.
We like to get into Birmingham early to avoid the crowds. In fact, Henry’s family tradition is to go shopping on Christmas Eve in Birmingham - they get there about 9am and leave by noon. This gives them enough time to get all their presents and enjoy breakfast at the best breakfast spot in Birmingham, Medicine Bakery.
Medicine Bakery - Best Breakfast in Birmingham
Walk into this bakery centre of the city, and you will be overwhelmed with baked goods, from rye loaves to Chelsea buns. They have a wide range of cupcakes, brownies, and cronuts too.
Beyond the bakes, you can be guaranteed a banging coffee and fantastic breakfast - we’d recommend going for the Medicine Breakfast, which comes with:
Seasoned sausage
Streaky bacon
Hash brown
Field mushroom
Poached egg
Tuscan kale
Romesco sauce & toast
There’s also a Medicine Deli in the Mailbox! (Mailbox)
The hash brown, in particular, is unlike any hash brown you’ve ever had - imagine Dauphinoise potatoes without the cream; you basically get layered crispy potatoes which pairs amazingly with the Romesco sauce (which is a posh tomato sauce).
Book a table or check out the full menu - let us know how you find it!
Dishoom Birmingham
As you will have seen from our pretty brunch places London blog, we absolutely love Dishoom - it’s one of the most amazing breakfasts you will get, and the whole interior is an experience. You're not going to get a standard breakfast sandwich or eggs benedict here...
When you walk into the restaurant, you can smell the amazing spices and incense, and that is when you know this place will be good.
Think breakfast with an Indian influence - that’s precisely what you’ll get at Dishoom.
Those who have been to Birmingham but haven’t been there in a while may not know where this spot is as it’s in a new development opposite Birmingham Town Hall - walk towards Birmingham Library from New Street and you can’t miss it!
Saint Pauls House
We’ve only been to the Jewellery Quarter once in Birmingham, but it’s one of the most up-and-coming areas, with new bars and cafes popping up all the time.
Saint Pauls House is an excellent restaurant and bar that offers great food without forgetting about the large portions - ideal for breakfast.
Saint Pauls House, Birmingham
Their food draws visitors in, with their full English breakfasts coming with everything you could want on a plate. Of course, we couldn’t not mention their Sunday roasts which are also excellent - We got a taste of their herb-infused and sourdough-crusted cod loin and hefty steaks - what more could you want?
Ju Ju’s Cafe
Ju Ju’s is rated 58 of all the restaurants in Birmingham - not bad for a breakfast spot. That’s why we had to include it on our list of the best places to eat Birmingham City Centre.
Located a few minutes’ walks away from Utilita Arena Birmingham, Symphony Hall, Brindley Place, Broad Street and The REP. Ju Ju’s offers stunning views over the canal in the heart of Birmingham.
Ju Ju’s Cafe was born out of a love for traditional home cooking made with fresh ingredients. Today they’re renowned for our hearty breakfast and brunch trade on weekends and comfort food that really hits the spot.
The name comes from the Welsh side of the owners; being family-run, you really feel the love and care that comes through in their cooking, making it one of the best breakfast spots in Birmingham.
Grand Central Kitchen Birmingham
We visited Grand Central Kitchen for a breakfast date in Birmingham in April 2022 and were very impressed by the whole experience.
Initially, we weren’t sure whether the place would be a bit too” chainy”, but we were pleasantly surprised. The staff were extremely welcoming; we were happily surprised by the food (it was delicious) and will definitely be back for more.
If you’re in a rush to catch a train and want a bit of breakfast nearby, this Birmingham Central Station location doesn’t get much more central; which is one of the reasons why it comes on our list of the 19 best places to eat Birmingham City Centre.
7 Best places for lunch in Birmingham City Centre
If you’re shopping in the city centre, you’ll inevitably need lunch. After a busy morning of finding clothes for the coming season, the last thing you want is to stop off at a rubbish lunch spot.
Look no further - below, we have brought together a list of the 7 best places for lunch in Birmingham City Centre.
With the city packed full of Michelin star restaurants (which you already know we love after visiting one in Ludlow), you’d expect this list to be full of them. However, we’ve made sure things are varied and picked the best lunch spots based on price, flavour, atmosphere, location and customer service, meaning there are a few surprises.
Original Patty Men - Hidden Gem for Food in Birmingham City Centre.
Hidden away in a Digbeth archway, this burger spot is the hidden gem of lunch in Birmingham.
Launched by a team of designers, you can expect a mix of Instagram-worthy burgers and messiness that only comes with an amazing burger.
You can’t reserve this spot; you just have to turn up. This isn’t a bad thing as they have a sister bar next door, Kilder, which is full of craft beer and is also set in a really cool railway arch. You’ll almost hope there is an hour wait at Original Patty Men when you reach this place.
We went on a date there, and the 3 drinks before our burger got us even more ready for the fantastic burger.
The setting, amazing food and atmosphere make this our pick for THE HIDDEN GEM in Birmingham in terms of lunch.
Need any more convincing? Drake got a takeaway from the spot - it doesn’t get much better than that, does it?
Bonehead – The Best Fried Chicken in Birmingham City Centre
Fried chicken and beer—what could be better? Even Robyn loved this spot, despite beer not being her favourite!
This outfit in the city centre really does it to perfection, in a grungy, dive-bar kind of way (if you know what we mean 😂). So if you want wings, strips or burgers dipped in a winningly crispy batter that has extra flavour, Bonehead is the place to go.
If you go to this spot, we’d recommend going for their waffle fries which absolutely bang. Plus, if you want to push yourself out of your comfort zone, go for the deep-fried chook or pickles - we love to try new food, even if it doesn’t sound great!
As you’d expect with any fried chicken spot, there is a ridiculous selection of sauces, from Nashville hot sauce, blue cheese dressing to Buffalo wing sauce and so much more. You’ll get everything there is to offer alongside your chosen chicken flavour.
The Oyster Club – Fancy seafood for lunch?
Now you may be thinking… Seafood for lunch, in Birmingham… are you mad? Probably, but don’t let oysters and shellfish put you off from going to one of the best places to eat Birmingham City Centre.
The Oyster Club is located on Temple Street - up a slight hill from Birmingham Central Station on the way to Pigeon Park (the park with the church in the middle of it next to Colmore Row) and is near to lots of unique bars to grab a drink afterwards.
We recommend you grab a seat at one of the lovingly-restored leather barstools and order a platter of fresh oysters – there are normally six different varieties on ice, ready to be shucked.
You can choose between oysters served plain or with either a Japanese sauce or Rockerfella.
The menu ranges from smaller items such as fish pie or a burger to larger items such as sea bass sashimi. There is something on it for all tastes - making it one of the best places to eat Birmingham City Centre.
Mythos Taverna - The Best Greek Restaurant, Birmingham
A newish addition to the Arcadian, an outdoor restaurant area in the Chinese Quarter, is the Mythos Taverna. It’s a family-run Greek restaurant in a very homey setting that captures and reminds you of your childhood holidays in Greece.
There’s a range of Greek dishes at this restaurant, including cheese pie and pork sausage. One thing that really stands out is the place’s excellent food variety - this is ideal when you’re going for lunch as the last thing you want is a restricted menu; who knows what you’re going to fancy? You want to have the selection to fit every mood.
We purposely went to this spot for lunch as there is a potential trip to Greece on the cards for the Couples Things To Do Team, so we wanted to get our taste buds ready 👀
Baked in Brick
Many different things are going on in and around Digbeth landmark, but Baked in Brick has been quietly raking in the customers.
It’s hard to stand out in this area, as Digbeth Dining Club usually takes all the fame (as we’ll be covering below), but Baked in Brick is a spot you must check out, particularly if you’re in the mood for pizza.
With a custom-built oven and an in-house bakery, what do you expect other than an amazing pizza? You’ll know you’re on for a top lunch as soon as you enter this place, and we weren’t disappointed.
We recommend hitting this place at about 6pm, then heading to Digbeth Dining Club for Dessert before continuing your evening at Ghetto Golf (which is right next door).
Mowgli’s Birmingham
If you’ve been reading our blog for a while, you may know a bit of the history of how we got to know each other…
Our second and third dates were at Mowgli’s in Birmingham; just like we couldn’t stop coming back to each other, we couldn’t stop coming back to this restaurant.
Similar to Dishoom above, you can expect a modern Indian twist to your meal; however, this time, it comes with a street food influence, meaning you get an amazing mix of flavours that we just haven’t found anywhere else!
When you go there, make sure you order The Monkey Wrap. An open roti wrap that comes with charred tandoori chicken, jewels of pomegranate, spinach, mint & special chutney - it’s literally to die for. We order & fight over it every time.
7 Best places for dinner in Birmingham City Centre
We’ve sorted you out with breakfast and lunch; now time for the best dining experience. We’ve done the research, gone through the pain of going to all of these ourselves and come up with the list of the 7 best places for dinner in Birmingham City Centre.
Yes, we have added some classics on here. Still, with new restaurants popping up in the city all the time, you can be sure that there will be some new best places to eat Birmingham City Centre in the future.
As you saw in our things to do in Cardiff for couples blog, you’ll know we have a specific taste for food… So leave us a message if you think there’s somewhere we’ve missed that could make our list.
Tattu - The Best Restaurants in Birmingham City Centre
Making it to the top of our best places to eat Birmingham City Centre list for dinner is Tattu. You’ve probably seen this spot on your Instagram feed at one point - for obvious reasons. There’s a reason why this is also one of the hardest places to get a booking in Birmingham; its food, service and atmosphere are all bang on.
Describing itself as ‘the yin yang experience’, Tattu is significantly over the top, but this comes with excellently presented dishes that taste as good as they look.
The Japanese influence comes through modern dishes, including Wagyu beef and an impressive range of desserts.
If you’re going there with your other half, we recommend looking through the tasting menu, which has impressive dishes such as:
½ Aromatic Duck Pancakes
Caramel Soy Aged Beef Fillet
Japanese Black Wagyu Ribeye
Duck Egg and Chinese Sausage Fried Rice
Do we need to say anymore? Thought not.
Digbeth Dining Club
If you don’t know, get to know.
Digbeth Dining Club was founded in 2012 and is now one of the UK’s leading street food venues and events operators. With its home originally in Digbeth, it has now spread across the Midlands and the UK.
Its site hosts a pool of the best food traders from across the UK to provide unique cuisines at an affordable price, with a class atmosphere and music.
At its Birmingham Digbeth site, you can find Michelin Star chefs cooking from vans, serving dishes such as honey fried chicken, Thai street food and waffles.
No matter what you’re doing in Birmingham, make sure you carve out the time to visit this site, as it’s such a good venue and will show you what the city has to offer.
Folium – best-tasting menu
Ben Tesh’s dishes look almost austere and minimalist but never skimp on flavour - this is the first thing we noticed when we dined here; the mouth-watering tastes.
Folium has made it onto countless ‘must-visit’ lists for its playful take on British food. “British food with a twist” is what this restaurant does best - this is something that you may not think of when you visit Birmingham, as it’s such a multi-national city, but make sure you don’t miss it.
The tasting menu changes daily but might feature:
Hand-crafted bread and butter with the right mix of olive oil and balsamic vinegar (you have to get the ratio right!)
Light but filling crab tart with a fluffy grating of frozen duck livers (yes, you read that right!)
Perfectly cooked crisp cod covered in cured pork fat with mussels and preserved white asparagus
Their best desserts include sheep’s yoghurt sorbet with white chocolate air bubbles and salted milk ice cream. Robyn’s favourite dessert at Folium Restaurant was the Chocolate Tart with Cep Caramel - she insisted that this place makes it onto the best restaurant to eat Birmingham City Centre.
Tiger Bites Pig – The Best Bao Buns in Birmingham City Centre
Tiger Bites Pig offers Singapore’s favourite dish, Bao, a type of steamed bun usually filled with moreish fillings. The range includes peppery chicken, red-braised pork belly with pickled mustard greens, and salt and pepper tofu.
We love Asian food, so this was an instant hit when we visited. The only frustrating thing is you have to have quite a few to feel full!
When you go, the choice of house-made XO sauce and Szechuan chilli oil makes their buns stand out with additional flavour. They also offer ice-cold Kirin beer (which we loved) and even Haku vodka, which we had to try!
Adam’s
You’ll find Adam’s on many lists of the best places to eat Birmingham City Centre, and with good reason! With Adam’s beginning as a former pop-up sandwich shop, it quickly grew into what it is today - one of the best dinner spots in Birmingham.
After it launched, it soon gathered a cult-like following and a Michelin Star - which it deserves for its refined dining and unique tastes.
Some of the best bits on Adam’s menu include:
Cured Bream with broad beans
Squab pigeon with turnips and black olive
Aged beer with smoked curds, marigold and bone marrow
We had the taster menu, which was an absolute hit - we’d recommend spending the money to have it too, as it really is worth it.
Land
Land is a “plant focussed” restaurant in the heart of Birmingham City Centre. While this sort of restaurant isn’t usually our first choice, we heard really good things and tried it out.
We found beautifully plated food and drinks that have well-balanced flavours. On top of this, you can also select a drink pairing for your menu, with each experimental dish designed to make the flavours of your meal really pop.
It’s a great spot for celebrating a special occasion or to just relax with friends at one of the best places to eat Birmingham City Centre,
The Ivy
We’re sorry, we’re sorry…. We know you’re probably thinking, “The Ivy is so basic!” - it is, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t make the list of the best places to eat Birmingham City Centre.
With The Ivy, you’re always going to get great service and excellent food which will serve every taste profile.
Located in Temple Row with a difference from the more celeb-driven ones in London, this restaurant has a fantastic array of dishes to choose from. From à la carte items to afternoon tea and crème brûlée, you won’t be disappointed.
We went to The Ivy Birmingham in June 2022 and had a fantastic day after completing the walk we described above. So be sure to tag us if you go there in the future!
Conclusion: 19 of the BEST places to eat in Birmingham City Centre
If we haven’t sold you on Birmingham, then nothing will! Birmingham is the UK’s second city for a reason, and you can be guaranteed that you will find a spot that delights your taste buds and fits your budget.
If you haven’t found somewhere you like in Birmingham, don’t worry - we have covered many other UK cities and will continue doing so! Check out our Bath things to do blog or even our 10 most romantic places in the UK article to see plenty of ideas for things to keep you busy.
As always, if we’ve missed anything or you would like to get featured in the blog as a partner, please get in touch with the Couples Things To Do Team.
