Birmingham Restaurant Guide
The Chameleon Restaurant and Bar
A gestation of 30 years is a pretty lengthy time for anything to procreate, but it is the time taken for The Chameleon Restaurant and Bar in Victoria Square to go from dream to reality, now offering a European menu in the centre of Birmingham, Britain's second city.
- Address: 1 Victoria Square, Birmingham, B1 1BD (Map)
- Cuisine(s): International, Modern British, Traditional
- Avg. Cost Per Head Lunch: £16.00, Dinner: £28.00
Cote Brasserie - Birmingham
There could be few better locations for Côte Brasserie in Birmingham than on the canal side in The Mailbox, at the centre of Birmingham's city renaissance where commerce and culture blend with grace and the addition of a frisson of French cuisine sits well.
- Address: The Mailbox, Canal Side, 120-122 Wharfside Street, Birmingham, B1 1RX (Map)
- Cuisine(s): French
- Avg. Cost Per Head Lunch: £20.00, Dinner: £28.00
White Swan, The
The leafy glades of Edgbaston have long been crying out for a place like The White Swan. A prosperous area full of people who know what they like and have a keen eye for value, The Swan offers exactly what they appreciate.
- Address: Harborne Road, Chad Valley, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 3TT (Map)
- Cuisine(s): English, Gastropub, Modern British
- Avg. Cost Per Head Lunch: £18.00, Dinner: £28.00
San Carlo - Birmingham
When one of the country's most respected and leading critics says that this restaurant is 'the best Italian Restaurant outside London' it is time to take them seriously. Britain's love affair with Italian food is a cause célèbre of long standing and shows no signs of waning, so it is always welcome news when somewhere like San Carlo sets out to reach for the skies.
- Address: 4 Temple Street, Birmingham, B2 5BN (Map)
- Cuisine(s): Italian
- Avg. Cost Per Head Lunch: £22.00, Dinner: £40.00
Brasserie and Bar at Malmaison - Birmingham
The Malmaison group of hotels has established throughout Britain a collection of centres of excellence where nothing but the best will do. As a concept alone this is exciting, but the reality is brilliant, so that at last there is a hotel group where uniformity of standards is of the same high calibre.
- Address: The Mail Box, One Wharfside Street, Birmingham, B1 1RD (Map)
- Cuisine(s): Brasserie, British, Grill
- Avg. Cost Per Head Lunch: £20.00, Dinner: £34.00
Hotel du Vin - Birmingham Church St
We hear a great deal about recycling these days - du Vin recycles attractive but occasionally un-loved buildings to restore real gems in the best tradition of British understated style. Complement that with all that is best in the French bistro ethos, bars that reach out to please, and you have a setting that provides an inspirational background for people to meet, do business, get married, provide a base for golf or fishing, somewhere you can call your own for a private celebration, a spa or - most engagingly - a wine school that breaks the mould.
- Address: 25 Church Street, Birmingham, B3 2NR (Map)
- Cuisine(s): Bistro, French, Modern European
- Avg. Cost Per Head Lunch: £25.00, Dinner: £35.00
Barnt Green Inn, The
It is a welcome surprise to find a pub that has firmly grasped the gastro nettle in and around the Midlands, with pretty sensational results that include demonstrably freshly cooked food and a high zing factor, all sited in an imposing Tudor building of great character and true heritage.
- Address: 22 Kendal End Road, Barnt Green, Birmingham, B45 8PZ (Map)
- Cuisine(s): English, Gastropub, Modern British
- Avg. Cost Per Head Lunch: £18.00, Dinner: £28.00
Zizzi - The Mailbox
Within the bustling Mailbox Shopping Centre, in the heart of the city, Zizzi The Mailbox, Birmingham provides delicious Italian food to tired shoppers. Spread over two levels, the restaurant boasts a mailbox themed interior featuring vintage mail sorting boxes on the walls and a deep red pizza oven.
- Address: 162-164 Wharfside Street, The Mailbox, Birmingham, B1 1RL (Map)
- Cuisine(s): Italian
- Avg. Cost Per Head Lunch: £25.00, Dinner: £30.00
Cafe Rouge - Birmingham Bullring
Café Rouge has over one hundred branches throughout Britain all offering a wide range of dishes drawn from the French cuisine. Slightly less than half their branches are in or close to London. Almost inevitably the décor and design of each restaurant differs from the others, but there is a general curtsy towards La France.
Valentine's Menu: 3 courses and a glass of Crémant de Bourgogne - £25 per person
- Address: Bullring, Unit SU744, Upper Mall West, Birmingham, B5 4BG (Map)
- Cuisine(s): French
- Avg. Cost Per Head Lunch: £21.00, Dinner: £26.00
Nando's - Birmingham The Fort
With quality food, friendly staff, quick service and excellent value for money, Nando's is a great place to eat. Don't expect identikit, pre-fab restaurant interiors which are usually a staple of the larger chains; each restaurant is tailored to its local surroundings and customers, offering up a unique restaurant experience to go with the equally unique taste of legendary, Portuguese, Peri-Peri chicken.
- Address: The Fort Shopping Park, 20 Fort Parkway, Birmingham, B24 9FP (Map)
- Cuisine(s): Casual, Portuguese
- Avg. Cost Per Head Lunch: £11.00, Dinner: £16.00