Having heard about this place a few months ago and as a huge fan of all things sweet, I've been…read morelooking forward to visiting - and I wasn't disappointed. This is a small bakery/cafe and serves pattesserie and cakes but also savouries with a Venezuelan twist as this is where the owner is from. We started off with a kind of bake that was a light brioche type dough on the outside and stuffed with ham and chorizo. Served warm, it was surprisingly light and tasty. We then moved onto the sweet stuff- a raspberry Italian buttercream sponge and a 'mother-in-laws tongue' (light pastry dipped in chocolate at each end, caramel sauce and fresh whipped cream). Both were fantastic! £2.50 each as well, which I thought was a good price for something fresh and handmade. The service felt a little prickly, but then this is a one woman operation and bakers work looooong hours so I thought this was an understandable compromise for delicious food.

What a lovely little place. Once we got parked ! Lovely couple from Venezuela. (As they supply the…read morepub opposite with bread, their customers can use the 'Maggies' car park ) Small menu but nice selection with specialist meals at the weekend with Venezuelan foods. We had wholemeal baps filled with Chicken and salad with freshly made coffee and fruit juice followed by Venezuelan three milk cake. We shared one as quite rich.Have driven past many times and so pleased at last to visit today. We love our food and can highly recommend this smart and welcoming little place. Well done

Mmm fresh bread! If you're heading out to Cadbury World, instead of springing for an overpriced…read morelunch just head to the Bread Basket instead! Bournville Bread Basket is a lovely independent bakery by Bournville Green. They have delicious baked goods, awesome cakes in the window display, and also serve as a cafe and a nice place to grab a cheap, homemade sandwich or pastry and a cup of coffee! Staff are incredibly friendly and helpful. Just an all-around lovely little bakery and shop.

I love this place. It sits on Sycamore Road in the middle of Bourneville Green and it's really a…read moretime machine that takes you back to some sort of imagined past. This is a chocolate box version of the 1950s. You can sit outside the front of the bread basket and overlook the beautiful Bourneville Green as you tuck in to a pretty decent cup of coffee and a hot pie. Perfect. The shops is essentially a bakery and mainly sells bread and cakes, but the hot food and cafe section makes it special for me. We often take a walk down here on a Saturday morning, or in the afternoons of weekdays, and spend a happy, relaxing hour watching the world go by. They also do a nice selection of ice-creams, so even if you don't stop for a sit it's a good place to pick up a cone.

So, I was wandering around on the Pershore Road, a little peckish (as you do) and lo and behold a…read morebakery appeared! Obviously this bakery has been here for a lot longer than my time wandering, it's just that clearly I've never seen it before. I was a little disappointed after I went in as there didn't seem to be much on the shelves. That said, this may be an extremely good sign if they've almost sold all their wares by 12 midday... I opted for a square scone-like thing, which caused much hilarity with the lady behind the counter as neither she nor I could remember what they were called! Whatever the heck it was, it was really, really good. Lovely and doughy on the inside, with a thin sugar-sprinkled crust. So good was it, I had to go back almost immediately for a chocolate cookie - which was also good, though not quite the same standard as the square-shaped, scone-like... thing. I spent all of £1 for the two of them, which pleased me greatly. So, I've only given this 3 stars as, although the goods were delicious, quite frankly, there wasn't enough of them! What it is to be popular, eh?

This business has changed hands a couple of times over the years and has also been called a few…read moredifferent names, however under the moniker Raven's the owners seem to have found a recipe for success. Found on St. Stephens road opposite the Dogpool Hotel, Raven's provides the people of Selly Oak with everything from freshly made bread and buns to all the sweet treats you can imagine. My family have been regular customers for many years and my grandmother would always insist on a freshly made loaf as opposed to supermarket bought bread. There is something very quaint about this small independent baker and with its yellow shop front it brings a bit of brightness to what can otherwise be a fairly drab road. The owners are good people and you will often see them in the early hours preparing to make bread and take deliveries, they seem very committed and the results are there for all to see in the excellent goods they produce.

I love LOAF! There, I said it! For a gal who has actively avoided bread for years, there's no point…read morefighting it! A presence on Stirchley High Street since 2012, it's only since moving closer to the area that I have stumbled across this place (thanks to the Brum food scene social media). Fresh loaves of sourdough, rye, sweet buns, and changeable lunches everyday - the salt beef if heaven - bring something special to the area. Add in their popular cookery school and 'takeover' evenings - last night it was a Chicken Shop takeover - and this community bakery serves more than just hungry tums...it is good for the soul too!

I went on one of Loaf's bread making courses back when it was run in the director's house and it…read morewas lovely to finally be able to go back and see the bakery in it's not-so new location. Having the day off I popped in when they'd just opened and was pleased to see a steady stream of people popping in to pick up bread - something I didn't expect for a mid-week lunchtime in the suburbs. The bread isn't as cheap at the stuff in the supermarket, but it's handmade and delicious. I picked up some focaccia, which was glorious, and also some of their lunch offering which was a decent portion for the price. I hear there can be queues at weekends and they often run out early so it's worth heading down sooner rather than later.

This place is superb and a hugely welcome addition to Harborne. The cakes are amazing, and now they…read moredo (albeit limited) lunch it makes it even better. But the best aspect is the downstairs bar area. Still smells a bit of paint as it's so new, but this is easy to get past. Stripped back and exposed brick, it's very cool. Obviously not somewhere to go on a sunny summers day, as there's no natural light! Decent selection of craft beer and spirits. Tuesdays are at the time of writing flatbread and 2 halves of beer for £10 which is great value. This will become a very regular haunt of mine, right on the doorstep. And it can definitely be included as part of the Harborne Run, if that's your jam...

So I've spend a lot of time (and too much £) at Sixteen's neighbour/sister Faculty and yet never…read moremanaged to make it here for a meal. I decided to remedy that after drinking a Faculty coffee here, using the cafe as overflow seating during a particularly busy time. I was entranced by the variety and looks of the food, and have eaten lunch there three times this week to ensure that their awesomeness is consistent. I'm happy to report that Sixteen Kitchen & Bakery is one of the most delicious and affordable sandwich shops in the city centre. Sixteen is the brainchild of the owners of Faculty, and supplies the coffee shop with their delectable desserts. The shop is joined with Faculty by an open wall, so you can easily order something from one or both and sit in either location. Whereas Faculty uses a bar and two seater table arrangement, Sixteen's seating is entirely on two long tables. This is perfect for large groups or office team lunches (I've seen a lot of work being done here) but can get cramped otherwise. In addition to making desserts for Faculty, the kitchen & bakery serves breakfast and lunch until the late afternoon. I haven't made it to Piccadilly Arcade early enough for breakfast (stops at 11AM), but lunch is good enough to make it a regular mid-day stop. I've ordered the kimchi and cheddar toastie, as well as the basil, pesto, tomato, and mozzarella ciabatta, and most recently the vegemite and avocado sandwich. The kimchi is homemade of course and has a nice balance between heat and actually enjoying the flavours of it. Good luck finding kimchi that tastes this good elsewhere in Birmingham! The ciabatta was done up right and while not blowing away my tastebuds, hit all the right notes. The vegemite and avocado with tomato and mature cheddar was pretty much what you would expect. Like marmite, you either love it or hate it! All of the sandwiches are made fresh daily and packaged on the counter for hygiene. Upon selection, they are placed in a press for finishing. The menu is not set, changing every few days depending on bread (from Peel & Stone) and produce (from the Bullring Open Market). Sandwiches hover around the £4 mark and are a great value especially for the larger ones. For an extra £1 you can add salad to your meal as a side. My only complaint at this point is the lack of beverages. Sixteen makes fresh pressed juices for £3.50 and that's it. If you want anything else, you'll have to head next door to Faculty (although tap water is free). They could do with adding some flavoured/sparkling waters or other canned/bottled drinks. Overall Sixteen is a wonderful addition to the independent businesses of Piccadilly Arcade and contender for best sandwich shop in Brum.

Sixteen kitchen is tucked away in the classy Piccadilly Arcade. It's less than a minute from grand…read morecentral and next to its sister store faculty coffee. The store does have limited seating due to its small confines. The menus changes every day and are put up on the wall behind the counter using a sharpie and ripped up sheets of paper. They generally specialise in sandwiches and soups but also sell cakes or pastry to compliment. If you wanted a coffee to match their is a door leading through to faculty from the store side. On this occasion is purchased a toasted sandwich which was halloumi, pesto and basil on sour dough. It tasted absolutely great, the sandwich was toasted perfectly. The correct portioning meant flavours were great and not overpowering. It cost £4 which I think is very reasonable considering quality. If your waiting for a train or just need a quick lunch sandwich I would recommend sixteen kitchen!

Are you decorating a cake or do you have a cake disaster? If so, you HAVE to come here!…read more I enjoy cake decorating but I'm no expert. I think my rookie creations get compliments from my husband just because he doesn't want to upset me and he wants to eat the cake. When I first visited this shop the smell of sweet icing hit me, lifted me up and floated me through the door. I felt like a big kid in a sweety shop and I didn't know what to look at first. The walls are full of everything cakey! Iced butterflies, cake wire, piping heads, piping bags, cake toppers... I could keep going. My cake decorating collection is only small yet had a massive boost after I'd left as the prices here were better than reasonable! I've always known that cake decorating is an art form but to see the weirdly shaped utensils and fun looking gadgets used, brought on severe cake making urges I didn't know I had. The entire shop oozes cake decorating inspirations and ideas. I've always been creative and arty but even I know it's not just about having the tools, it's about knowing how to use them. I'd noticed a sugarcraft class poster in the window so I spoke to Lorna - the manageress - and she told me they offer 10 week sugarcraft courses in which you learn skills such as flower making, covering cakes and piping for £150! Each class lasts 2 hours and all the equipment is there for you to use. The Sugarcraft Box specialises in last minute cakes. I asked Lorna how last minute was last minute and she told me she had made a cake during the day for a party taking place that night!!! So if your cake is dropped or your delivery doesn't turn up get yourself down here asap. If you are more of a cake eater rather than a cake decorator this shop is still worth a visit, you never know you may get a new hobby.

I knew about Boutique Baking from the various wedding people who had oooed and ahhhed over their…read morecreations.. but it wasn't until I asked her to create a cake and a set of personalised cupcakes for a hen do that I properly fell in love. Firstly - the personalised cupcakes. Each individually boxed, these light airy cupcakes were topped with delicate glittery heavenly buttercream, and with each girl's name piped across the top. Fab. SECONDLY (and more importantly) the cake. THE CAKE. It was a solid gigantic cupcake. Boxed up, it was reasonably unassuming (aside from height and weight which should have given away the awesomeness that was contained within..) but upon opening the seal on the box, a deep whiff of chocolate escaped and the girls all started doing little happy dances. We peeled the box away, and all gawped at what sat before us. Something that should have it's own category - just enough flour to make it constitute a cake, but really it was much more like eating spongey chocolate. Eating this cake made my insides do happy flips. Chocolate, chocolate, more chocolate. Delicious luxuriously deep buttercream on the top and the middle, and the rest was incredible dense crumbly beautiful sponge. I realise this review makes it sound a bit like it was a religious experience, but I can't begin to find the words that will do this cake justice. So yeah. You need a cake? You need Boutique Baking. (YUM!)

My only surviving Grandparent turned 95 recently and we used this company's service to create a…read more95th birthday present she would remember. The cake was supposed to represent her strength and resolve to the powers of the grim reaper. We decided on a three tier fruitcake with 95 written in icing all over the front of it. Creativity has always been at the heart of our philosophy at Boutique Baking, the director, Vickie, told me. Vickie's ethos is to create distinctive and delicious delights for her customers whilst keeping to their personal budget. She works closely with clients to develop bespoke creations, specialising in events where only the unique will do. The cake studio which provided the opportunity to see examples of their work, try samples, discuss individual requirements and see their interesting range of products available to hire was an interesting edge to the business. I was pleased with the end result and will use this company again.