Michael B.

This place was a terrific find, with a mixture of a Victoriana and a modern interior and a bar stocked full of decent beers both draught and bottled/canned. It was a cracking place to start our team night out - I think almost all of us had a couple of pints of Butty Bach by Wye Valley Brewery and lined our stomachs with different flavoured pork scratchings (not usually a fan, but they were not too bad). We didn't eat a meal here but they look to offer a range of pizzas and burgers. It was good enough for comedian Phill Jupitus who sat in for a quiet solo meal (we let him be) before, I imagine, his gig nearby. If you're in the vicinity and want to escape the expansive road works in the city centre, then this is a beery haven not to be missed.

Helen F.

Now I've had food at The Victoria it's time to update my review! Popped in on a Monday evening for 2 burgers for £10. A pretty good deal including fries and coleslaw. Very much liked the atmosphere on a weeknight as opposed to the weekend. It was pretty busy but you could still find a seat and have a chat. I've not really thought of The Victoria as a casual pub to drop into in the week but this evening made me correct that! The food is now provided by Vicky's Kitchen- burgers and pizza- as the Soul Food Project has moved on. We both ordered Black and Blue burgers. These arrived on trendy wooden boards, very stylishly presented. I love all that. Really enjoyed my burger, the blue cheese was delicious but the Cajun Mayo cut through and stopped it being too heavy. Great bacon and brioche bun too. All in all a really satisfying burger and I will definitely be back again!

Caroline C.

Interesting 'old' style Victorian pub updated with a modern twist and young vibe. The bar is essentially a triangle, so there are three separate rooms. There is also an upstairs that can be used for private hire and has the monthly 80's night 'Betamax' on as well as 'Birmingham Sceptics talks' monthly on a Wednesday. They have just launched a new food menu. I have only sampled some of the pizza's but they are delicious! Really light and the toppings are not the same as you would expect from Pizza Express or Dominos!!-Red cabbage, egg, courgette on a soda bread base. There are new cocktails too, which they seems to be very good at! Infact there is a wide selection of cocktails and beers and regular guest/speciality ales. They do two for one deals on Sundays too and too make things even sweeter, sign up for their loyalty card! Great for theatre goers as it's right next to the Alex!

Dave P.

OK lets start off with the important bit, the drinks! As far as the victoria goes not a lot wrong here, craft beers, cocktails (primarily gin but they will swap out) and a good selection of draughts. I'm a massive espresso martinin lover but on the vodka side rather than the gin so was pleasantly surpirsed when the bar staff offered the option to make it to order with no additional cost, this scored massive brownie points! The constant chirpy (but not annoyingly so) attitude of the staff also leads for an enjoyable drink whether a quick pint afterf work or a bit more of a sociable affair. Food wise the victoria was always a good jaunt, with the old menu being based on the birmingham street food (jambalaya was fantastic) and the new menu only recently rocking in (if it's as good as the yelp taster night then get in there!) there was choice for all, the out and out carnivore, the vegetarian or the adventurous foodie! As for the social aspects of the venue the old vinyl night used to be a good time (bring along 3 tracks get them played) where you could find a massively eclectic mix to suit all tastes, failing that the air is always raft with conversation, not a quiet night sort of venue, which brings it on to the one downfall which all good city centre venues suffer - lack of seating... get in early or find a good perch and get ready to dive like vultures on those elusive seats! Another venue I'd be happy to add as a repeat visitor!

Mo A.

So my first time at the Victoria was the first time attending a Yelp event (geek out) Didn't get to eat or remember much about the place as I was distracted by meeting Yelpers. Second time at Geek out event I was more comfortable and familiar with the event. So first thing I wanted to do was try their food. I had the Chicken Licken' Burger with sweet potato fries (£1 to upgrade from normal fries) I got to save up on money by using Vicky's card (forgot the name, will have to get one for myself) It all came down to about £8 with a drink. Before I get to food itself, the wait is a little long. If I were hungry and was on my own I would be pretty upset. Now the food...burger was delicious, loved it. Fries were great and salted just enough. Normally I don't like salted fries, usually find too much salt. Love the interior. The art work is pretty cool, lighting is great and music is not too loud. Had a fun night geeking out and talking to familiar faces :)

Adam S.

I've had some great times in The Victoria. It's a bit of a chameleon, playing host to all types of music, people and events. Whether you want a relaxed Sunday, with some tasty food and a few drinks or a proper Saturday night out dancing away to great DJs, it's sure the have something for everyone. The Vic, has one of my fondest memories of my first New Year living in the City, when we stumbled from our apartment in the Orion Building to the back room of the Vic moshing away to "Killing in the name of". It was also where in the top function room that I remember seeing one of my guy friends in full fabulous feathers, makeup and huge heels. That's the kind of difference in tone this place has. All welcome. I recently went there for food with Oli M, using a prize I won at Yelp's Zomball and was able to try out their pizzas. Delicious. They had that homemade wood oven look and taste which was washed down nicely with a couple of their cocktails. Like all Bitters 'N' Twisted venues, they know how to make a cocktail. They also know how to run a bar and The Vic is no exception. A must if you're visiting Birmingham. I'm told the Sound and Vision quiz is legendary too, and pretty difficult!

Daniel G.

I have had many good times at the Victoria. Not only are the food offerings all excellent, the drinks and bar service also deserve some serious recognition. The interior of the venue has been transformed from an old victorian boozer into a modern and interesting space with large stained glass windows and loads of interesting seating areas dotted around the place. On the weekend this place really does take on a different personality all together. A selection of Dj's play the downstairs area while club nights and live music events happen in the upstairs space. Expect a mixed crowd of people working their way through the extensive cocktail list or dancing to the well selected mix of classic gems in the back bar area. Many club nights in Birmingham have found their feet at the Victoria and have gone on to big things, as a venue it champions young creative people wanting to do something different. There are a whole host of offers that change all the time here, some of my favourites at the moment include two for one cocktails Monday-Friday 4PM-7PM, the £5.50 lunch deal and the two classic burgers for £10 every Monday. This is a venue not afraid to change it up, have a bit of fun and generally be ahead of the crowd.

Jenny E.

The Victoria is very trendy and can, dare I say, get a little overly hipster at times for my liking. That said, it is a great place to start a night out and can often be a place you don't want to leave - providing you manage to get a seat. The bar is supremely well stocked and the cocktails are top-notch, especially the subtly absinthe infused Victorian Lemonade and the Jimmy Hendricks. The Soul Food Project provide the food, dishing up deep south inspired comfort food - think Cajun sandwiches, jambalaya and gumbo. The pub hosts plenty of alternative gigs and gatherings, including Skeptics in the Pub, a book group and a 90's R'n'B night charmingly called "Moschino Hoes Versace Hotties". Music in the bar tends to be on a funk/soul tip. During the day, the vibe is generally relaxed but come evening everything turns a little indie-poseur.

Hannah M.

**update after a visit last night - they've dramatically reduced the size of their cocktail menu, which for me is what gave this place a bit of an edge with other great cocktail bars appearing in the city- and the upkeep (particularly the toilets) still isn't great. It sadly seems to just be getting more run down, raspberry Collins however was great** Been here a handful of times, and my visit last week smelled a lot better (or I was intoxicated enough not to notice) Waheyy! Staff are pleasant, there are places to sit, but it normally gets pretty packed. Well stocked bar, with a nice range of cocktails presented in a menu to look like a penguin book which is cute. They were missing a handful of ingredients, that meant my companion and I's first choice of beverages weren't available (no earl grey syrup, for shame!!!!) but what we got was tasty all the same. They were also nice and generous with their whisky measures, which was wonderful, but probably not something we needed before the train home after our day of festivities where we were hardly leading by example... I'll re review this place on my next visit after less gin...

Laura S.

I seem to be spending all my time here at the moment - if I wrote a review I d be here forever so here are my highlights: It's a gem in the Bitter & twisted crown, some may say it's not as 'pretty' as the RVT, but I d pick the Vic every time! It's handy for new st station / grand central It has food deals in the week & you can use your independent Birmingham card for 20% off (check limitations on the app). It mainly does burgers and pizzas as well as some more snacky bits and salads. The Korean chicken wings are awesome as is the veggie pizza! It now does 241 cocktails from 5-9 each day and all day Sunday. It has a good selection of beers & whiskeys You can get loyalty card points and redeem against purchases anywhere in the chain. It has a function room upstairs - check out events that are on there by following them on Facebook The new manager is lovely ( as are the other staff), he reserved me a table for 15 for my hen on a Saturday night as short notice! The only down point are the toilets...but suppose that's what you get for drinking in an old pub

Katie M.

A group of 5 of us went to The Victoria as part of a 'Big Night Out' Yelp event. They were trialing a 'boilermaker' evening they are thinking about starting up so we were the Guinea pigs for it. A Boilermaker is, in essence, a beer and whiskey cocktail. As someone who isn't the biggest beer or whiskey fan, I was going to need convincing. Surprisingly, I had a brilliant time. The bartenders were very knowledgeable about the drinks they had selected and spoke about them with a lot of enthusiasm. We first tried 4 whiskeys and 4 beers on their own, before moving onto combinations of the two. The combinations were actually really tasty! One of them especially, actually smelled just like the drink Lilt. If this event were to start regularly I would recommend it to friends as we had a lot of fun and were all a bit jolly by the end! Thank you to the staff at The Victoria!

Stoo P.

The Victoria now is arguably one of the most famous pubs in Birmingham. Anyone who drinks often in the City Centre will know of it and will have been there before. The Vic belongs to the famous independent group of pubs 'Bitters and Twisted' and is probably their most important venue of all as it really seems to be what inspires the rest. I have been to the Vic many times, I've had some great times and I've had some OK times but I've never had a bad time and thats proof of what the place does well. It sells cocktails, quality ones, it serves food, decent food, it had a good selection of beers and thats really where it ends with the Vic. The function room upstairs is a decent size but nothing to rave about, quite the standard of what you would expect for a city centre pub anyway. Its a nice place to get served as well as the bar being in the centre means that if its busy where you are you can just walk on round to get served somewhere else. I will always continue to go to the Vic for drinks with mates, its somewhere I can rely on being a good pub location. Weekends tend to be a bit busier than I would like but that just means the pub is doing well and I need to find somewhere else really.

Vicky O.

The Victoria's exterior might trick you into thinking you are going to a traditional, old "theatre" pub. With it's brickwork and detailing looking like a "old man" style local, a step inside this establishment may somewhat alleviate you of that notion. Another of the Bitter's and Twisted offerings means you know what you are going to get; cocktails, ales and a speciality food (with a healthy dose of quirk). The menu has been put together by Birmingham's own "Soul Food Project" (with it's sister being "The Church Inn" in the JQ) and is spicy, fresh and a bit different. If you are a fan of gumbo, catfish and hush puppies (or you even know what I mean), then you need to make a date at The Vic. The cocktail menu is wonderfully presented in the style of an old "Pelican" paperback and has at least 10 pages of cocktails, wines and drinks offerings. The pub has several different areas to sit in. There is an upstairs room (which often hosts events), a back bar (with fabulous street art on the walls and low hanging chandeliers) and the main bar. The main bar is a strange "L" shape, but there is still plenty to look at between the canine portraits and the glorious "old time feel" bar. Each of the areas has it's own charm, but apart from the food, the star of the show is the cocktails. I am a big fan of a good whisky sour, but it would take you quite a few trips (and a hefty wallet) to try each of the concoctions on the menu. It's not a cheap place to have a session, but great for a venue to start a big night out or have a couple. There are normally 3 guest ales on tap, usually with great names and big tastes. As a note, on Friday night we were a little aggrieved to sit underneath the loudest speaker in the room (as there wasn't many tables available) and then be shunted out at 10pm for them to remove the chairs and offer a "dancefloor," however, this did appear to fill up later on in the evening. Luckily there was plenty of space in the main bar for our motley crew. In summary, this isn't my favorite bar out of the chain; but it's a good place to visit if you haven't been before. The food gets a big ole deep south "thumbs up" from me