Benugo is one of those hidden gems of the city. They sell good quality and fresh food, their coffee…read moreis good, their hot chocolate is divine. Staff are very chatty and friendly. The restaurant also has lots of mains sockets with USB charging sockets. Great if you have to wait for a train or want to meet a friend. They're also dog friendly.

After a less than ok experience at Joe's Coffee house that i rated so highly before (Joe's you have…read moredisappointed me :() I find that I tend to go either this place or the little stall they have - which is conveniently where my platform brings me out onto the concourse every single morning. I find the coffee's especially to be pretty good, a flat white coming in at £2.40 - the same as almost everywhere else. The food though does seem quite pricey - the sandwiches are going for nearly £5 and a friend of mine said that the breakfast muffins are tasteless. You cannot trust something passing its self off for Eggs Benedict for less that £3 and this place serves my evidence. I had a superfood salad before though, they are kept to the right when you walk in and are more moderately priced. It had some sort of rice barley thing, beetroot falafal and some other greenery like edamame and hummus. I have a dislike for hummus but it was there so i just mixed it up with everything else and I have to say it tasted really good. I felt better for it, its not often i enjoy those super healthy salads and normally they cost the earth. I would eat it again. The customer service varies a little on who you get - understandably the last time I went they were shutting in 40 minutes, but I took the last seat (they'd closed off the rest) and happily drank my coffee in a take away cup so they didn't have to wash up, made no mess etc. The woman that made my drink kindly brought it over - the woman in charge seemed to stare at me like I was a huge inconvenience. I know I was but I don't think I'm supposed to pick up on that?

The food is consistently good, but the service today was awful. I wish I could rate the two…read moreseparately! Service: We arrived first, placed our order, and while we waited several others placed orders. However, the girl at the register made us wait while she rang up the people in line behind us, despite standing there at the till with our tray. It was strange and rude. We'll try another cafe next time we're in the Bullring.

I've really enjoyed Druckers every time I've been in a shopping frenzy and needed refreshment…read morebefore I passed out in my Kurt Geigers. The pastries and little parcels of delightful decadence gracing the bakery cases in Druckers can never be denied, so DONOTIREAPEATDONOT, go into Druckers if you're on a diet. How in the WORLD can you deny the yummy yummy soft goodness that is melt-in-your-mouth pastry and a thousand calories in every bite? You can't, so don't try to deny it. Druckers is on the expensive side, but that's because it's a posh little cafe. There are never squalling children in here, because parents don't usually want to buy their child a £5 chocolate mousse whilst on their way to The Entertainer. It's just quiet, couth adults reading or having a quiet chat over their delicious Viennese treats. Druckers also do very nice sandwiches, toasted or non, and some nice savoury salads and a few other sides. Their coffee and selection of teas are broad and all very tasty. The service is nice and polite without being cloying. It really is a nice quiet atmosphere in which to get away from the hoi polloi whilst at The Bullring.

Wowww. What a surprise! Jill and I visited Medicine for our anniversary, and were not let down…read more Pros: perfectly cooked dishes. Carefully crafted flavors. Soft and peaceful ambience. Friendly staff. Inspiring space. The owner obvious has passion, love and care for what she or he does. I love supporting places like this! Well done. The raspberry cronut was out of this world. Insane flavor but not overwhelmingly sweet, moist, perfect. The eggs benedict was killer. The Korean chicken was one of the best chicken dishes I have ever had. And I do believe the fries that came with it were the best fries I have ever had. Perfect crispness but soft. Beautiful cup of coffee. Cons. -Although it wasn't completely full, there was a 30 minute wait (which was totally fine with us). I don't think their kitchen can handle the size of their restaurant. But no biggie. -it's a bit on the pricey side for the amount of food you get. For example, the Korean Fried chicken dish, it was £10 and there were only four small pieces of chicken (plus fries and kimchi). However, the masterful flavor and texture of the chicken made it worth it. -the millionaire cronut was a bit dry. The flavors were decent.

Cousin of medicine in Birmingham, renamed and a kittle vamped up to match this place is still rowdy…read moreand serving old successes and new things. Coffee is apparently good, I had the banana cream shake (because I have a milkshake problem) and that was great, thick and made with fresh banana- not a thin syrup job with a lazy bit of squirty cream I keep experiencing. Tonnes of veggie, vegan and gf options- some rather sexy looking pizzas (2 for £10 in offer times) a good number of breakfast options served until 12.30pm, and a breakfast section until 4. I had the buddha bowl, with added halloumi which was great- especially the broccoli, the beetroot hummus and the chilli jam. Opposite me was the harissa chicken salad which was apparently also rather lovely, and came with lovely flat bread- we were too full for cake, which was the actual reason why I wanted to go- oops! Staff were lovely, place is clean, only issue is it is quite loud, so not a place for private conversations.

We stumbled across this place while escaping the rain at the Christmas market and it was such a…read moregreat find. A small flat white and small cappuccino for £6 total is a rare find these days and we both loved our drinks. So much flavour and nice, strong coffee. My only reason for giving 4 stars is that the layout was a bit cramped and it was slightly lacking in customer service. If you're just popping in for a takeaway coffee though, this is a fab spot.

I never normally do this anymore but I'm so in awe of this place that I'm writing the review before…read moreI've even finished eating/drinking. I knew I'd love this place as when I walked in, the smell of roasting coffee flew into my nostrils, Faculty literally had me at hello. So more about this love affair, the coffee is brilliant, the cakes taste fantastic and the tea is a relaxing and soothing as the cute little tea pot suggests. The staff working were friendly and happy to offer advice (to me and another customer who had 21 questions about the origin of the coffee) - credit where credits due, the young chap answering knew the answer to every question! They are also linked to next door, a sandwich shop which is perfect for lunch and you can even order from one side and go and sit in the other or vice versa. Owned by the same husband & wife partnership and matched with the same awesome decor. It's not often I'm in Birmingham but one thing for sure is this fling is sure to continue every time I venture in!

From the outside, this branch of Muffin Break looks great, and much more modern than their other…read morestores, with a bright sign, meanwhile their other stores such as ones in Leeds and The Bullring, have a sign which doesn't stand out at all, and just looked old-fashioned, but this one looks pretty cool. This is probably the nicer Muffin Break in the city for the design and range, having a much better range than the store in the Bullring center. For the first time visiting Muffin Break, I noticed a "savory" gluten free muffin, as well as a "sweet" one and they seem to have a good selection of them, unlike the Bullring which seemed to only have stocked one, which is uncommon for a Muffin Break store. The staff didn't seem too friendly, and spoke very broken-down English, they didn't stand out to much out of going out of their way to be friendly and make a good customer experience, they didn't seem to like me asking questions either such as if their stock sells out throughout the day, as I planned to get one in a few hours for my train journey home back from Birmingham to Manchester. I also liked how the muffins were available to view and not tucked up far away, making them hard to read or see, this branch seemed much more welcoming than most other Muffin Break stores I have visited. Overall, this is a really nice Muffin Break store, but compared to other stores which rival it, it is just average but this is a great store in the relatively new Grand Central project, and definitely warrants a solid 3 stars.

I like this one better than the one in the Bull Ring. It looks fresher and more open. The space is…read morenicely decorated with wooden spoons draped along the ceiling and lights. I had the soya white chic raspberry frappe and it was very lovely. It is served in a mason jar with a paper straw and the staff nicely brought it over to my table.

When my mum last came to visit me in Birmingham, we stumbled across the Little Tea Shop and tempted…read moreby the name, we went in. The shop itself was small but the decorated tastefully. On offer were your normal hot and cold drink selections, alongside what looked like homemade cakes. As we went in on a Tuesday afternoon, we were able to get a table so we sat down and enjoyed a slice of chocolate cake and a couple of hot chocolates. It was a pleasent experience and a great stop off point before getting a train.

It's often hard to find a nice independent, intimate place to grab a meal in a large city centre,…read moreso coming across The Little Tea Shop, a short walk away from New Street Train station was an extremely pleasant surprise. As the name suggests, this eatery is small and friendly and on top of that serves up some great quality grub! You can get yourself a delicious handmade sandwich or opt for the more traditional option of a good old fry up. Obviously being a small business, seating is at a premium so it can be difficult to eat in on a busy day, but if that's the case then simply grab a sandwich to take away and eat in the fresh air, although on a typical Birmingham day this can present its own problems due to our less than favourable weather most of the year round.

Wanna eat breakfast on a narrow boat? You can!…read more The food wasn't super spectacular, but the kitchen (galley?) is tiny - what can ya do. It was a decent fry-up and the place is clean & tidy. What I liked most was the atmosphere, service and gazing out onto the canal while munching away on my brekky. If you're in the area and fancy a bite to eat - give them a try!

Breakfast Review: I…read morewas recommended this place as a great breakfast venue. It is quirky, you get to eat a breakfast below the waterline on a canal boat in the heart of the city - which as an ex sailor, I find really cool. I stepped aboard and was met by two ladies who being polite were obviously not happy that they were at work on a Saturday morning. I ordered my Full English breakfast. It wasn't impressive. Sure, I got the bacon, 2 sausages, fried egg, toast and tomato, but all the ingredients were seriously cheap. All had the feel of 'kept warm for ages', too. To make matters worse, the single fried egg was hard. Its a shame, I was hoping it would be great, however the fact that there was only 1 other customer there at the time, tells me that others perhaps know this? The place didn't look very clean either, (although there were just 2 customers, there were 2 tables that still hadn't been cleared)?

Offering order-at-your-table waitress service and an extensive, homemade cake selection, this New…read moreOscott-based tea room is a great place to relax. Alex, the waitress is lively and polite and the café holds a pleasant, 'Old English' ambience, which is complimented nicely by its classy cutlery and condiments. The homemade cakes selection is near-irresistible and Britton's even offers its own take-away service and menu. Unfortunately though, with only 5 or 6 tables and no easy-listening soundtrack, the tea room feels cramped and uncomfortably silent, even when every seat is full. Britton's is smart, charming and very reasonably priced, but it would definitely benefit from some piped music and comfortable seat cushions, both of which would be sure to cosy things up a little.

Believe it or not, I'm just about old enough to remember the Lyon's Tea Rooms. If you've never…read moreheard of them then Google it. So I was taken back to my childhood when I paid a recent visit to this corner tea room. The former flower shop has been transformed into a beautiful tea shop with a fabulous range on offer. Let's start with cakes! Scones with jam and thick cream, chocolate fudge cake, served as it come or hot. Lemon drizzle, carrot cake, Mmm ok let's move on! They do a great breakfast, sandwiches, light lunches oh and being a tea shop there is a wide selection of teas of course. I shall be popping along soon to enjoy a long lost British tradition "Afternoon Tea", on offer is a three tier stand with a finger sandwich selection, those scones I was talking about earlier and a pot of tea all for £10.00, a nice touch and perfect treat.