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Searching for a quality steakhouse in Birmingham can be quite tough. Unless you have a recommendation that you can rely on then you won't come across many by chance. So here is a recommendation! Bar and Block is a newish edition to Birmingham's thriving dining scene. Although part of the beefeater chain, that shouldn't be a reason to turn your nose up. Bar and Block is a modern and 'cool' scene perfect for drinks after work and if your willing to dip in your pocket for fine steak then you should take the hit on the wallet. The steak is of great quality and cooked perfectly the way you ask. I also ordered the 6 dips which were amazing. Too much to get through for 2 so just order your favourites if your dining for 2. Also highly recommend the ploughmans block for starter sharing. Strong 4/5 for me!
A solid bar and grill, with popcorn that must be hand delivered by the essence of joy made whole. The restaurant is a lovely light celebration of wood and if you are sitting on the comfy seats in the window you'll even have a (bit of) view of the cathedral, a very pleasant place to eat a meal, although the lighting over the booths was perhaps just a tad too bright. Food wise this is one for the meat eaters only I'd say, there are vegetarian options but they didn't seem hugely exciting, it's a bar and grill so that means one key piece of food, yes it's steak time. I had their flagship spiral fillet, basically it's marinated and comes super buttery with a hit of garlic, it came cooked an accurate medium rare and melted in the mouth beautifully. At £25 it isn't the cheapest thing in the world but for a 10oz fillet in the centre of a city it's a pretty good price (although if you want me than a smatter of green you'll have to get a side as well). It's also worth mentioning the beef dripping chips, which were everything you could hope they would be. However the real stand out thing here was the little tub of beef dripping flavoured popcorn, I had a little cry when we had finished them all. They have a full bar with a nice, compact wine list, plenty there to keep you wet while you devour some meaty goodness, nothing that will make you shout out about it though. Staff were nice, they have tried the menu as well which I appreciate and would be happy to have a little chat if that's your bag. Worth a visit if you're hankering after some meat, they also guarantee a super quick lunch which is good. The place is attached to the premier inn and I imagine you'd be a happy traveller if you ended up there after a tiring day.
This review is of Bar + Block as a breakfast & brunch venue and not the grill / bar / night life element. They have an adjoining internal door to the Premier Inn on Waterloo Street - it was formerly the dining space for the hotel but is now part of the Beefeater chain (according to my receipt anyway) and is also open to the general public. From the buffet-style restaurant that was, it's now a stylish all-day diner and bar which focuses on steaks and other grilled meats. The breakfast menu had everything you'd expect to see nowadays, with the 'Bar + Block Works' being their version of the Full English. At a reasonable £7.95 you got a thick piece of bacon, sausage patty, spicy beans, salt beef hash, flat mushroom and roasted tomato topped with a fried egg and toast. It was all pretty good quality and served its purpose to ward off the mild hangover/tiredness. The service was a tad slow considering the small number of diners in there, but it was friendly. Tip: opt for the unlimited tea, coffee and juice from their self-service drinks station for £3 - if you want more than one drink with your breakfast then it makes financial sense.
Has a really great meal here last Friday lunchtime. The restaurant is much bigger than I expected so probably no need to book except on a Friday night. The staff were really friendly and attentive. We were asked if we were on our lunch break and offered a shorter express menu as well as the main one. We just went for the express, as there seemed to be enough choice on that one anyway:) we were given an egg timer and told our burgers were guaranteed to be brought out in less than ten minutes, which they were! It wasn't the best burger, ever, but we were certainly happy with our choices. A meal and drink came to £7.90. I would go back but maybe try something different next time.
As soon as you step through the front door you can tell this place is still new. Spotlessly clean; and it smells like the satisfaction you get from successfully assembling a new piece of IKEA flat pack furniture. Saying that, the interior is simple, stylish and modern with exposed pipe work and well thought out light fixtures. We visited at about 6:30pm on a weekday evening and the restaurant was relatively empty with no reservation necessary. We were swiftly greeted, seated and presented with a little pot of free popcorn and water for the table. The menu's main focus is steak of course and the rest of the meals are pretty much what you'd expect on a standard pub menu; pies, fish etc. I always get anxious taking my best friend for steak as she knows EXACTLY what her rare fillet steak should look and feel like. If it's not right, it gets sent back and I'm sat there doing the typically British thing of trying to apologise to the waitress via eye contact about the fact my associate has dared to complain. Thankfully!...the steak was absolutely perfect! My pal had the 8oz fillet and I had the T-bone. I'd even have to say they were some of the best steaks I've ever had! You get the beautiful smokey flavour of the grill running all the way through, it was just spot on! I'd even say skip the infamous Miller and Carter at the Mailbox and head here instead! A little shoutout to our waitress Chelsie as well. She was effortlessly pleasant throughout and seemed very genuine. She even upgraded my sweet potato fries to the ones with feta and chorizo at no additional cost. Really impressed by this place! And it gets the seal of approval off my close friend and steak critic :)
This is a newly opened place. Went in here with a group of people after a yelp event. We all stayed for some drinks and it's a good place for meeting with friends or to eat. It has a cosy feel to this place, had modern decor, edgy and creative, the atmosphere seems to be very nice and relaxed. It has a open kitchen, a central bar, and cool copper finishings found throughout.
This place is a great new addition to the Birmingham bar scene. I have gone in here twice this week since it opened and I can already see it becoming a favourite place for me in the area. The whole place is very open and spacious with a central bar separating half the veue used for dining and the other more casual bar area. The whole place looks brand new and is immaculately clean throughout....lets hope it stays that way as with this kind of look I think it almost has to! The drink prices here are what you would expect to pay in this area so no shockers there, but the food does look a little on the pricey side. I was seeing main meals for £13-14 which to me read like pub classics. However i'm sure if they are putting as much time and energy into the menu this will be far from 'pub grub' and more of a fine dining experience. I went for a Meantime Ale which is on draft by the way.....I would recommend it! I have never seen that on draft before and its something I will definately be haing again :) read more
8 years ago
3 of us has starters main an 2 puddings between us 2 beers an 2 OJ's we had 40% off our mains the hill came to £92 so wasn't to bad quite expensive if we didn't get discount. Starter was good mains lovely pudding ok, nice clean place service ok felt rushed tho when ever she came over. Would go again for a special occasion. Ladies loo let the place down slightly read more
I won a competition on Facebook for unlimited prosecco and brunch. I was so excited, I called and booked in for brunch as it stated on the website that brunch was available until midday. We arrived and were shown to our seats & looked after by John. Brunch had finished but we were told we could have another main off the menu! So it worked out well but I am left wondering why the girl that took my booking didn't tell me they stopped brunch at 12! The decor is contemporary and I was glad to see we had a secluded booth. John took our photo and jotted down the time that our unlimited prosecco would end on a Polaroid (1.5 hrs, usual cost £15). I noted a bottle was £17 which is a decent price for the area and only£15 on a Friday! John said that normally we d have to be topped up by the bar but as it was a quiet Sunday, he would save us the bother by coming over. We were told we could help ourselves to hot drinks and juice - standard breakfast style! We ordered the roast to share (£13.50 each) and it was beef by default as you would expect! It came in a roasting pan. Not enough gravy but this was topped up. Roasted carrots and parsnips, tenderstem broccoli, peas, delicious pieces of beef and roast potatoes. I really enjoyed it! My only comment is - at the same price as the clifden, you probably get more for your money with the UAB chain. We had our glasses topped up 5 times altogether so that's probably around a bottle worth. I'm not sure how the value would fair on Saturday if you had to keep going to the bar. I think i d probably just buy a bottle for the table. We had an additional Polaroid pic as a momento. I had a fantastic time and felt well looked after & next time I'll go for brunch ( just remember they stop serving at 12!) read more
Searching for a quality steakhouse in Birmingham can be quite tough. Unless you have a recommendation that you can rely on then you won't come across many by chance. So here is a recommendation! Bar and Block is a newish edition to Birmingham's thriving dining scene. Although part of the beefeater chain, that shouldn't be a reason to turn your nose up. Bar and Block is a modern and 'cool' scene perfect for drinks after work and if your willing to dip in your pocket for fine steak then you should take the hit on the wallet. The steak is of great quality and cooked perfectly the way you ask. I also ordered the 6 dips which were amazing. Too much to get through for 2 so just order your favourites if your dining for 2. Also highly recommend the ploughmans block for starter sharing. Strong 4/5 for me! read more
A solid bar and grill, with popcorn that must be hand delivered by the essence of joy made whole. The restaurant is a lovely light celebration of wood and if you are sitting on the comfy seats in the window you'll even have a (bit of) view of the cathedral, a very pleasant place to eat a meal, although the lighting over the booths was perhaps just a tad too bright. Food wise this is one for the meat eaters only I'd say, there are vegetarian options but they didn't seem hugely exciting, it's a bar and grill so that means one key piece of food, yes it's steak time. I had their flagship spiral fillet, basically it's marinated and comes super buttery with a hit of garlic, it came cooked an accurate medium rare and melted in the mouth beautifully. At £25 it isn't the cheapest thing in the world but for a 10oz fillet in the centre of a city it's a pretty good price (although if you want me than a smatter of green you'll have to get a side as well). It's also worth mentioning the beef dripping chips, which were everything you could hope they would be. However the real stand out thing here was the little tub of beef dripping flavoured popcorn, I had a little cry when we had finished them all. They have a full bar with a nice, compact wine list, plenty there to keep you wet while you devour some meaty goodness, nothing that will make you shout out about it though. Staff were nice, they have tried the menu as well which I appreciate and would be happy to have a little chat if that's your bag. Worth a visit if you're hankering after some meat, they also guarantee a super quick lunch which is good. The place is attached to the premier inn and I imagine you'd be a happy traveller if you ended up there after a tiring day. read more
10 years ago
This review is of Bar + Block as a breakfast & brunch venue and not the grill / bar / night life element. They have an adjoining internal door to the Premier Inn on Waterloo Street - it was formerly the dining space for the hotel but is now part of the Beefeater chain (according to my receipt anyway) and is also open to the general public. From the buffet-style restaurant that was, it's now a stylish all-day diner and bar which focuses on steaks and other grilled meats. The breakfast menu had everything you'd expect to see nowadays, with the 'Bar + Block Works' being their version of the Full English. At a reasonable £7.95 you got a thick piece of bacon, sausage patty, spicy beans, salt beef hash, flat mushroom and roasted tomato topped with a fried egg and toast. It was all pretty good quality and served its purpose to ward off the mild hangover/tiredness. The service was a tad slow considering the small number of diners in there, but it was friendly. Tip: opt for the unlimited tea, coffee and juice from their self-service drinks station for £3 - if you want more than one drink with your breakfast then it makes financial sense. read more
10 years ago
Has a really great meal here last Friday lunchtime. The restaurant is much bigger than I expected so probably no need to book except on a Friday night. The staff were really friendly and attentive. We were asked if we were on our lunch break and offered a shorter express menu as well as the main one. We just went for the express, as there seemed to be enough choice on that one anyway:) we were given an egg timer and told our burgers were guaranteed to be brought out in less than ten minutes, which they were! It wasn't the best burger, ever, but we were certainly happy with our choices. A meal and drink came to £7.90. I would go back but maybe try something different next time. read more
10 years ago
As soon as you step through the front door you can tell this place is still new. Spotlessly clean; and it smells like the satisfaction you get from successfully assembling a new piece of IKEA flat pack furniture. Saying that, the interior is simple, stylish and modern with exposed pipe work and well thought out light fixtures. We visited at about 6:30pm on a weekday evening and the restaurant was relatively empty with no reservation necessary. We were swiftly greeted, seated and presented with a little pot of free popcorn and water for the table. The menu's main focus is steak of course and the rest of the meals are pretty much what you'd expect on a standard pub menu; pies, fish etc. I always get anxious taking my best friend for steak as she knows EXACTLY what her rare fillet steak should look and feel like. If it's not right, it gets sent back and I'm sat there doing the typically British thing of trying to apologise to the waitress via eye contact about the fact my associate has dared to complain. Thankfully!...the steak was absolutely perfect! My pal had the 8oz fillet and I had the T-bone. I'd even have to say they were some of the best steaks I've ever had! You get the beautiful smokey flavour of the grill running all the way through, it was just spot on! I'd even say skip the infamous Miller and Carter at the Mailbox and head here instead! A little shoutout to our waitress Chelsie as well. She was effortlessly pleasant throughout and seemed very genuine. She even upgraded my sweet potato fries to the ones with feta and chorizo at no additional cost. Really impressed by this place! And it gets the seal of approval off my close friend and steak critic :) read more
This is a newly opened place. Went in here with a group of people after a yelp event. We all stayed for some drinks and it's a good place for meeting with friends or to eat. It has a cosy feel to this place, had modern decor, edgy and creative, the atmosphere seems to be very nice and relaxed. It has a open kitchen, a central bar, and cool copper finishings found throughout. read more
10 years ago
Casually walking through the city and passed this new place that caught our eye. Staff were both friendly and knowledgeable which definitely helped for an indecisive guy when choosing the right drink. Two meantime ale's later and we were well impressed. I would recommend everyone to take a visit! read more
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Bar + Block - steak - Updated May 2026
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