When coming back to Birmingham, a friend and I, always have lunch and a few beers. The location…read morechanges, but the story stays the same. This has been one of our locations three times now, and I'm beginning to wonder why it's not been more. Service during the day is casual, sit where you like, here's a menu, back in 5. The food selection is BBQ tastic, and is served very similarly to the big states places, on a little red tray. Nice but small craft beer selection, nice range of cocktails and spirits. There's even PBR if you're looking for the complete USA experience. My friend always goes for the Buffalo Black burger, which I have to say is phenomenal. I've varied and gone for the brisket one, and the pulled pork meal. Sides include "loaded" chilli cheese fries - which deserve a mention on their own. Burnt ends (side of more meat please!) and 'slaw. It's all been good, I've not experienced a bad bit of food there. Price isn't bad, for two of us last time it was £45. That was for the two burgers, burnt ends, mac n cheese, chilli cheese fries, and four beers. I'd like to see something like a Nashville hot chicken plate on the menu with the BBQ stuff, but other than that, this place is wonderful. It sells all of the things I like. Bravo. I didn't even notice it was a Bitters' and Twisted place until I read it here..

Another completely unique venue for Bitters and Twisted. Buffalo & Rye is new to the Bennetts Hill…read morescene, and a few doors down from sister venue Bodega. This place generated a ton of buzz before the doors were opened mid November, so naturally I wanted to try it! After stalking their Facebook, it seemed the best time to grab a table and avoid long waits was right at opening. My dining partner and I turned up shortly after noon on a Saturday and were seated immediately. The first thing i noticed is how intimate the venue is. There really is only a handful of tables. We opted for our own high top table as stools aren't the most comfortable seating. The menu is simple and specific. I'd check it out ahead of time so you know what you're in for. I thought the servers were great. Timing of food, not as great. They were rammed but we were the first people sat for the afternoon so I'd expect less of a wait than 25 minutes for starters. We shared some wings and beef chili cheese fries. Now, I am from Buffalo, NY. The chicken wing capitol of the world. We invented and perfected chicken wings. Its hard to compete with our wings in this country. Back to the review, here the wings were left still attached which I kinda liked. Usually you find the drums and flats separated so this was actually a nice change up. I do think they needed more sauce. Ours were nice and crispy but dry. Overall they were a nice choice for a starter. Ooh and the cheese fries are lovely and served in a little baking tin. As for my main, I had a buttermilk chicken sandwich which was juicy and crispy goodness. The roll was a bit too hard for my liking. I left most of it on my plate. But the chicken was amazing. Random fact about me: I love pickles or gherkins as you Brits call them. It's always a nice surprise to see a place over here serving pickles. I asked for some on my sandwich and only got one tiny piece. Step up your pickle game Buffalo & Rye! I almost forgot to mention the cocktails!! Such wild and crazy concoctions here. I tried a grape fizz and red kool aid inspired drink. Grape fizz blew me away. Kool aid was a bit uninspiring. Not as sweet or flavorful as I imagined. There's also milkshakes that looked wonderful. Sadly I was too full for one. I really liked this place. Although I can't see myself visiting it as often as the other BnTs, it's still worth a pop in. Plan accordingly. It's busy!

Cocktails are quite pricey, but good. The food is, as with the others in the chain, very "samey"…read morebut nice. Nothing out of the ordinary, but nice food. I like the 50s style American diner type atmosphere. Yes it can be a bit cheesy, but sometimes I quite like a bit of cheese! Plus its only about 2 miles away, so ideal to nip to for a cocktail. I am a regular customer there and staff have always been friendly.

Came here for breakfast... beyond terrible. Waited over half an hour for a breakfast and when it…read morearrived it was cold. My friend had eggs benedict and the muffin was so hard it was like a brick! Staff are inattentive and seem like they hate their jobs. I would not recommend ever eating here, EVER. *they don't do soya milk.

I went here with a group of friends for Sunday dinner. We just had to check out the American themed…read moremeat joint. The decor is straight out of the opening credits for Fresh Prince of Bell Air - photos of celebrities line the walls and are covered in bright colored tags of fun phrases like "YOLO". There is plenty of seating, perfect for a pair or large groups. I wasn't very hungry, so I ordered the appetizer salad with pulled pork BBQ on top and shared a side of fried pickles. I was a little disappointed in the pulled pork. Being from North Carolina (home of pulled pork BBQ in the states) and eating at a place with smoke in the name, I was expecting smoked BBQ. The pork is just roasted like what you'd expect to come on a bap and lacks the tenderness that comes with slow smoking. The BBQ sauce at the table has a nice smoke flavoring added, so I was able to drown my salad in that for an approximation of the smoky flavor I craved. The salad portion is very generous and uses fresh veg. The fried pickles need a little tempura batter mixed in with the corn meal and maybe a little more time in the fryer for a better texture.

A group of us went here as we wanted to check out the newest 'American' BBQ joint in Birmingham…read more Based on reviews of The Smoke Haus' other locations, I was pretty excited. First of all, this restaurant is HUGE. Incredibly big and spacious, with an assortment of booths and tables and a huge bar. The decor of the place is awesome-- fun pieces of americana all over the place and funky graffiti all over the walls. But the highlight of every place is the food, and well, the food was just OK. I opted for a pulled pork sandwich, and a side salad instead of fries. The pork was good (mostly because they have a fantastic BBQ sauce) but definitely didn't taste slow-cooked. The salad was served without any dressing which was a bit weird, since it was huge and mostly lettuce. By the way, portions here- GIGANTIC. Come with an empty stomach! Neat selection of American beers. I don't know. I wasn't incredibly impressed, but my meal was satisfying, and the BBQ sauce is tasty. I'll have to try a few more things on the menu...

I'm merely a Californian rather than a Texan but I'll definitely be coming back to Grillstock…read more We wanted to get the burnt ends but they were out unfortunately, so my husband had the Burnside Burger, which was well cooked and had delicious streaky bacon on it. We shared the Wings and Rings which were supposed to come with some dip but didn't, luckily they were very good and we didn't bother asking for any as we ate them too fast. I chose the Bluegrass Crispy Chicken sandwich, which was the nicest fried chicken I've had in the UK so far. And I am slightly obsessed with fried chicken so that's saying something. The only nitpick there is that there is no reason for this to be a sandwich, the bun adds nothing to the experience and the chicken breast shape makes it awkward. They should just make it a plate and add a biscuit or some mashed potatoes or something instead. It was nice to see they had iced tea on the drinks menu since that is bafflingly rare in the UK, but for some reason the only option had apple juice and mint in it. It was fine, but a bit on the sweet side and not really what I wanted. But that's on me, ultimately. The beer selection is fine but unexceptional. It was a Saturday night and the place was super busy but we did get seated reasonably fast. Service at the table was reasonably good. Service at the bar was nonexistent (bartender was busy but not crazily so, still managed to avoid serving us or making eye contact for ten minutes until we were whisked away to our table). All in all a bit of a mix but solid on the food front, I look forward to trying the rest of the menu.

First off, I preface this review as being an American from Texas where BBQ can be found just about…read moreanywhere. This establishment markets itself as an American type BBQ eatery, but the food is no where near. The ribs were the worst I've ever had. They were the consistency of jerky with no where near the flavor. They needed to be off the grill about an hour or two sooner, assuming they were cooked here rather than arrived frozen and pre-cooked in the first place. The beef brisket was drowned in sauce so there really wasn't any beef flavor to be found. The pork (as marketed in their logo) was overcooked as well. The fries were good and the beer was cold, which helped in washing it all down. One should/would not expect American quality meat in Europe, but it should be better than this.

So, having had luck with recommendations from Ben C before, I thought it best I check this place…read moreout on a day in Kings Heath. Now, I was meeting Ben for lunch at Veg Out (see http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/veg-out-cafe-birmingham?hrid=GgI2cmA6RaEsO8pLKdk1Aw), I didn't actually eat here - I just grabbed a coffee to visit and soak up the ambiance (being your intrepid Yelp Community Manager). Al's Diner is just off the main stretch of Kings Heath and opposite York Road. It's easy to spot, with it's American vibe and bright red exterior. As you might guess from the name, it's got a bit of a "happy days" vibe to it. From the red and white patterned work surfaces to old school Americana prints and design touches, it's all very sweet. As I say, I just popped in for a hot drink - but I will definitely pop back in for a burger at some point! The burgers looked huge and were priced around £2.50 (without fries) making it a bargain! They also had a great selection of sweet treats on the menu at similarly reasonable prices. My coffee wasn't the best (it was served with UHT milk), but that's not why you would visit normally. I grabbed a coffee and a can of cola and I believe it came to around £2.20 - which is a bit of a steal really. I was served with a smile and felt welcome throughout my whole visit (despite taking up a whole booth just to drink my coffee and do some work). I probably wouldn't travel all the way to Kings Heath to visit, but I urge you to pop in if you are based around here. If I was down here for the day, I would 100% make a date with one of their calorific treats for lunch or dinner.

At one time I counted 12 places that you could get chicken and chips from between The Sun at The…read moreStation and The Pear Tree. It doesn't take much imagination to offer something original in the ways of fast food. Al's Diner have spotted a niche in the market and jumped right in. They serve burgers, hot dogs, milkshakes and deserts in such authentic US surroundings, (NYC print wall paper, state-side memorabilia authentic shake-bar stools) that you half expect Arthur Fonzarelli to enter stage right with a 'Hey!' and start asking 'bout Richey. This place is very popular with tweens, who have claimed it as their own space to meet, hang out and gaze out of the window while supping a shake. Others like to drop in for a pre-pub snack before hitting the High Street. Families are catered for too, and on a Friday evening they take time out from busy schedules for some quality informal dining time together. Those who believe that 'It's Dork To Eat Pork' can join in as the hot-dogs here are made with beef. In fact, the whole menu is Halal. Service with a smile comes as standard, and they'll tweak meals to suit you. There's a level of community and philanthropy going on here which is hard to beat. If you haven't got an Uncle Sam then you can find a surrogate family member in Al.

Texan-American here, was looking for a genuine British pub and found this place. 100% fits the…read morebill, food is on point, 0% Guinness available for non drinkers and about a million other alcoholic beers to choose from if you imbibe. I had the fish and chips and sticky toffee pudding with custard. Entree was great, pudding was great, prolly will skip the custard next time though because, while it was delicious, they filled a cereal bowl full of it with the custard aaaaaaaallllllllllllllllllll the way down in the bottom like a sunken pirate ship. Staff are super friendly, they have a playground outside and a WHOLE PARKING LOT. Just glorious. Now, my one real critique is this, and it's for the owners so if you're not them you can skip the rest of this review: per your Tex Mex chicken with the Cajun seasoning; Cajun is NOT Tex Mex. Cajun is its own cuisine from Louisiana inspired by French cuisine and African American soul food. Tex Mex is Texas (think cowboy Chuck wagon type stuff) and Mexican, so not French or Soul Food inspired at all. Not even a little bit. Not even close. That's one heck of a fusion y'all lol

First night in town and I wanted a nice local pub for a pint and dinner. The Old Crown is just what…read moreI was looking for. It is very warm and inviting. The staff is extremely nice and the food was excellent. I might have to come back tomorrow for one of their pies as they looked delicious!

Disgusting! I had…read morethe chicken penne romana bake. Basically it was chicken with pasta, tomato sauce and a bit of pepperoni. The chicken wasn't fresh, it was probably cooked earlier in the day and had a terrible taste. They did not use any spices, not even salt or pepper. The star is only for the waiter who was really friendly. Otherwise I do not recommend this restaurant, it is far to be an Italian restaurant. It is not because a restaurant cooks pastas and pizzas that it is an Italian restaurant.

While visiting from the US, we grabbed a late dinner at this "New York Italian" restaurant…read more Hilarity ensued. First, they don't slice the pizzas. Why? No-one in the restaurant appeared to know! But there it was: a huge pie on a small plate, goading the diner with its vast oneness. Second, they post Italian-sounding words all over the place. Just so you know it's *Italian* food. But then the menu is full of hamburgers and chicken covered in BBQ sauce. Third, my son tipped salt all over the table and, when asked why he'd done such a bloody stupid thing, he said, "To be healthy." He'd clearly received the leaflet from the Sodium Council. Regardless, the food was very acceptable and the service, in particular, was fantastic. Our waitress was absolutely what every parent wants: patient with the kids, pleasant, helpful, and very fun indeed. It's not truly American Italian fare but, God love them, they're trying, and it made for an entertaining and enjoyable meal.

Looking for some American diner style breakfast/brunch spot, Seth S. and I decided to check out…read moreCelebz since another brunch place was closed. The Celebz concept is based on a kitschy stereotype of Americana with quintessential foods like burgers, waffles, fries and milkshakes. I love a good bit of kitsch but Celebz seemed to hit all the wrong notes. The blaring music, loud colors, and cold interior left me feeling like I was on Sunset Strip after a late-night bender in search of greasy garbage to cure my hangover. The vibe, encouraged by Rhianna screaming "bitch better have my money," was starkly contrasted by a grouping of families with small children. Womp womp. When placing our order we learned that the milkshake deal (+£2) advertised with the burgers only applies to the burger meal, requiring you to spend £9 for a sandwich and milkshake, with or without fries. Seth S. got the burger but skipped the milkshake and I decided to get some pancakes and twisty fries instead. Seth's burger and my fries were delivered to the table fairly quickly, but we were almost finished eating before my pancakes arrived. I was disappointed that the pancakes were crepes not American style pancakes in an American themed restaurant, but that's neither here nor there. The twisty fries were perfect - just like some of my favorite from a greasy spoon in NC. The crepe presentation was nice but the flavor underwhelming. Too much egg was used in the batter, and the egg flavor overshadowed the Belgian chocolate drizzle and strawberry filling. If you're in search of an authentic Vegas hangover cure, this is the place for you!

I am big fan of reviewing places on what they are and as an independent American diner I have to…read moregive this place five stars. Located over by Aston uni campus this place is a bit out of the way but when looking for a late night sweet myself and a friend took a wonder over here to see what it was all about. Now I know this place will not be for everyone, it's loud and in your face in terms of design with pictures of the USA and celebrities on the walls. The menu is made up of a range of popular American classics like burgers, milkshakes, pancakes, cookie dough and ice cream. We decided to go for nachos and a cookie dough dessert to share which were both surprisingly good. The nachos had the guacamole and salsa on the side instead of being all over top which is great for a condiment lover like me! The thing that I love about this place is you can easily sit a chill for a few hours eating and drinking on a quiet weekend night off the booze (dry Jan seemed like a good idea at the time) if you are looking for a place to get something sweet with a good range of options this is a great option in the city centre.

Nice really, I enjoyed every bit of original patty men. You should get yours too, tasty & yummyread more

this upsets me cos im actauaoolly allergic to burgarss :( im not even lying im sure the burgers…read morehere are good i just have alot of feelings