This shop has been a fixture of the Cotteridge High Street map for as long as I can remember…read more Immediately recognisable as an old school butchers by the red, draping awning hanging from the shopfront, this is the sort of butchers shop we'll all miss when and if they eventually succumb to the financial might of the big supermarkets. On weekends the queue can snake around the small customer area of the shop, which tells you about it's local popularity and the quality of the service. The meat is usually of a high quality and there are often some interesting seasonal offerings in the window display to tempt you off the high street - their pre-prepared BBQ meats being a good seller. Prices are reasonable and the service is exactly what you'd expect from a long-established local butcher. Good stuff!

very friendly does lots more than sell meat menu advice he always comments on my hair as i alway…read morepop in after the hairdressers for my sund joint the beef is sublime never had a bad cut of meat from there my very fave is the lamb burgers they are delish i refuse to visit a supermarket for their trashy cuts and i spend less any way brill long may they continue support your local butcher

Lockarts is probably one of the best Butchers shops in the city. The service is unfailingly…read morefriendly and polite and the staff really know their meat. Most of the meat is prepared on the premises and they even make their own sausages from time to time. Their beef and lamb mince is always of a really high quality, as you will see when you cook it and hardly any fat is created. Their best product, though, is their bacon, which is thick and very, very tasty. They also carry a selection of pies and pasties, smoked cheeses, plus sauces and condiments for cooking meat. In the summer they do an excellent range of meats for use on the BBQ. At Christmas and Easter time the queue is often out the door, and the shop is often busy on Saturday mornings, which should tell you that this is a place much admired by the locals round these parts. This is well worth a visit.

Before I start this review I should let you know that I know squat about butchers. However, if I've…read morelearned one thing over the years from various trips with my dad, it's that a good butcher has to be friendly; in fact they have to be positively jolly. That is certainly the case at G.A Lockhart where the staff provide such great interaction with the customers that it seems like something from the distant past, when high streets weren't clogged up with a thousand stores each an exact replica of the last. This is the butcher whom my family have used for years and I can confirm that every Sunday a piece of Lockhart meat has graced our table and satisfied a demanding family of brummies. I don't really know the price of meats etc, I mean as a student the closest thing I usually get to meat is a late night kebab, but Lockhart certainly seems reasonable and they provide good produce. A refreshingly friendly establishment with some delicious British meat on offer.

With shops all over the Midlands, Walter Smiths is one of only a handful of butchers in Harborne -…read moreI must admit that as a rather sensitive, vegetarian child I would refuse to go into this shop until relatively recently - but if you like decent cuts of meat and want to buy a lot of it then Walter Smiths is the place to go. As well as offering 'award winning' sausages - including a black pudding variety that is really very tasty (my sensitive, vegetarian days are very much over) they have a hot meat counter with sumptuous pies, pork and stuffing baps and chicken legs. They also do vegetable packs - think turnips, spuds and leeks for hearty casseroles or carrots, onions and peas for wholesome stews and they sell seasoning and sauces to go with most cuts of meat. You can order your turkey from them at Christmas and they are happy to offer tips on cooking chops, steaks etc.

There are a handful of Walter Smith outlets around Brum and it's always a reassuring sight to see…read morethe familiar sign on a High Street. The Walter Smith outlet has been supplying me with animal flesh for over a decade, and since the main supermarkets in Harborne are now a Waitrose (which used to be a Safeway when I first moved there) and a Marks and Spencer, Smiths provides one of the only ways of getting your meat fix in B17 without re-mortgaging your house. The staff are friendly and helpful and, as you'd expect from a long-established butcher, they know their meat. They have a hot plate selection, too, which is dangerously tempting (and smells great) when you're on a mooching trip on the Harborne High Street.

In my opinion, the greatest shame in the loss of the Great British high street is that of the local…read morebutcher, once a cornerstone of a community, now a relic of a bygone era, replaced by soulless counters in homogenous multinational supermarket chains. Thankfully, however, there are still a few independent, locally owned butchers around, and few are better than J. Hughes. They do sandwiches as well as the meat, but without doubt the main event is the meat, which is a fantastic combination of low cost and delicious. I'm always sceptical when it comes to supermarkets claiming one kind of meat is 'higher quality' than another, but you can definitely taste it in the meat served here, it simply tastes better. J. Hughes don't just limit themselves to traditional butcher meats either, selling delicious Chinese style pork ribs. My recommendation would be the lamb burgers (which are just 85p each), which are incredible. Highly recommended.

I feel weird reviewing a butchers as I'm a vegetarian, but it hasn't always been the case and…read morerosters used to be my butcher of choice. The first organic butchers in Birmingham (I remember it being a big deal!) the quality is superb. I always found their cuts to be good and never heard any complaints from anyone else either. Their various sausages were my breakfast choice, absolutely delicious! I have it on good authority that this is still the case and the fact that they are still going strong after all of these years is testament to the fact too. I'll get back to my tofu now, don't tell the other veggies I was reminiscing about a butchers!

I dont often go into Rossiters because it is expensive however do use them for special occasions…read morelike Christmas. The quality of their meat is second to none - thye were Birmingham's first organic butchers and are still (i believe) the only butchers in Birmingham to be registered with The Soil Association. you can tell how popular and good they are by the huge queues which can be seen over Xmas when people are queuing up to collect their turkeys/beef/(insert here whatever meat people eat for Xmas!). Its also worth noting that you can order your Xmas products online. Whenever ive gone in the service has always been very cheery - even when theyve been packed to the rafters, and the staff are always willing to give advice on how long to cook things for, best cuts of meat etc. The meat we have had from here has always been superb, if, like i said earlier, somewhat pricey - but lets face it, you pay for good quality. Definitely worth a visit when you have some spare cash floating around!

A short walk from where I grew up lies butchers that sells sausages that are so good I'd like to…read morebecome one. Brown's of Solihull is a quality, local butcher that serves a wide range of meat, game and other products by the bucket load. They make their own pork scratchings and they have a fine balance of rust to fat to skin ratio. They are very moreish; just make sure you have strong teeth. They also make their own Black Pudding, I remember one day watching it being made in the shop, and it wasn't a pretty sight. The sight of it being made is the opposite of how it tastes. Brown's further delves into the black pudding paradox. I still come here for special occasions, despite no longer living in the area. I know that Brown's is the best for all my butchery demands.

Although Cotteridge is a fairly busy shopping area (you can't call it a High Street as such as the…read moreoutlets are shoehorned either side of a couple of small roundabouts) there aren't that many shops to chose from. It's a surprise therefore that it can support two independent, family-run butchers shops. This one is slightly better than the Peter Gumbley outlet around the corner on Pershore Road and also doubles as a deli, with a fair selection of meats and cheeses. This place starts and finishes earlier than its rival around the corner, and if you go in after 3pm you are more than likely to find them clearing up for the day as they close at 4pm. All in all, though, a very good butchers.

This is a good quality butchers and I have been in here a few times and always left feeling happy…read morewith my purchases. The meat is all British and the guys that work there are very friendly and willing to help. I have often asked them for cooking advice and what cuts of meat they would recommend and they have always been helpful and informative. The prices are moderate, if not a little pricey, but that does not bother me as I know that the meat is fresh and is of a high standard. It is also very clean and tidy inside, which is a good sign for me. There has also always been a queue when I have been in which shows the popularity of the place. Overall, I think that this butchers is worth a visit if you live locally or are just passing through.

I love animals and I also enjoy meat, which is why I support humane farming. I would rather pay a…read morelittle extra on meat than buy cheap mass produced, battery famed products. I refuse to put the latter into my body on health and moral grounds. I really like this butchers. It has an old fashioned feel to it, a time warp from the 1950's. The butcher's are very helpful with any questions you may have about where the meat has come from and what is the best way to cook it. I asked him yesterday how to get the crackle crispy on belly draft and he told me that he will score it for me and told me to pour boiling water over the skin before cooking. This will ensure that I get a nice crispy piece of crackling to go with my pork dinner. They sell lots of ready cut and marinated meats that are great for mid week meals. They stock the finest steak or venison for a dinner party. They also offer a wide selection of game birds and will prepare anything you request. I would seriously recommend buying your meat from here and not from the major chain supermarkets. It is healthier and a more humane way of sustaining a diet that contains meat.

Johnstan's is a class act as far as family butcher's goes. For one, they offer 25 varieties of…read moresausage, all which are made on the premises, as well as what you'd expect from a standard butcher and so much more. And all the products and cuts displayed in a way to rival a Selfridge's window dresser's efforts! At Christmas they stock good sized fresh turkeys, and at Winter-time there are whole pheasants, heads, bright plumage and all, hanging from the canopy outside. As I write, it is Spring and the sun is having a go at shining. So I return home with seasonally apt fodder in the form of free-range Spring loin lamb chops for a one-man barbeque.