Looking for an excuse to feel like a sophisticated vintage connoisseur, without actually knowing…read moreanything about wine? Then Loki is the place to be. Hidden away in the charmingly historic Great Western Arcade in the centre of Birmingham, this spot is a gem--like a treasure chest full of wine, with little tasting notes as the map. The magic happens with the tasting machines, where you can try up to 40 wines by the glass--not all at once, you rascal! Want to sample a few without committing to a whole bottle? You can try sips for around £1. It's a great way to find your new favorite drop without the commitment anxiety. Plus, they have these super cool self-service Loki cards, or you can (as I did) trade your credit card for a temp. Get guidance from the lovely staff if you're overwhelmed by all the choices (I was). The selection is as diverse as it is vibrant, with wines from all over the world, and the best part? They're all served at the exact temperature the makers intended--no warm, sad wine here. Looking for sweet wines, my partner and I enjoyed an airy Gewürztraminer, a super fantastic vintage port from Warre, and a delightful coffee-noted port from Penfolds. I also sampled a yummy, peppery and full-bodied Shiraz. While I didn't try the food, the menu looks like it would be the perfect pairing with any glass you pick. Cheese boards, meat boards, olives, focaccia, you know the stuff. Whether you're an aficionado or a casual enthusiast (like me), Loki Wine is a great spot for a laid-back yet luxurious experience. I'll definitely be back next time I'm in Brum.

Loki is a technically a wine shop but it has a few unique selling points…read more 1. Phil is super knowledgeable and approachable. If you have a question about wine or need a recommendation he will help you! 2. The beautiful location in Great Western Arcade. The store itself is exceptionally stylish too, all wood shelves, tables made from barrels and a lovely upstairs seating area. 3. It's not just a shop- you can try wines too. You can pick up a card, load it with money, pop the card into the amazing wine dispenser (!) select a small or large taster or a whole glass, and the wine is dispensed into the wine glass you have taken from the rack above. There's a variety of decent reds and whites available. These are good quality wines so a full bottle isn't a cheap option. So having the option to have a good sized sample for anything from 90p-£2 means you can feel more confident buying the whole bottle. So when you've picked a glass of wine you like, you can take it upstairs, sit on the seats, order a cheese or meat board (from Anderson and Hill across the way) and have a completely relaxing afternoon. Even the olive oil is amazing. Highly recommended.

The food, service, and ambiance are 10/10. Best food we've ever had, so incredible vibey and…read moreamazing. Stop reading this review and go!!

The food is literally the best food any of us had EVER had!!! The service was INCREDIBLE!! They…read morewere so sweet and so kind. It's so cozy and eclectic and ACCESIBLE for wheelchairs!! STUNNINNNGGG!!!! Obsessed and will be back!

Nice location with beautiful gardens, friendly people and a delicious meal. I had the Chicken…read moreSchnitzel, lightly breaded and crispy. Yum.

Sundays mean one thing......FOOD. This weekend me, Emma M and a few friends decided we would try…read moreout the High Field. Overall I did enjoy it but it was a mixed bag. Let me explain..... This is a seriously beautiful setting in a converted building just on the outskirts on Birmingham city centre. You really get the vibe that you are out of the city centre with loads of light flooding into the beautifully designed dining space. The menu is pretty simple on Sundays with roasts and a few items from the main menu. I decided to go for the curried fish cakes (trying to not eat carbs) which was well presented but a little light on the spicing for me....still tasty but was missing a little bit of heat. My mates all went for a roast. It was a shame as the meat and potatoes came out cold and needed to be remade leaving a few of us waiting for them to eat. The food was decent when it was all eventually on the table but it kind of detracted from the overall experience for me. I would go back here as maybe they were just having a busy/tough day. The resturant is truly beautiful I would just like the service to match it.

If you're looking for either a glam night out with the girls, or a night out with the guys checking…read moreout the glam girls then Mechu is the place to go. A firm favourite with the cities footballers and high earning business professionals, you can expect to see bottles of champagne all over the place. I'm 26 and the last time I went I felt quite overwhelmed with how many older men were in there. If you're looking for a wild drunken night with a younger crowd then this probably won't be for you unless you go on the student night which takes place on a Thursday. However if you prefer the idea of drinking with a more mature crowd in quality surroundings then it's definitely worth checking out on a Saturday night. Some of the cities best DJ's can be found playing so you'll be provided with the perfect soundtrack all night long.

Although it seems a bit perfunctory to diss Mechu for its VIP-style snobbery and expensive bar…read moreprices (after all, that's the point!), it has to be said that this is not for the likes of people like me who spent most of their formative clubbing days spilling snakebite over their converse in various dark and dingy indie discos. However, having attended the upmarket Mechu on a couple of occasions for work parties, I'm happy to report it's not without its pleasures. It's a swanky bar and relatively spacious, the music from the decent DJs supplying both a mix of dance and urban cuts. The booths are good if you're in a group, but make sure you have a stacked wallet. The thing that generally puts me off - and why I'm probably not the intended audience in the first place - is the 'footballers wives' vibe it gives off. I'm not into my footie, so I wouldn't recognise the much purported cameos from Villa FC players - however, there are lots of glam, slightly orange women 'coyly' approaching the blokes in smart threads at the bar and suddenly I'm humming the tune to that Amy Winehouse tune 'F### Me Pumps' as it could have been written about this place. If you've got the cash and you want to avoid the lower-rent version that is Rococo on Broad Street, then by all means splash that cash here. I'd rather lounge about in Island Bar, thanks.

Searching for a place for the penultimate Football League match of the year led me to Penny Blacks…read morein the Mailbox. It was my first visit to any of the bars sitting opposite the canal, but I shall definitely be back soon. Penny Blacks had a fairly upmarket feel to the place, with a large projection of the football in the middle of the bar. For a Saturday afternoon It wasn't that busy, but still managed to have a slightly upbeat atmosphere throughout. The seating was extremely comfortable, with various sofas dotted about. The location itself is fantastic. Being feet away from the canal on days like Saturday, with the sun beaming down, Penny and Blacks is potentially one of the best bars I have been to in the surrounding area. Despite not ordering any food, I had a quick look at the menu and I can honestly predict that I'll be back to have a bite to eat and a few beers when the football kicks off this summer.

Part of the huge 'MailBox' retail and restaurant development in central Birmingham, Penny Black's…read moreis a wine-bar and restaurant with a fabulous location on the Gas Street canal basin in Birmingham. On sunny days and at week-ends, the whole area is buzzing with people, with narrow-boats chugging past. Modern and spacious (almost cavernous) with lots of wood, it's a very pleasant venue, although pole position has to be at the front (or on the canal-side terrace itself) so you can see the canal. Service was friendly and reasonably fast, despite the fact that they had a lot of food orders at the same time. The wine selection looks pretty good, but actually they have a fantastic selection of real ales, including some less-well known types. These were well served and well kept, and we could easily have spent the whole afternoon there. (Ok, we did..) The food isn't quite as swish as the web-site implies - I thought it was decent, if slightly pricey, pub grub. However, portions were generous, so overall it was good value for money. I'd happily go back.

Despite this bar being practically on my doorstep, I have only been down a couple of times. It's…read morejust off St Paul's Square, meaning it's the perfect spot to stop by and grab a quiet drink or some food. Externally it's very pretty. Many of the old features of the building have been preserved, whilst the big glass doors give it a modern twist. It's much the same inside with red brick walls and a laid back, classy vibe with comfortable furniture. It has a bar and a restaurant area inside, but during quiet periods you are allowed to take your drinks into the seating are (normally reserved for diners) and enjoy the generously sized booths. Your lowest priced bottle of wine is £18.95 and a pint will set you back just shy of £4 (so it's not cheap). I must confess, I've never eaten here; but the menu is reasonably priced with most mains being priced between £10 - £15 (steak is a little more, as you would expect). It normally has a couple of ales on tap (I partook of a pint of the Hereford Pale Ale last night which was most pleasant), but the wine list and bar choices are very varied. It seems to attract an eclectic crowd, but mostly locals in the week. On the weekend it can get very busy (so best to book if you wish to eat). If you haven't been before, I would give it a go; it really is a beautiful well kept space.

This is one of my favourite places as this quirky venue offers stylish surroundings that are…read moreperfect for a pre-Saturday night out on the town or drinking round St Pauls Square. We often choose to start our evening here as we can sit and enjoy a bottle of wine whilst actually being able to talk to each other. and there is always music on in the background. Price wise, it's not the cheapest of bars but when you go out on the weekend you kind of expect a bottle of wine to be around £15 and beers from £3.50. The bar staff are normally pretty quick at serving you and up for a chat too whilst you wait to get served.

Nice place. Comfy atmosphere. Tons of seating. Clean bathrooms. Unfortunately service is very very…read morepoor. Sat at a table for darn near 45 minutes, never once greeted by any of the servers walking around. Ended up placing our drink order at the bar. Would have ordered 4 different meals & another round had someone bothered. But clearly none of the servers could be bothered! We walked downstairs to Handmade Burger Co. This American tourist not impressed, and I don't have high expectations nor am I demanding or unreasonable. Can't recommend. Won't be back. Which is sad. It's a really nice place!! Oh! I was very surprised to see Sierra Nevada on tap. What is a Central California beer doing in Birmingham?!!???

Great in the sunshine if u can find a seat! -That is the…read morebest feature about it! It's in a great setting and outdoor bar space is at a premium in Birmingham! Inside its quite light and airy and there is generally plenty of room. However, the food is mediocre and service can sometimes be a bit slow. There is a room upstairs available for private hire too, which is again quite spacious and probably quite good if you want to be away from everyone else.

I had a lovely meal there on Saturday. I had been there before and was also impressed so wanted to…read morehave a tate at their new menu. The ambiance is relaxed, so good for food with friends and can be quite intimate with candles on tables and low lights. I booked the restaurant via an app on my phone (dead easy and convenient). When we arrived there, our table was ready and we received a warm welcome. The food - it was the Christmas menu this time- was tasty and well presented. The wine was very nice too! I have to say that the waitress was very nice, honest and helpful. She even went back to the kitchen to check the exact content of a dish (she did tell us before but went to check and fedback to us, very thoughtful and accurate) Special commendation for this restaurant: they have bottles of Ruinart Blanc de Blanc, my fav champagne! I didn't have any but it's a good sign to me!!

The menu looks really appetising. The setting, tables and chairs are very authentic and unusual…read more Staff is super friendly. However, they miss the most important: you go to a restaurant for the quality of the food. We had to wait 45 minutes for soggy fries, over-cooked burger was so dry we struggled cutting through it, nothing left of the blue cheese in it. My dish arrived with the pulled pork looking like strings of dried meat coming out of a packet, the dish was sitting there for a while as the coleslaw had already some skin on it. When you wait that long you expect freshly cooked food not reheated food.

Brand new to Kings Heath, a small venue that focuses on wine, but has a great cheese and…read morecharcuterie selection. Booking a table is best to be safe. Lovely staff. Smart clean decor. Worth checking out!