The name, plus a location along the main arterial route linking Sutton to central Birmingham, would seem, on paper, to be enough of a warning sign. But, should you steer clear, you would miss out on discovering three crucial things: Just what is meant by the term cafe-bar (normally the Lampard-Gerrard axis of casual dining (or, er, drinking); a suburban venue that manages to pull off a vague non-English feel; and, best of all, that it seems bent on curing hangovers. You can't tell me its special Bloody Mary, so-called Champion Breakfast and all-day brunch isn't designed for your poor morning-after noggin. Oh, and there's free wifi to allow those leisurely, paper-reading Sundays to pass even easier.
With its unsual main road location, time will tell how the atmosphere changes at night, and whether it finds itself unintentionally pitched for the daft, faux-WAG scene or, equally inadvertently, one step up from Wetherspoons. But, for now, from breakfast until work's out, you will be hard pressed to find a better venue of this type in North Birmingham.
It's on a commercial strip, but it's consciously anti-high street. Think of it as a nicer Après, then; not a coffee morning host with crèche facilities, rather something you may find in that London you've been hearing about, or even - no, honestly - a continental city. Oooooh! It's enough in weak moments to describe the place, as..... eek ..... whisper it ..... chilled.
The reason it is able to pull it all off - complete with outdoor seating to the front - is the food and drink.
It's hard to know which Verdo takes more seriously, its tea, coffee or cocktails; the selection of draught beers also ignoring the usual, tired suspects for, among others, Barcelona's Estrella Damm. Meanwhile, that arm you're bending is as long as the individual burger and breakfast menus, buoyed by a range of main courses avoiding the homegnised limpness of two-for-one carbonaras and front window posters boasting 'deals' of "curry and (non-descript) drink for a quid."
Talking of price, you must, of course, expect to pay for more than standard pub fare. But it is not expensive, and any dent to the wallet can be off-set by a range of changing deals, including Tapas Tuesdays, its generous Breakfast Club and under-£5 lunch deals of soup and paninis.
Among these rotated, daily events is a quiz night. Starter for ten: Will you visit Verdo? 'course you will. read more