THE BEST BOOZY BRUNCHES IN BIRMINGHAM
It’s a scientific fact that brunch is the best meal of the day. And what makes every meal that bit better? Alcohol! The beauty of of weekends is that you’re allowed to order a champagne cocktail or a bloody Mary at 10am, because its not only allowed – it’s encouraged. Here’s a few fine establishments in Birmingham which will feed you good food and quench your need for an early tipple.
Boston Tea Party
Bread is just so much better when its insides are sodden with scrambled eggs. Boston Tea Party’s around the country have been perfecting their sour dough eggy bread of late (topped with smoked bacon and avocado), so much so it’s now a mainstay on all their menus, with the branch on Harborne High Street being no different. As well as their French toast, they’ve also been mastering the art of temptation. There must be many a customer who goes up to order with the intention of purchasing a healthy, freshly squeezed glass of orange juice and be greeted with two or three craft beers on tap that are nigh on impossible to avoid. As top drawer as the coffee is, a pint of Wiper and True amber ale just ticks all brunchtime boxes.
York’s Bakery Cafe
York’s is the go-to brunch spot for guaranteed quality ingredients and first-class beverages. Start your day with the Arabian buttered eggs or avocado and feta smash, both served on sumptuous sour dough bread, while sinking a bottle of Maisel’s Weisse or two. Everyone around you may be sitting sipping their beautifully crafted flat whites and delicious loose leaf teas, but you can sit smug in the knowledge that they’re only staring at you because they know they made the wrong drinks choice and definitely not because they’re judging you for drinking at 10am.
Cherry Reds
There’s something about Cherry Reds’ fluffy, American-style pancakes which warms your heart and makes you feel like a kid again. Order them alongside a warm cinnamon fruit compote and whipped cream and you’ll be kicking yourself for usually only eating them on Shrove Tuesday. They’re available all day too, meaning you have ample chance to sample them with one of their extensive range of draught and bottled world beers – a dark and sweet Westmalle dubbel will complement the cinnamon spiced fruit like no other.
One Trick Pony Club
The One Trick Pony Club is one of those pubs where you lose all sense of what time of day it is. Its dark and cosy atmosphere, comfy sofas and hearty soul-food mean you can wonder in at midday to partake in a swift half and one of their hefty breakfast burgers – beef patty with smoked bacon, a fried egg, Emmental cheese and potato hash – and before you know it you’re sitting in the beer garden well into the afternoon surrounded by empty bloody Mary glasses. The ever changing seasonal draught range keeps the beer geeks happy too.
Gas Street Social
The addition of the first independent establishment to the Mailbox’s artillery of restaurants and bars has been just one of the many reasons why Birmingham’s food and drinks scene is booming in 2015. It’s also probably a reason why at the weekend, between the hours of 9am and 1pm, you may well see a lot more people stumbling around the canalside in close vicinity to the Gas Street Social. A two our session on bottomless bellinis for £25 and attempting to make your way through the social breakfast on your own – meant for 4/5 people – will do that to anyone.
Ross Timms
