If you fancy a more relaxed change of pace from the city centre, here are some foodie places to try in the Jewellery Quarter
08:00, 03 Jul 2018Updated 08:01, 03 Jul 2018
It’s off the beaten track – but if a lunchtime or after-work break with a difference sounds tempting then head down to the Jewellery Quarter
When the sun is out it's easy to imagine you're enjoying a cosmopolitan holiday in a classy European village.
The historic area is not only far more relaxed than the city centre, but it's closer than you might think and surprisingly easy to get to even on foot.
If you work anywhere in or around the city’s Colmore Business District , the Jewellery Quarter is a quick walk over the Great Charles Street Queensway.
Where to go?
You can see 45 Church Street Tower and the Hotel du Vin from St Paul's Square(Image: Fin)
If you want to enjoy the scenery, head for St Paul’s Square and simply sit out on the benches or on the grass.
As well as large mature trees like horse chestnuts, there’s also Yucca trees and loads of purple lavender, too.
As you look back towards the striking glass tower at 45 Church Street it’s hard to believe how close you are to Birmingham city centre.
Lavender lunch - in St Paul's Square(Image: Fin)
Sitting out on the grass enjoying the summer sunshine was a group of ten colleagues from Aspire Recruitment.
They’ve already come to love JQ newcomer Salcook, which promises ‘homely lunches for the urban work-force’ from Arch 33 on Water Street.
Another popular new cafe is Lisa & Pann's Kitchen on Caroline Street.
Chicken, rice and salad from Lisa & Pann's Kitchen(Image: Lisa & Pann's Kitchen)
Speaking on behalf of the group, Beth Jones said she had only started working in the JQ in March but was loving every minute.
“I’ve always worked around Birmingham but I’ve come here from a previous job in West Bromwich," she said.
Would she want to go back to work there now?
READ MORE: 10 huge Birmingham buildings you see every day but don't know what they are
Beth Jones (third from right) with colleagues from Aspire Recruitment enjoying the sunshine in St Paul's Square(Image: Fin)
“No, she says. “It’s really enjoyable to just sit out here in the sun.
“In West Brom there was nowhere to go for lunch like this. St Paul’s is an amazing square.
“And here, there are several pubs where you can go for a drink after work on a Friday, too.
Lunch on the plaza outside of the Big Peg on Warstone Lane(Image: Fin)
For a more urban feel, try sitting out on the revamped plaza at the foot of a giant white office building known as the Big Peg, Warstone Lane.
Or if you want to enjoy life above street level, the place to go is the terrace at The Button Factory.
Sun trap: the roof terrace at The Button Factory(Image: Fin)
It’s thought the corner site on Frederick Street and Regent Street dates back to 1824.
And it's here where William Elliott patented cloth-covered buttons.
The Button Factory has a giant screen upstairs for sports events(Image: Graham Young)
You might also be surprised that The Button Factory has a big screen upstairs, too.
So, again, watching the World Cup and other sports events is another way to enjoy the Jewellery Quarter.
It's another world away from the far more raucous crowds on Broad Street.
All you have to do now is to choose the type of place you would like to try first...
1000 Trades
An independent neighbourhood bar and kitchen bringing new life to a listed building, with kitchen residencies from food entrepreneurs and local artwork showcased throughout the building.
16 Frederick Street, Birmingham, B1 3HE. Tel 0121 233 2693.
1000 Trades in Frederick Street(Image: Tim Easthope)
24 Carat Bistro
A family-owned place to eat with Caribbean nights and everything from all-day breakfasts - including a vegetarian option - to lasagne, jerk chicken, minted lamb shank, mutton soup and peppered prawns. Vegans welcome.
27 Warstone Lane, Hockley, Birmingham B18 6JQ. Tel 0121 236 0519.
24 Carat Bistro(Image: Jason Skarratt)
3 Threes Coffee Lounge
Offers handmade vegan and vegetarian food and coffees. There is a sister cafe off Union Street in the city centre. There is a new menu coming soon.
10 Great Hampton Street Birmingham B18 6AQ. Tel 0121 448 9919.
Hotdog and coffee at 3 Three's cafe opening on Great Hampton Street soon(Image: 3 Three's cafe on Facebook )
40 St Paul’s Bar
With 24 seats and 140 gins it calls itself ‘intimate, relaxed, exclusive’.
The winner of the Imbibe 'Gin list of the Year 2017' award, they say: "Each gin is on our menu because we think it's the best at what it does."
40 Cox Street Birmingham B3 1RD. Tel 0734 003 7639.
Jewellery Quarter gin specialist 40 St Paul's won UK Bar of the Year at the new Icons of Gin Awards in February, 2018(Image: Jack Spicer Adams)
Actress & Bishop
You can sit outside on the pavement to enjoy food, drink, live music and, one day per year, Lifest (August 26, 2018).
On June 28, The Vapors will play Birmingham for the first time in 35 years so you could soon be Turning Japnese. Special guest will be TV Smith from The Adverts (Gary Gilmore's Eyes).
36 Ludgate Hill Birmingham B3 1EH. Tel 0121 236 7426.
The Actress & Bishop is across the road from Cucina Rustica on Ludgate Hill(Image: Fin)
Ana Rocha Bar & Gallery
Cocktails, food, live music, exhibitions, art and antiques, too.
The menu includes cold tapas, cured meats and cheeses, hot Spanish tapas, salad and bocadillos and desserts.
Cocktails include Spanish mudslide – £7.50, featuring Vodka, kahlua, Crema Catalana, milk and chocolate sauce.
48 Frederick Street Birmingham B1 3HN. Tel 0121 236 6222.
AR bar & gallery(Image: Graham Young)
Andersons Bar & Grill
Steakhouse for lunch, a la carte and tapas. Now with aged Jersey Dairy Wagyu beef.
Vegetarians might fancy the butternut squash and sage gnocchi with parmesan, pine nuts and basil.
All served in 18th century cellars once known as The Bucklemaker.
30 Mary Ann Street St Paul’s Square Birmingham B3 1RL. Tel 0121 200 2515.
Anderson's Bar and Grill in Birmingham(Image: )
The Button Factory
Conversion of a historic building with one of the city’s best rooftop terraces.
It has a large screen room for sports upstairs where exposed beams offer a New York loft feel.
Downstairs, there's a Robata grill which adds a theatrical touch.
Cooked over coals, you might fancy a Flat Iron steak with chimmichurri. Or a bowl of sweet potato, broccoli, red quinoa, buckwheat, peanuts served with a buttermilk and miso dressing.
25 Frederick St, Birmingham B1 3HH. Tel 0121 236 4653.
Sun terrace at The Button Factory on Frederick Street(Image: Fin)
Cappadocia
Turkish restaurant, bistro and cocktails – with art.
Meals include charcoal grills, combination grills (e.g. lamb ribs with chicken wings) and a 'taste of Anatolia' with dishes like apricot chicken or various guvec (casserole) options.
33 Frederick Street B1 3HH. Tel 0121 212 0338.
Cappadocia Turkish restaurant with the Chamberlain Clock on Warstone Lane(Image: Graham Young)
The Church Inn
A revamped popular pub where the menu emphasis was on 'soul food', now led by a new pizzeria with outdoor terrace.
22 Great Hampton Street B18 6AQ. Tel 0121 448 3866.
The Church in Great Hampton Street, Hockley(Image: )
Coffee Tales
A coffee shop where treats can include triple chocolate cookies and live music, too.
A recent special was nachos with homemade guacamole for £4.
Unit 2, Heritage Court, 17-21 Warstone Lane, Birmingham B18 6HP. Tel 0121 212 3531.
Coffee Tales(Image: Graham Young)
Cucina Rustica
Italian food with a modern twist and you can sit out at pavement tables, too.
Pizzas from £9.95 to £11.95.
For £11.95 you can let the chef surprise you with three different pasta dishes.
To push the boat out, try the Tournedo Rossiin, a fillet steak, bread crouton, duck pate & Madeira wine sauce (£23.50).
24 Ludgate Hill Birmingham B3 1DX. Tel 0121 233 2277.
Al fresco dining and flowers outside of Cucina Rustica on Ludgate Hill(Image: Fin)
DevonHouse
Jamaican restaurant with dishes from about £10-£16 including baked salmon in a cream of rum sauce, jerk chicken skillets or oxtail and butter beans.
A Jamaican vegetable curry is £9.95.
16 Hall Street, Birmingham B18 6BS. Tel 0121 448 7203.
Inside Devonhouse restaurant housed in the former Deepalis on Hill Street, Jewellery Quarter(Image: Sanjeeta Bains )
Fredericks Coffee Lounge & Bar
Coffee, wine and food and a chance to sit outside, too.
50 Frederick Street Birmingham B1 3HR. 0121 233 0313.
Fredericks Coffee Lounge and Bar, Fredericks Street(Image: )
Greggs
If you want a taste of the city centre!
Unit 4, 51 Warstone Lane Birmingham B18 6NG. Tel 0121 236 9593.
The Hive Cafe & Bakery
Organic food and artisan bread with some produce supplied from a rooftop microfarm above the Grade II listed Victorian building.
Large open ground floor cafe where anyone who likes flavoured coffee might fancy trying the homemade, organic coffee syrup.
Provides work experience and training for students at Ruskin Mill Trust's Argent College.
45 Vittoria Street, Birmingham B1 3PE. Tel 0121 233 9145.
The Hive Cafe & Bakery entrance(Image: Graham Young)
The Hylton Café
Cheap eats and cheerful service.
2 Hylton Street Birmingham B18 6HN. Tel 0121 554 7005.
Hylton Cafe(Image: )
Indian Brewery
Indian street food with craft beer in an archway.
Dishes include masala fish and chips, Bombay wings, chicken marinated with the brewery’s Birmingham Lager, Chaat Bomb - samosa pieces topped with chickpeas and sauces, as well as Desi favourite - the mixed meat grill.
Indian Brewery is now looking to expand into Solihull this summer.
214 Livery St, Birmingham B3 1EU. Tel 0121 296 9000.
Inside newly expanded Indian Brewery(Image: )
Itihaas
Food inspired by the Mughul Era, when Indian dining was imperial and extravagant.
Meals are flavoured with delicate spices like saffron and aromatic essences including pure rose water.
The special business lunchtime Indian menu is designed to encourage guests to sample speciality menus, accompanied with clay oven (tandoor) baked rotis or naans.
18 Fleet Street Birmingham B3 1JH. Tel 0121 212 3383.
The Jam House
Food, drink and live music, too.
3-5 St Paul’s Square Birmingham B3 1QU. Tel 0121 200 3030.
The Jam House in St Pauls Square, Jewellery Quarter(Image: Simon Hadley)
Lasan
One of Birmingham’s finest Indian restaurants.
The recent £500,000 refurbishment was the first for 14 years.
It drew inspiration from the grand bars and restaurants in Delhi, Jaipur and Mumbai, frequented by India's upper classes.
3-4 Dakota Buildings James Street, St Paul’s Square Birmingham, B3 1SD. Tel 0121 212 3664.
Lasan restaurant(Image: Birmingham Mail)
Lisa & Pann’s Kitchen
English and Malaysian foods for breakfast and lunch takeaways, served from 7am til 4pm.
Just six seats inside, but there are pavement tables, too.
They also do outside catering and you can also pre-book dinner if you are in the mood for Southeast Asian food.
65 Caroline Street Birmingham B3 1UG. Tel 0121 687 0118.
Diner's outside Lisa & Pann's Kitchen on Caroline Street(Image: Lisa & Pann's Kitchen)
Locanta Wine Bar & Restaurant
Two floors of Italian-Mediterranean dining and live music inside a 1776 farmhouse turned thimble makers- or you can go al fresco on the pavement.
The chef's current selection dish is Don Paco's Chilly Chicken, with prawns, chorizo in mixed peppers and tomato sauce served with rice for £15.95.
31 Ludgate Hill B3 1EH. Tel 0121 236 7227.
Locanta Wine Bar and Restaurant on Ludgate Hill(Image: Graham Young)
Lunchi
Small coffee shop with some Cajun food.
Sandwich fillings include jerk chicken as well as roast chicken, smoked salmon and avocado. Prices typically £4 for these or £3 for cheese.
Coffees are £2.30 out, £2.50 in.
5 The Big Peg, Warstone Lane, Jewellery Quarter, B18 6NA. Tel 0121 233 3765.
Lunchi is at the foot of the Big Peg(Image: Fin)
Niche Café
Hot and cold food to eat in or take out - and they try to be different.
Turkey and chorizo burgers aren’t on sale everywhere.
Other specials can include prawn tagliatelle served with garlic bread.
198 Warstone Lane, Birmingham, B18 6JR. Tel 0121 236 0112.
Niche Cafe(Image: Google Maps)
Otto Wood Fired Pizza
Opened October, 2016 - pizzas are cooked at 500 degrees for 90 seconds next door to sister business, The Eight Foot Grocer, also founded by Chris James.
"We are using compressed, dried beech logs from a sustainable source in Spain. They are very dense, very dry and burn at a high temperature. Because they come like bricks the packaging is environmentally friendly."
Caroline Street has recently had a row of trees planted down the middle. Become a regular here... and watch them grow to add more quality of life to the area.
14 Caroline Street, Birmingham B3 1TR. Tel 07729 747841.
Graham Young eats the first pizza cooked in Otto's wood-fired oven(Image: Jon Fuller-Rowell)
The Queens Arms
First opened in 1878, it was remodelled in 1901.
The pub still boasts art nouveau style tilework, two oriel feature windows with M&B etching and original interior moulded cornice plasterwork.
Cask Marque accredited beers guarantee that every pint will be a good 'un.
There's also traditional food with a modern twist, quizzes and football, too.
150 Newhall Street Birmingham B3 1RY. Tel 0121 236 3710.
The Queen's Arms, Newhall Street(Image: )
The Rebel Chicken
Poultry cooked on Cuban coals and Sweet Cherry wood.
The 50 seater eatery is housed in the sadly short-lived Fishylicious restaurant which closed last year.
It is making the most of the building's outside space - with an impressive 120 seater beer garden and courtyard.
The menu includes The Rebel Wrap - a BLT wrap, chicken Caesar salad buffalo and rebel wings - buffalo wings coated in Rebel Chicken’s homemade signature sauces. There is also a veggie burger.
19 Pitsford Street B18 6LJ. Tel 0121 554 0177.
Inside new chicken restaurant Rebel Chicken(Image: )
The Rectory Bar & Restaurant
Casual drinking and dining next to St Paul’s Square.
Vegetarians might be tempted by the butternut, brie & beetroot tart, new potatoes, roasted Mediterranean vegetables, meat eaters by the roasted belly of pork, wholegrain mustard mashed potato, roasted carrots, crackling and cider-infused jus. Two courses are £19.95.
50-54 St Paul’s Square Birmingham B3 1QS. Tel 0121 605 1001.
The Rectory at St Paul's Square(Image: Fin)
Rajdoot Tandoori
North Indian cuisine from authentic chefs.
House specials include monkfish tawa masala and, from £40, lobster Rajdoot style.
The website claims to have served 'The Beatles, Keith Floyd and even Princess Margaret back in the sixties'.
78-79 George Street Birmingham B3 1PY. Tel 0121 236 1116.
Rajdoot Tandoori(Image: Google Maps)
Rose Villa Tavern
The pub was built in 1919-1920 for Mitchells & Butler from designs by architects Wood & Kendrick.
Burgers, chicken, subs and dogs for lunch or dinner – washed down with real ales and handcrafted cocktails and World Cup football. Don’t miss the tiling and stained glass windows.
172 Warstone Lane Hockley Birmingham B18 6JW. Tel 0121 236 7910.
Rose Villa Tavern pavement scene(Image: Graham Young)
Saint Kitchen
Coffee shop remodelled in 2016 and which takes its flat whites in particular very seriously.
Hot chocolate fans might like to know its chocolate is a supplied by Kokoa Collection, and they use real, single origin chocolate available in different cocoa contents ranging from the white Ivory Coast chocolate, all the way through to the dark chocolate from Haiti.
Unit 2 61 St. Paul’s Square Birmingham B1 1QS. Tel 0121 236 2940.
Tables in the shade outside Saint Kitchen - Arena Birmingham is ten minutes' walk away via Charlotte Street(Image: Graham Young)
Salcooks
A pop-up offering a fusion of English and Portuguese tood, with pies including cod and spinach, chicken and chorizo or spiced root veg.
Run by Sally White and Rute Jesus, they say: We do good tasting food with fresh ingredients - and it’s all home made.”
Specialities include custard tarts. The layers of pastry take days to make, but the actually cooking takes just ten minutes.
Arch 33, Water Street, Birmingham, B3 1HL.
Owner Sally White serving up the delicious food on offer at Salcooks in Water Street(Image: Birmingham Mail)
The Shakespeare
An historic Nicholson’s pub with timeless interior and small beer garden
31 Summer Row Birmingham B3 1JJ. Tel 0121 236 8702.
The beer garden of The Shakespeare Inn on Summer Row, Birmingham.(Image: )
Soda Bread Cafe
A sit-in cafe right on the corner opposite St Paul’s Church.
While it was funny to see cartons of Kellogg's mini cereals next to the prosecco in the fridge, who knows... that could start a new trend for a breakfast combo: snap, crackle and fizz.
63 St Paul’s Square, Birmingham B3 1QS. Tel 0121 236 4945.
A baked potato van outside of Soda Bread Cafe on Ludgate Hill(Image: Graham Young)
Stirlings Bar
Food and drink with alfresco seating outside.
The menu includes Sunday roasts, burgers and three course set meals.
The St Paul's Burger is a combination of gouda cheese, smoked maple bacon, lettuce, tomato, red onion, Stirlings signature burger sauce.
21 Ludgate Hill, Birmingham B3 1DW. Tel 0121 439 212.
Al fresco dining at Stirlings on Ludgate Hill(Image: Graham Young)
Urban
Relaxed cafe with lots of daylight and wood for the atmosphere as well as proper coffee for inner happiness.
A vegan smoked tofu and avocado sourdough toastie is £7.95.
Minced lamb served in a Middle Eastern style khobez wrap with homemade tzatziki is £8.25.
Bottomless brunches at weekends.
Unit 6/7 The Big Peg Warstone Lane Hockley B18 6NF. 0121 233 1599.
Urban coffee logo(Image: Graham Young)
Vee’s Delicatessen
Family friendly deli with some terrific jams - handy for the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter and St Paul's Metro tram stop.
The cafe looks like a house from the outside and, once inside, you will feel like you are sitting in someone's front room without feeling in the least bit like a gatecrasher.
Teas include the naturally caffeine free Roobois from South Africa.
83 Vyse Street Jewellery Quarter Hockley Birmingham B18 6HA. 0121 523 3272.
Vee's Delicatessen(Image: Graham Young)
The Wolf
The Wolf(Image: Nick Wilkinson)
Wines, premium spirits and craft beer with locally-sourced food and big screen sports action.
The pub was created out of a former solicitors at the foot of the landmark Bismallah Building at the corner of Water Street and B4100 Constitution Hill not too far from Snow Hill Station.
Near to the Syriana restaurant and Hen & Chickens pub, the site is closer to Snow Hill's central business district than other pubs further up the B4100 Great Hampton Street including The Lord Clifden .
2-10 Constitution Hill Birmingham, B19 3LY. Tel 0121 212 9555.
How to get to the Jewellery Quarter from Birmingham city centre
Here are four routes for pedestrians.
1. Walk down Livery Street, which runs alongside Snow Hill Railway Station , where services include the Stratford to Worcester line and the Midland Metro tram . A subway will take you to the Jewellery Quarter side.
2. An above ground alternative is to follow Snow Hill’s platforms, which take you over the inner ring road to an exit close to Water Street.
View from the Jewellery Quarter side of the Great Charles Street Queensway looking towards the 45 Church Street tower in the Colmore Business District(Image: Graham Young)
3. If you are in Cathedral Square , simply walk down Church Street past the Hotel Du Vin and the newly-restored Old Royal pub.
A footbridge over the A38 Queensway Tunnel below offers spectacular big city views en route to Ludgate Hill, a road which takes you straight to the Jewellery Quarter's leafy, Georgian heartland of St Paul’s Square in just two minutes.
Church Street left, Jewellery Quarter to the right - sign at the bottom of the footbridge over Great Charles Street Queensway(Image: Graham Young)
4. From the Bennetts Hill end of Colmore Row , which includes Victoria Square and the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery , the best way to walk to the Jewellery Quarter is to go down Newhall Street.
Especially as you can walk across Great Charles Street Queensway at pavement level.
READ MORE: New £2m project to regenerate Jewellery Quarter
Al fresco dining at Stirlings on Ludgate Hill with the Colmore Business District in the background.(Image: Fin)
Once you are in the Jewellery Quarter, make time to enjoy the stunning architecture.