Where to eat and go out in Birmingham

Broad Street

Broad Street is "the street" when it comes to bars & clubs in Birmingham and a fair share offer cheap and cheerful meals, including Revolution at the Five Way (Cineworld) end and Lloyds bar at the other. Broad Street is pretty lively 7 days a week with student nights running in bars and clubs during the week and non-students hitting the clubs at the weekend.

Brindley Place

offers a quieter (and perhaps more parent-friendly) dining experience. Chain restaurants here include Pizza Express, Cafe Rouge and The Slug & Lettuce. As well as the chains, there are a few stand-alone restaurants, a favourite with students and families alike is the Handmade Burger Co. situated on The Water's Edge, on the canal. The burgers are very reasonable, although side orders can push the price of you meal up quite a bit. The atmosphere is great though, and so are the burgers (beef, chicken & veggie)!

The Mailbox

Further down the canal you'll stumble across The Mailbox, perhaps Birmingham's second most famous building after the iconic blue and silver Selfridges. Easily rivalling Brindley Place, the Mailbox (as well as housing the likes of Harvey Nichols, Bang & Olufson and Fat Face) is a pleasant place to spend an evening. There are a variety of restaurants both inside The Mailbox and on the canal.

Local

Moving away from the central city area, there are, obviously, restaurants all over Birmingham prices and quality varies quite considerably, but from personal experience, you'll find something locally that's edible and affordable. Having lived in Edgbaston and Selly Oak, and with friends in Harborne, I have always been able to find somewhere local that offers decent food at a decent price.

Balti

Moseley, south of the city centre, is home to several of the best curry restaurants in Birmingham, Moseley is one corner of the famous 'Balti triange', the other corners being Sparkbrook and Balsall Heath. The staff are always excellent and keen to offer advice on what to choose to suit your taste. A lot of the Indian/Pakistani restaurants in Moseley have a "bring your own drink" policy which is great for saving you a few quid!

Selly Oak

Another area rich in curry houses is Selly Oak, which is very much the heart of the student population of Birmingham. An estimated 80% of residents in Selly Oak are students and most restaurants offer some kind of discount or promotion to student diners. As well as the several curry restaurants in Selly Oak, a gorgeous (and reasonably priced) Italian called 'Rimini' is situated on Bristol Road. A couple of Chinese take-aways compete for business and the pubs all do very cheap and relatively cheerful pub grub. Drinking in Selly Oak is very much the same kind of experience as eating there. The drinks are cheap and the pubs are busy most nights. Again, as in Moseley a lot of the restaurants in Selly Oak welcome you bringing your own drinks, and with Aldi & Premier located centrally, you won't struggle to get a cheap bottle of wine.

Weekends

Drinking in the city centre can be a lot more expensive. Friday and Saturday nights are quite a no-no if you're living life on a budget. A quiet night in or a night out at the Student's Union are probably a better bet, although Revolution on Broad Street does get my vote some Saturdays as entry is free and the cocktail pitchers are relatively reasonable.

Student nights

During the week, you'll never fail to find someone to go and something to do. From Sunday to Thursday the clubs and bars in the city centre and Digbeth offer a variety of special student nights & student deals.

Currently my favourites are as follows:

Monday...Oceana's "thenightbefore.com" student night is always popular. Drinks are reasonable rather than cheap but the music's good and the atmosphere's nothing to complain about. Birmingham's Oceana is one of the biggest in the country.

Wednesday...Snobs is student friendly all week really, but Wednesday is their specific student night. It's very cheap, pretty smelly and very indie. If that sounds like your cup of tea you're bound to love, if not, you'll hate it. There's rarely any middle ground with Snobs!

Risa used to run 'thenightbefore.com' and was one of the most popular student venues in the city, Oceana somewhat stole their business for a while but their new night "I love Risa" is pretty awesome! Risa is a must for anyone into cheesy pop, rock, chart or classic sing-along songs.

Thursday... Vodbull does exactly what it says on the tin – vodka-redbull themed madness! Probably Birmingham's most popular student night is run every other Thursday and currently located at Oceana while its previous home The Works undergoes refurbishment. The hyperactive atmosphere is awesome and I've never had a bad night there.

Mechu's tagline "For those who like the finer things in life", sums the club up nicely. Their student night is reasonably priced, as long as you drink what's on offer. The music's great and the décor is pretty nice as well. Mechu is particularly popular on non-Vodbull Thursdays and a favourite birthday celebration venue.

The Jamhouse is Jools Holland's jazz club and a great alternative to the above mentioned student nights. The salsa nights (some Thursdays) are great fun, they can be a good chance to get dressed up, but be warned – wear comfy shoes because they will get you up dancing! The Jamhouse also serves food, although having not sampled it, I can't comment.