Yummy Brum

Whether it's one of Birmingham's nationally renown coffee shops, excellent choice of restaurants or one of the four Michelin starred restaurants that make Birmingham the culinary capital outside of London it's never been a better time to drink up and tuck in to the great food and drink delights of Greater Birmingham.





Launching in August Bank Holiday 2012 Digbeth Dining Club has added Street Food to this rich mix which the Independent noted as 2012's most exciting trend, taking over from Michelin Starred restaurants, http://ilovedigbeth.com/cocktail-sessions-a-welcome-addition-to-digbeth-dining-club/.  Street food has been prevalent across London for nearly 5 years and the Digbeth Dining Club is one of Birmingham's first Street Food events and which has developed into a fusion of food, music and entertainment perfectly suited to the creative Digbeth quarter it sits in.  It's home on Lower Trinity Street at Spot*light, opposite Air nightclub, and near to office block Rhubarb and The Custard Factory is a rich mix of industrial with adjacent railway viaduct making you focus on the food which is aimed to be the best locally sourced and to maximise the flavour rather than on the surroundings.

The April line up, reproduced from http://www.digbethdiningclub.co.uk/events.html is below:






In the heart of Birmingham's business quarter July will soon be upon us and the 18 - 19th will see the fourth annual Colmore Business District (CBD) Food Festival.    The festival sees participating local restaurants, pubs, hotels, coffee shops, bakeries and deli's offering tasters of international and British cuisine at competitive prices.  The festival highlights the rich mix of food and drink in an area that is more known for it's business with 500 companies employing 35,000 employees, http://www.birminghampost.co.uk/lifestyle/food-drink/cbd-food-festival-transforms-birminghams-5068064

“The idea is to give people a taster of what’s on offer here and will hopefully tempt them back in the future.” http://www.birminghampost.co.uk/lifestyle/food-drink/cbd-food-festival-transforms-birminghams-5068064

The festival has found itself as a natural part of the calendar of farmers markets that take place across the city and provide rich mix of local produce such as fruit and vegetables, cheese and meat.

Moseley Farmers Market, which takes place on the last Saturday of the month, in the centre of Moseley Village was listed as one of the Independent's top 10 UK farmers markets in March 2013, http://www.independent.co.uk/extras/indybest/food-drink/the-10-best-farmers-markets-8521126.html  The market has grown from it's rating last year with nearly 60 stalls now providing a rich mix of local produce.   

Other markets include Kings Heath Farmers Market a short bus ride away which takes place on the new village square, Kings Norton Farmers Market, University of Birmingham Farmers Market, mac, New Street Fine and Local Food Market.

A list of the opening times of the various markets is below.  This was accurate at the time of this article and information sourced from the relevant market's website.

Harborne: 2nd Saturday of month 9am - 2pm
Kings Heath: 1st Saturday of every month 9am - 2pm
Kings Norton: 2nd Saturday of every month 9am - 2pm
mac: Last sunday of every month 10.30am - 3.30pm
Moseley: 4th Saturday of every month
New Street Fine and Local Food market: 1st / 3rd Wednesday of every month 10am - 4pm
University of Birmingham: Next market 28 May 10am - 3pm

It's perhaps no surprise there are so many markets and that Birmingham's dining reputation has now been recognised as their history can be traced back to the significant part in Birmingham's history they have played.  The Bull Ring Markets are the markets and food heart of the city existing since Peter de Birmingham, the Lord of the Manor, was given a Royal Charter to hold a weekly market, http://www.bullringindoormarket.net/history.html  The markets are still used today and sit adjacent to the Wholesale Markets which themselves will be redeveloped, http://birminghamcentral.blogspot.com/2008/07/market-move-starts.html, by moving to newer premises outside of the city centre.

The Bull Ring Markets contain the Indoor Market which is one of the largest fish markets in the country together with providing meat and poultry.  The outdoor Open Market sells fresh fruit and vegetables.  It's no surprise to see both bustling with life as they provide great value and fresh produce to cater for Birmingham's diverse population.

Bull Ring Open Market - 9am to 5pm every Tuesday to Saturday Bull Ring Indoor Market - 9am to 5.30pm every Monday to Saturday Rag Market - 9am to 5pm every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday - See more at: http://visitbirmingham.com/what-to-do/birmingyum/buy/food-markets/#sthash.9naR8ANr.dpuf


All of this food and drink and the reputation of the city as a culinary hotspot has not gone unnoticed and Le Monde Fish Bar and Grill has chosen Birmingham to open a new restaurant, the first outside of it's Cardiff restaurant. 


Le Monde general manager Simon Howard said they had chosen Birmingham after extensive research, in part because of its growing reputation as a dining destination.
“We looked at several cities as sites for a new Le Monde but Birmingham impressed us because of the tremendous culinary reputation it has established and its ever growing business community,” he said. 
“It’s an environment where people appreciate quality food and features all sorts of restaurants and styles. Birmingham has an enormous variety of restaurants that suit all levels and tastes and I think we will slot in quite nicely.”
http://www.birminghampost.co.uk/business/business-news/bar-le-monde-fish-restaurant-6915076

The restaurant will be located at Brindleyplace on the Central Square adjacent to The Water's Edge and joins a rich mix of food offerings in Brindleyplace and the city overall with all budgets and tastes catered for with over 200 places to eat in the city centre alone.

A directory of restaurants enabling you to choose by cuisine type can be found at Explore Birmingham

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