With more Michelin-starred restaurants than any English city outside London and a diverse cultural heritage, Birmingham provides a veritable melting pot of epicurean culture. Home to one of the first vegetarian restaurants in the UK and a number of famous food brands, this is the perfect time to discover the feasts Birmingham has to offer.
Since the 1940s, Asian restaurants have been a feature of Birmingham’s dining scene. Abdul Aziz opened the first curry restaurant on Steelhouse Lane in 1945 and, in fact, the city is believed to be the birthplace of the Balti—a British-style curry served in a steel or iron pot. Today, over fifty Balti restaurants line the streets of Ladypool Road, Stoney Lane and Stratford Road, an area known as “the Balti triangle”.
Meanwhile in the Southside Birmingham is home to a thriving Chinatown. It contains a number of Chinese restaurants as well as the headquarters of Wing Yip, one of the largest Chinese supermarket suppliers in the UK. It is also the location of the first Chinese restaurant in Birmingham—Tong Kung—which opened here in 1956.
The city is also a great place for food markets. The Birmingham Wholesale Markets are the biggest in the UK with 31,000 square metres of stalls. They date from 1166 when Lord of the Manor, Peter de Birmingham, obtained a charter that decreed a market could be held in his castle. His early markets are what began the growth of Birmingham as a city and today the wholesale markets receive 13,000 customers a week. Or visit the suburb of Moseley for its famous farmers’ market, which was voted the best in the UK by FARMA in 2009 and 2012. Here, you can pick up local and organic meat, vegetables, fish, preserves and baked goods from stall holders who are incredibly passionate about their produce.
Historically, Birmingham is renowned as the home of a number of British classics. HP sauce, Cadburys, Bird’s Custard, Typhoo tea and Bourniville Cocoa all originated here. Visitors can discover the history of the chocolate empire in Cadbury World, and sample the chocolate too.
In the summer months, Birmingham plays host to various food festivals, including the BBC Good Food Show at the National Exhibition Centre—Britain’s biggest food event. There is also the Birmingham Food Festival in July, which includes a chilli festival (with obligatory chilli eating contest!) and family foraging walks to learn about the food lurking around Digbeth’s canals.
For fine dining, there are also plenty of restaurants in Birmingham. With three Michelin starred restaurants—Purnell’s, Simpson’s and Turner’s—and many other critically acclaimed places, a trip to the West Midlands is sure to help you find something to suit your palette.
Jesse Wallace writes for a digital marketing agency. This article has been commissioned by a client of said agency. This article is not designed to promote, but should be considered professional content.
