Browns Bar and Brasserie

So its hard for me to properly rate British restaurants as I don’t have much experience with them yet. But I will say I really enjoyed Brown’s.
My partner and I had a reservation for afternoon tea on a Saturday. They offered an option with Hendricks gin to accompany the standard afternoon tea offerings. The restaurant appeared to be very crowded and noisy downstairs. We checked in and were quickly led upstairs to our table.
Upstairs was less hectic but still noisy. A server came over quickly to explain a few things about the menu. It took a bit longer than expected to receive our tea and gin, but judging by how busy they were I found it acceptable.
Each of us received a tea pot with loose leaf tea which tasted fine to me. But I am American, so my tea opinion may not be worth much… The food consisted of standard crust free sandwiches like egg, salmon, and cucumber. I found them all quite tasty! We each had a fruit scone with cream and jam. Yum yum! The dessert offering seemed lacking compared to other afternoon teas I’ve experienced. It was 3 different items. I can’t remember what they were at this point so ill just post a pic. But my partner enjoyed them all.
Although a chain restaurant is probably not ideal for afternoon tea, it seemed pretty affordable at £24 for two. I left feeling very full. Many people around us ordered lunches and the food looked fantastic. The drink menu is also pretty impressive. I would love to go back for dinner and some cocktails. Yes the service was slow and it was super crowded as it was a Saturday in the Bull Ring. However, I will definitely be back at some point to try out the regular menu!

I have been waiting to visit Browns in Birmingham for quite some time. I have previously visited the Oxford and Bristol restaurants and had a brilliant experience at both. When i heard there was one being built in Birmingham I was most excited. Browns is a standard good food brasserie that doesn’t try too hard to be anything different other than just very good quality.
We went for lunch for my birthday with both my fiancée and my parents. I had pretty much decided before I arrived that i was after a Steak so that is what i ordered. This was all on a starter and main menu for £10 which I thought to be great value.
For a starter i ordered breaded mushrooms which was perfectly portioned and very delicious. The wait between the starter and main was a little longer than I would have liked but not excruciating, it was New Years Eve and they were quite obviously quite busy.
The main arrived for 3 out of 4 of us but I was brought the wrong dish entirely, I was handed a Steak sandwich instead. Of course I sent it back and they promptly apologised and advised me that they had sent me someone else by accident (not sure how that comes about) and 5 min later my Steak arrived. I did request it cooked medium rare but it seemed medium to me perhaps nearer medium to well done. I have a small suspicion that I was given someone elses to make up for the mistake but I obviously cannot be sure of this.
There was also a small incident where I ordered a second glass of lemonade and was given soda water instead, when I sent that back it took about 15 min for it to come back to me.
I think perhaps I am giving Browns a fair bit of elbow room after the above mistakes however the quality of the food made up for it. I would definitely return again, I would like to try out the evening menu possibly. I just wouldn’t want to see these problems pop up again as i may have to amend the review score if so.

The last time i had been to Browns was a couple of years ago and had loved it so was looking forward to introducing some friends to it for a (very) early festive night out.
Browns is located opposite St Martins in the Bullring which at this time of the year looks particularly stunning lit up by spotlights and xmas decorations. Its a sight which never fails to get me into the xmas spirit. And talking of spirits… we decided to go on a Tuesday evening because they have a wide range of their cocktails on offer at £5 each (usual price approx £7).
I initially emailed the restaurant to book as i wanted to know if some guests could eat from the festive menu and others from a la carte (we are a picky bunch at times!). No reply to that email so i had to ring them a few days later. Unfortunately we werent allowed this option so settled for a la carte.
When the first members of our party arrived they were shown to the bar area and settled in with aforementioned cocktails to await the rest of us (late due to appalling taxi service — review already posted!!). When we all arrived we were seated at a downstairs table — personally i prefer upstairs however one of our party was disabled so this wasnt an option). The only issue i have with downstairs is that many of the tables are at the front of the restaurant, due to the position of the larger bar area, which give a stunning view of St Martins but are subject to rushes of freezing air as the front door is used — not so good at this time of year!
Service initially was friendly and efficient however our starters took a long time to arrive and the restaurant was not that busy. Once they arrived they were lovely. Four of us had opted for a sharing platter (x2) which included a diving tempura battered pickle. Nomz! Other guests had scallops and the feuillete of mushrooms — all got good reviews.
For mains i had slow cooked salted pork belly which was melt in the mouth. It came with buttered mash and braised cabbage (could definitely have done with some more veg). Other friends had steak, fish & chips, pan roasted cod and beetroot & goats cheese tatin — again all had good reviews. I did however feel sorry for the vegetarians amongst us as the choice was somewhat limited.
Some people had desserts, which looked lovely, but i was somewhat full. The bill, including alcohol came to £300 for 7 of us which wasnt too bad. A further plus side is that the staff ordered taxis for us that arrived swiftly and picked us up very close by.
All in all a lovely evening and meal but i have knocked off stars for a slow service, not replying to initial email and a poor vegetarian option. That said if i could give ³¹⁄₂ star i would as the cocktails are fab :)

Browns Bar is one of the additions to the back of the Bullring, looking out over St. Martin’s church and the markets below. It is a stylish and comfortable place to go for drinks and food and is a good addition to the area.
I’ve visited a few times now at various times of day and each time I’ve had a good time. The staff are on the whole friendly and attentive, and the atmosphere is nice and quite relaxed (although it can get busy downstairs in the evenings).
Browns offers a good selection of classic dishes and the prices are pretty reasonable. I’ve tried plenty of dishes, from Full English brekkie (fairly standard), to salads. One meal in particular stands out; I had a melt-​in-​the-​mouth pork belly main and a mountainous helping of Eton Mess for afters and both were absolutely delicious. My most recent visit was a preview evening of the new bar snacks and cocktails menus. The yummy new bars snacks I sampled included hot scotch eggs, mini pork belly bites, gourmet cumberland sausage rolls, tempura prawns and more.
Browns has a great cocktail menu, offering classics alongside some interesting concoctions. On my last visit I tried a ‘Rose Garden’, a really fresh mix of Hendrick’s gin with rose and rhubarb syrup, violet liqueur and lemon (love my floral flavours), among many other drinks!
Browns often have special dining offers for you to take advantage of, so it’s worth keeping an eye on the website/​twitter feed if you’re thinking of visiting. I’ve taken advantage of dinner deals and breakfast discounts in the past.

The first time I went to Brown’s it felt a bit stodgy and old-​fashioned. I don’t know what happened, but I’ve been back a few times since and had a wonderful experience. The service is always great, and the food, though generally composed of quite simple dishes, is always of very good quality. The restaurant itself is attractively decorated and arranged, though it sometimes feels a bit noisy in the evenings. Overall, very good.

Lovely place but slow service.
I have visited this place a couple of times on a Sunday for their lunch. I found the food to be perfectly acceptable, but expected slightly better for such a nice bright, and smart venue. A table upstairs is probably the best for lunch. Downstairs can get a little packed and the piano playing can be a little loud!
The menu has a selection of roasts, pasta, fish and various pies though isn’t extensive. Today I only wanted a salad as it was such lovely weather. I didn’t feel like anything else, but they only had one on offer, so went for fruit salad instead (£5). I wanted a champagne cocktail too, but they had run out of the this. Having said that, the wine selection seems pretty good and it was nice to sit out on their balcony area and enjoy the weather.
The staff were very friendly but service there has always been a little too slow for me.

Dinner at 5pm on Wednesday 30 oct. nice setting table for 2. Five or so other tables occupied quite a limited menu when we had both sat down and read it. Decided on flatbreads one goats cheese and one pulled pork A bottle of Malbec red. £19 which is ok. Was a bit tannin on the tongue but once sipped with the food was palatable.
Pork flat bread very light on the meat. But heavy on the Barby sauce which was a bit cloying. Goats cheese flatbread with nice pile of rocket was delish. An ok dinner. Wouldn’t necessarily rush to go back but all fine.

My first visit to Browns was a pleasant one. Food was lovely and quite reasonable. I was a little worried it was going to be expensive as there were no prices on the menu. The staff were great, very friendly. We didn’t have to wait long for the food to arrive. I was dying to have a little play of their baby grand piano but i thought i might clear the place especially if i started singing. :)

First time dining at Browns. Very impressed with the swift service and the quality and presentation of the food. The chips were lovely and hot and fluffy and I chose the duck salad which was prepared to perfection. Dining atmosphere was great too!
Will be going again this week.