Ort Cafe

I’m a big fan of Ort Café. Located on the Moseley Rd. opposite the rather grand baths and beside the old art school, it’s in a great location for a bit of sight-​seeing.
Ort itself is located in an old industrial building and there are artists’ studios in addition to the café. The café space is small and really cosy and comfortable. There’s a nice bar area where you can order food and drinks. There’s a range of hot drinks (herbal teas, coffees etc.) on offer, as well as a menu of tasty vegetarian dishes. On my last lunchtime visit I went for a masala paneer gyros — a pita filled with spicy paneer cheese and salad — which was really nice.
Ort host numerous events throughout the year, from language classes to gigs, clubnights to comedy nights, and the atmosphere always seems really warm.

Josie owns it and has been very encouraging with my Art and music. I am playing a show here on Wednesday June 10^th. 8ish. Excited x

Is this a little piece of European Bohemia transported to Balsall Heath, or what? An independent vegetarian café, art gallery and music venue, Ort has it sussed. I should really eat here soon, though I usually find myself here on an evening after I’ve eaten to listen to music. An informal performance space, it’s a popular venue for bands and singer-​songwriters on small record labels who like to play to small and attentive listening audiences.
Tea is a stand-​out good-​value drink at around 50p. Wine, ale, lager and spirits are available, but predominantly tea seems to be the drink of choice.
Owner Josie is always behind the counter, and she has an admirable hands-​on approach, booking acts, feeding them and publicizing the many activities Ort holds. Language classes, exhibitions, film showings, Swap Shops (you exchange an unwanted item for something you could use: One man’s trash is another man’s treasure), make this place worth of the title of a compact arts centre.
Make yourself stumble upon this treasure soon.

Ort café is a great community café. Like sitting in soneone’s kitchen, the teas and coffees are standard but very very cheap (and you can get fairly cheap ale, too). Ort is fantastic for the arts with a fun music scene and many activities going on every day of the week.
This really is far more of an arts community than a café, and for that it’s great!

I finally made it to the much talked about Ort Café.
On the main street in the bit that goes between Balsall Heath and Moseley, this little space is also used for events and I heard about it initially through people that ran a little fashion show here. Indeed Ort isn’t just a café, it’s an artist community — and art & community café.
The friendly Ort Café staff are the first to say it’s not the best coffee in Birmingham (my reputation obviously preceded me!) but this place is cheap as chips with tea under £1!
There’s also loads of hot comfort food such as baked beans on toast as well as cakes! All the furniture is donated so it is random, as seen in lots of places these days to get that retro feel. I like that they serve coffee in mugs (also donated and random) and it’s great place to borrow the WiFi and work from if you’re in the area.

Though the Ort Café does serve food and drinks like an ordinary café, there is much, much, more going on than this. Ort Café has an impressive line up of events on the go, many of which are free and volunteer run. They put on language classes in several different languages, run classes in philosophy and the sciences, put on small gigs by local musicians, provide free space in which local artists can exhibit their work, and probably a load of other stuff that I’ve forgotten about.
Anyway, back to the actual café. Last time I was in there I had pasta with wild garlic pesto, the wild garlic was locally sourced and the food was delicious. I can’t remember what type of cake I had, but that was pretty good too. The atmosphere in the café is laidback with an almost continental feel — no one’s in a rush to make you spend your money, which is nice. Work from local artists decorate the walls and a football table adds novelty.
I think that Ort deserves support because of what it’s doing for the local community. The world would be a better place if there was an Ort style café in every area. However, it’s also a very good (and cheap) place to eat and relax in. Well done guys!

I went to Ort specifically for a music event set up by SOUNDkitchen, which unfortunately didn’t quite work as well as anticipated. As much as I love SOUNDkitchen events (and café Ort), the sound was too minimal, meaning that you could mainly hear the busy traffic on Moseley Road, and the 50 bus going past outside. I am, of course, going to return to experience some of their other events.
The overall aesthetic of the café really captured my imagination, and I socialised naturally and easily amongst the inviting customers and staff alike. The café was excellent at catering for live performances (apart from the outside sounds) and sold some delicious cakes, herbal teas and a great variety of alcohol to complement the night. I also love how the space used to be an abandoned Print Works, which adds to the overall character of its new transformation. The place is a real secret boho wonderland, and offers a constantly changing menu to surprise and suit everybody.

I’d hate to start by labelling this colourful corner of Balshall Heath as just a café as I found it to be one of the most dynamic centres for the arts (and everything in between). The place was shrouded in mystery for me as I had already begun to ‘follow’ it on the appropriate social networking sites and the width and breadth of its programme already had me beyond excited. I asked my friend what three words she’d use to describe the Ort Café and she pensively produced ‘bohemian, colourful, inspirational’. A hearty bowl of vegetable soup, toast and a chai latte is certainly not enough to glean even a fraction of what this place has to offer. There’s at least a game of Connect 4, Simpsons Trivia and a Maths puzzle to go. On a more serious note it is definitely worth a visit it you’re in the area (500 – 506 Moseley Road) especially if you’re looking for a homely atmosphere with a side helping of live music/​book clubs/​language classes/​the list continues…

Although the counter top and sliding door are permanent features at Birmingham’s latest cultural delight, don’t expect to walk into the same Ort (German for space) twice.
With ever-​changing exhibitions; language, arts, maths and science workshops, not to mention live music acts and daily specials on the menu… Ort cannot really be appreciated until you’ve made at least one return visit.
Serving a vegetarian menu hardened meat eaters may grumble, but for a light lunch or tea and cake Ort provides a relaxed but eclectic environment and offers a lot for very little (Tea from just 50p).
For more information, pop in and visit Ort at 506 Moseley Rd, Balsall Heath, Birmingham or visit: