*This website contains sponsored posts & affiliate links

Best independent food in Birmingham

As you may know, as a Birmingham food blogger I’m always on a mission to find new places to eat in Birmingham, especially independent restaurants and cafes with a variety of vegetarian and vegan meals to indulge in.

Although exploring Birmingham’s growing food scene and dining out in the city can get expensive so for some like me its, not something I can do as often as I’d like.

So, to help local foodies and independent places to eat in Birmingham, BigDish has launched an app to bring people back into restaurants to fill up empty tables and get you a saving of up to 50% off the food bill making it a win-win scenario for local businesses and customers.

To make great savings on local restaurants all you need to do is download BigDish on iOs or Android set your location and search the variety of venues listed on the app.

Sian Victoria © - BigDish app

Once you’ve found a restaurant, simply book a reservation by selecting which discount and accompanying time you want along with your chosen date and how many people the table needs to be reserved for. Then ta-da! Your table is booked, and you’ll receive an email and text as confirmation to show staff on arrival so that you can claim offers of either 25% or 50% off your food when each person has bought a drink.

Since BigDish is new to Birmingham and they’re adding new restaurants to the app each week, they invited me to pick three venues so that I could personally test the app and see how easy it is to book reservations and claim discounts at a variety of independents in the city, two of which I had never been to so it was great to explore new foodie places to eat at.

1. Natural Bar & Kitchen

Sian Victoria © - Vegan food, Natural Bar & Kitchen, Birmingham

When I spotted Natural Bar & Kitchen a vegan restaurant in Birmingham on the BigDish app, the savvy shopper in me may have gone ‘YAS!’ out loud as it’s a vegan food restaurant I visit a lot because I just love everything the independent has to offer from its hearty plant-based menu, incredible desserts, rustic interiors and just general laid-back vibe. So, it's not the first time Natural Bar & Kitchen has been featured on my blog.

On a Wednesday afternoon, I booked a table for two at 2.30 pm which enabled me to claim a 25% discount. After being shown to our reserved table, we browsed the main a la carte menu and picked two drinks and went to the desk to pay. To ensure the discount was applied to the bill I mentioned the BigDish booking number and that was it, we received 25% off our food.

Sian Victoria © - Vegan hot dog & burger, Plant-based restaurant, Birmingham

Sian Victoria © - Vegan hot dog & burger, Natural Bar & Kitchen, Birmingham

My vegan dish of choice was ‘the natural burger’ with a ciabatta bun stuffed with a black bean patty, tomato, baby gem lettuce, red onion, cashew cheeze, homemade vegan mayo and served with Himalayan salted fries. Without BigDish the meal would have been £11.95 but instead, I paid £8.96.

While my partner opted for the ‘vegan hot dog’ (£9.95 before discount) made with a vegan wiener sausage topped with American mustard, mayo, ketchup, crispy onions and sauerkraut in a pretzel baguette and fries on the side. He upgraded for cheeze & jalapeno toppings for £1.30.

As usual Natural Bar & Kitchen didn’t fail to disappoint so they’ll be seeing a lot more of me now I can claim a great discount on plant-based food and effortlessly book a table as it can get very busy at times.

2. Penny Blacks

Sian Victoria © - Pennyblacks, Canalside, Wharfside St, Birmingham

Next on my BigDish foodie tour of Birmingham was Penny Blacks located Canalside at the Mailbox. I picked this venue from the app firstly because I had never been and secondly who doesn’t love a restaurant with neon signs and a menu based on pizza, burgers and hotdogs accompanied with a variety of lively cocktails. It's certainly a great place for cocktails in Birmingham.

We booked a table for two at Penny Blacks for 3.30 pm to take advantage of the 50% discount. So, with two mocktails at £4 each our food bill came to £20.95 making it a great deal for dining in Birmingham city centre.

Sometimes, I dine alone so the great thing is you don’t have to be dining with someone to get the discount, as long as one person each buys a drink the offer will apply to all food items from the al la carte menu.

Sian Victoria © - Pizza, Burger & Cocktails, Pennyblacks, Mailbox, Birmingham

Sian Victoria © - Vegetarian Burger, Pennyblacks, Mailbox, Birmingham

To accompany our refreshingly fruity No-Mojito and Pomegranate Breeze drinks I ate ‘The Allotment’ pizza topped with roasted red pepper, mushroom, caramelised onions, sun-dried tomatoes, basil and mozzarella which is usually £12.95 but was only £6.48 with the BigDish app.

While my partner got his chops around the ‘Falafel + spinach burger’ topped with guacamole and sweet chilli sauce with a side of fries and coleslaw which is also priced at £12.95 before the discount.

The service we received was great and as the generous sized pizza defeated me, they were more than happy to put it in a takeaway box so I could eat the rest at home. Penny Blacks have a fun atmosphere with music being played on large screens and a snooker table, so just as we were leaving it was filling up fast with people enjoying after-work cocktails.

3. The Gin Vault

Sian Victoria © - The Gin Vault, Tapas food, Canal Edge (off, Gas St), Birmingham

A short walk along the canal not far from Penny Blacks at the Mailbox you’ll find The Gin Vault located inside a historical building just before the bridge and path leading to Brindley Place. Inside you’ll find a relaxing atmosphere with rustic interiors and fairy lights making it a lovely place to escape to on the evening and with over 350 gins to choose from you’ll be spoilt for choice.

To go alongside experiencing the many gins available I booked a 5 pm reservation to claim 25% off their tapas menu which is organised into veggie, fish, meat and gluten-free making browsing the menu with dietary requirements straightforward.

To accompany our Edinburgh ‘Frankie & Myrth’ and ‘Plum & Vanilla’ gins (average price £7 for single gin with tonic) we ordered the vegan Moroccan balls, pardon peppers, patatas bravas, roast vegetables and bread & olives to get a feel for the vegetarian tapas menu available at The Gin Vault. But there is also halloumi & chilli jam, Spanish omelette with mushrooms and mac & cheese bites to indulge in.

Sian Victoria © - Vegan Tapas food, The Gin Vault, Canal Edge, Birmingham

Sian Victoria © - The Gin Vault, Canal Edge, Birmingham

Our evening at The Gin Vault was perfect with its romantic atmosphere, extensive gin menu and some of the tastiest tapas food in Birmingham, so I’m already planning to visit again but with my Mom and Sister during the lead up to Christmas as they are obsessed with gin so I know they’ll love this hidden gem in the city, especially with it being canal-side under the bridge giving it that Peaky Blinder vibe at night.

To conclude

So, there you go. These are just three of the great independent restaurants in Birmingham available on BigDish right now. But it’s not just for use in the city centre there are a lot more locations to choose from as there is money to be saved at a variety of venues around the West Midlands and several other UK cities too.

Featured