Cheap eats in Birmingham
Bao for £6.50 on Church Street, eight kitchens under one roof off St Paul's Square, burgers on Shaws Passage and a falafel bowl for under seven quid. How to eat well in Birmingham for not much.
By Only Birmingham Editorial
The best cheap eat in Birmingham is a £6.50 bao at Tiger Bites Pig on Church Street, hand rolled and steamed that morning. The best cheap night out is Saint Paul's Market in the Quarter, eight kitchens and around 500 seats under one roof. Add burgers on Shaws Passage in Digbeth and a Middle Eastern breakfast for under seven pounds, and you can eat very well in this city without thinking about the bill.
Tiger Bites Pig, Church Street
Tiger Bites Pig has been at 30 Church Street since 2018, cooking Taiwanese-inspired food with almost everything made in-house: the kimchi, the pickles, the slow-braised meats. The menu is simple. Bao are £6.50 each: red braised pork belly with pickled mustard greens and peanuts, braised beef shin with a cured egg yolk, roasted Sichuan lamb, or Taiwanese fried chicken. Five fried dumplings are £7.50 and a plate of fried chicken with crispy holy basil £8.50. Two bao and a portion of wolves teeth fries at £5.50 makes a proper lunch for under £20. Coming as a pair, the set menu for two is £45, which covers two bao, two dishes, a trio of sides and rice. The chicken can be halal. The kitchen runs noon to 9pm, Monday to Saturday.
Saint Paul's Market, Jewellery Quarter
Just off St Paul's Square, Saint Paul's Market is the food hall the city centre needed. The line-up: Detroit-style pizza from Corner Shop Pizza, Persian meats cooked over fire from Colbeh, BBQ Thai small plates and curries from Soi, bao and BBQ from Tiger Bites Pig, burgers from Original Patty Men, Indian street food from Indian Cafe Racers, cinnamon rolls from Oak & Roll and gelato popsicles from LA-POP. Order from any kitchen through the QR code on your table and it all comes to you. It is cashless, mostly walk-in, and dogs and kids are welcome. Doors open at noon Wednesday to Sunday. Kitchens close at 9pm midweek, 9.30pm on Friday and Saturday and 8pm on Sunday, so do not leave it late. Stag and hen parties are turned away, which is a point in its favour.
Original Patty Men, Digbeth and Stirchley
Original Patty Men has been on Shaws Passage in Digbeth for ten years, and it is still the burger the rest of the city is measured against. Order the Cheezy-E, an aged beef patty with American cheese and Boss Man sauce, or the Alabama Slammer, deep fried free range chicken thigh with lime and ginger slaw. The Vegan One uses crispy fried tofu. To mark the decade, OPM is running ten collaborations over ten months, each served only in Digbeth; check the current menu before you go. Digbeth opens Wednesday to Sunday, from noon at the weekend. The second kitchen is at The British Oak on Pershore Road in Stirchley, open Tuesday to Sunday. Next door in Digbeth, Kilder at 5 Shaws Passage pours until late, so make an evening of it.
Damascena, all over the city
Damascena is the cheapest good breakfast in Birmingham. A breakfast falafel bowl is £6.85, an avocado sourdough smash £6.75 and a za'atar cheese toastie £6.95; a flatbread on the side is 20p. Shakshouka, at £9.65, is the top of the range. There are branches on Temple Row West, Warstone Lane, Alcester Road in Moseley, Harborne High Street and Hagley Road, open from 9am Monday to Saturday and 10am on Sunday.
Medicine, New Street
Brunch at Medicine can climb past £15 a plate, but the cheap end of the menu is good too: a bacon sandwich on brioche or sourdough is £6.50, sourdough with eggs any way £8.50, and a grilled cheese with Monterey Jack, mozzarella and Red Leicester £8.50. It is up the stairs at 69a New Street, open every day from 8.30am to 5pm.
How to eat for under a tenner
- Breakfast: falafel bowl at Damascena, £6.85.
- Lunch: one bao and a portion of dumplings at Tiger Bites Pig, £14 for two dishes, or one bao alone for £6.50.
- Quick bite in town: a bacon sandwich at Medicine, £6.50.
- Dinner: a table at Saint Paul's Market and one dish each from a different kitchen.
Know before you go
Much of the city's cheap food is closed on Monday and Tuesday: Saint Paul's Market and OPM Digbeth both open from Wednesday, so plan the start of the week around Tiger Bites Pig and Damascena. Saint Paul's Market fills on Friday and Saturday nights and everyone queues to get in, even if friends already have a table, so arrive before 7pm.
