Bite Your Brum

Reviews, Recipes & Ramblings

Menu
  • Home
  • About Bite Your Brum
    • Who is Bite Your Brum?
    • Contact
    • Social
  • Reviews
    • Restaurants
    • Bars & Pubs
    • Cafes & Coffee Shops
    • Delis & Takeaway
    • Pop ups
    • Hotels
  • Events & News
    • Events & News
    • Competitions & Giveaways
  • Ramblings
    • Ramblings
    • Recipes
  • BYB Travels
  • Contact
    • Contact Me
    • Social
Menu

A very mixed bag of brunch @ The Alchemist

Posted on January 20, 2018February 27, 2018 by Laura

Sundays are the best. The Husband and I usually spend ours eating and abusing our Cineworld Unlimited cards; last Sunday was no exception. Before making the trek over to the cinema (located somewhere between Broad Street and Mars) we decided to ditch our usual go-to spots and grab brunch at The Alchemist on Colmore Row.

I don’t usually frequent this place much, largely because I hate crowds and because I’m too old to fight men in suits for a drink at 6pm on a Tuesday. However, come a Sunday morning this bar-come-restaurant has a much calmer vibe, and is full of tired mid-30 folk like me just seeking a decent plate of food and shelter from the cold.

The food

We grabbed a booth just off the bar area and checked out the breakfast menu. The usual avocado-based fare is available, and there’s some healthy thing called overnight oats which I’m sure that Joe Wicks chap would approve of but does bugger all for me.

After a round of coffees (early minus points for the ridiculous handleless glasses) and juices had been delivered, we ordered a breakfast each plus another one to share – because I’m a greedy lard bucket and Ian’s easily led. The food arrived quickly (no doubt because the place was rather quiet) and initially looked decent albeit in portions that could be more generous for the prices.

My Smashed Avocado with Poached Eggs and Bacon (£9) came served on a thin slice of sourdough toast and sprinkled with a handful of sliced spring onions and red chillies. The latter isn’t mentioned in the menu description but works, and overall the flavours are well put together.

Unfortunately, the poached eggs were over cooked for my taste (and probably most people’s) and I missed the golden yolk popping over my toast – which ironically wasn’t really cooked enough.

Our sharer of Mish Mosh (£7) smelled inviting as it hit the table, combining chorizo, spinach, mushroom, cheese and broken eggs to form a messy but tasty brunch dish. A single slice of toast is included to scoop up the contents, which collectively tastes pretty good despite looking a bit like a breakfast that’s been dropped on the floor and put back in a skillet.

It’s a very small portion of food – thanks to a deceptively wide yet shallow pan – and I doubt many would find it satisfying as a solo dish. We both struggled to muster much excitement for this.

Finally, Ian’s Steak and Eggs (£12.75) arrived served with hash browns – it didn’t however have any eggs. Yes, really. The waitress seemed as confused as us but quickly returned with the full dish and an apology. Served well done, instead of pink as requested, the steak wasn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination (especially given the price tag) but at least the two rogue fried eggs oozed nicely at the touch of a knife.

Even Ian (who rarely moans about anything, let alone meat) admitted the meal had fallen a bit flat with almost everything lacking in seasoning. He went as far as to call the steak tasteless.

A hit and (largely) miss breakfast with room for improvement; the dishes were edible but far from exceptional although the coffee and table service – despite the ridiculous egg faff – were good.

I don’t feel the food justified the price tag on this occasion, especially with so many better places yards away. Pop round the corner to Urban for all things avocado based, or try Damescena for a different style brunch; both offer big portions and value for money.

I won’t be back for breakfast again, and it’s not made me want to try the main menu. A pretty underwhelming experience.

The Alchemist, The Grand, Colmore Row, Birmingham, B3 2DA

Disclosure: I paid in full via a credit card that’s seen better days. All words and photos are mine

You may also like this

Share this post

2 thoughts on “A very mixed bag of brunch @ The Alchemist”

  1. Hungry Harriet says:
    January 18, 2018 at 9:09 am

    My favourite line out of this whole post is: “because I’m a greedy lard bucket and Ian’s easily led” hahaha! Can totally relate. Shame about the sub-standard steak! xx

  2. Laura Casewell says:
    January 18, 2018 at 9:11 am

    For £13 you’d want it to at least taste of steak wouldn’t you?! Haha and as for the egg debacle… the more I think about that brunch the more of a shambles I remember it was really. Won’t be back.

Comments are closed.

Follow Bite Your Brum

Visit Us On TwitterVisit Us On InstagramVisit Us On Facebook

Where/what are you looking for?

About Bite Your Brum

I'm Laura, a 30-something Brummie foodie with a big appetite. A lover of all things edible, Bite Your Brum includes reviews of Birmingham restaurants, cafes, diners, pop-ups, bars, and everything in between. Want to work with me, let me know your suggestions, or send me cheese? Email me.

Follow BYB On Instagram

Something is wrong.
Instagram token error.

Follow BYB On Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/biteyourbrum

Follow BYB on Twitter

My Tweets

As Featured By

Popular This Week

  • Midweek supper | Opus, Cornwall Street
  • A week of food and drink in Birmingham #11
  • Cheese Fest at The Bond returns for 2019
  • Fried chicken from Salt and Earth | 1000 Trades, Jewellery Quarter
  • Dim sum and Chinese small plates | Tattu, Barwick Street

Be Inspired

avocado beef beer bread breakfast brunch burgers cake cheese chicken chinese chips cocktails coffee curry dessert digbeth dinner drinks eggs fish fries gin healthy indian italian lamb lunch meat noodles olives pasta pizza prawns rice roast dinner salad salmon sandwiches spicy steak street food tapas vegetables wine

What Do You Want?

  • Bars & Pubs (78)
  • BYB Travels (12)
  • Cafes (52)
  • Competitions (3)
  • Delis & Takeaway (13)
  • Events (66)
  • Hotels (28)
  • Pop ups (25)
  • Ramblings (111)
  • Recipe (13)
  • Restaurants (136)
  • Review (184)

Follow BYB

Visit Us On TwitterVisit Us On InstagramVisit Us On Facebook

Looking for something specific?

From the archives

© 2019 Bite Your Brum | Theme by Superb WordPress Themes