#10(ish)YearChallenge Have you been to Kings Heath Lately?

Posted On January 27, 2019

The Best Places To Eat In Kings Heath

The Birmingham suburb of Kings Heath is a place with many happy memories for me, not many of them food related though. The main reason for this, is that there just wasn’t much to get excited about food wise in Kings Heath back then. Sausage, beans and chips from the greasy spoon at the back of inshops was the highlight of a long day being dragged around Woolworths, Safeway and other shops that are now long gone.

Now Kings Heath is a completely different place and there are so many seriously good places to eat, it would be tough to choose the best place to eat in Kings Heath.

*One of the best places to eat in Kings Heath*

It was 2014 when I first sat up and took notice of the first hint that Kings Heath would go on to be the little foodie paradise it is today. My sister phoned me to say, “have you seen that French bakery in Kings Heath & Moseley?” When I told her, I hadn’t she pointed me in the direction of an ITV Series called ‘Britain’s Best Bakery’ where a little bakery called Maison Mayci had made it all the way to the final, and I really needed to try it.

So, I did, and Maison Mayci has been a favourite of mine ever since. Great coffee, fresh pastries, several different kinds of freshly baked bread and some of the best little tartlets I’ve seen, what’s not to love? Maison Mayci’s ‘Tarte au Citron’ is sooo good I find it near impossible to walk past the charming little shop without being tempted in.

Kings Heath wasn’t the first place that came to mind when considering somewhere to get a decent hearty brunch, but with the modern and stylish Bloom, that has changed. We finally got around to trying Bloom on a cold Saturday in December, and the hot aromatic coffee and warming comfort food soon took our mind off the weather outside.

The menu has a great little selection of dishes which changes regularly, ranging from the traditional fry up to the less conventional eggnog porridge. So much so that choosing what to eat became a very difficult decision, and after all the studying I eventually ordered two dishes. Crispy but succulent duck, on a bed of creamy smooth sweet potato mash topped with crispy onions and a fried egg with a yolk just waiting to erupt and perfectly finished off with a dense fragrant broth that I enjoy so much I nearly take the pattern off the plate trying to scrape up every drop of it.

I could quite easily have settled our tab and left a very happy fatty, but there was no way I could pass up the chance of trying eggnog porridge. Probably more a dessert than brunch, its impossible not to smile when presented with this creamy porridge with a hazelnut puree, prunes and mini gingerbread men that instantly drew jealous glances from the other diners.

Bloom is well known for its excellent coffee and after a few flat whites I can vouch for that. Carl who was with me opted for a coffee I’d not seen before, ‘pour over coffee’ a drink that took coffee to a whole new scientific level. It made for a lighter more delicate drink but just as delicious.

Good Food X Good Coffee is the proud headline on their website, this is way too modest. Bloom is one of the first places that comes to mind when thinking of the best places to eat in Kings Heath.

*Another one of the best places to eat in kings heath*

There are other places on my list to visit in Kings Heath that I haven’t got to yet. Byzantium serves Mediterranean style tapas and comes very highly recommended by some of my foodie friends. Also recommended is bar & bistro Fletchers. With home cooked food and a great selection of drinks and cocktails in a relaxed environment, Fletchers is somewhere I will be trying very soon. Fletchers is the sister venue to one of Kings Heaths favourite places Kitchen Garden Café. Kitchen Garden is a cracking little cafe serving great home cooked food, and regularly hosting pop up events and live music. They also have an amazing deli so you can take their excellent food away with you.

Fresh on the Kings Heath foodie scene, and instant favourite of mine. is the incredible The Early Bird Bakery. Created by pastry chef Tim and two business partners, The Early Bird serves delicious cakes, pastries and savouries baked in house daily, using the finest ingredients sourced locally where possible.

Another great place to get coffee in an area where we are now spoilt for choice, for great coffee. I enjoyed a cracking flat white. I strongly recommend the apple and custard brioche muffin and the lemon and lime meringue with the perfectly balanced citrus, that covers a short and delicate pastry base topped with a cloud like meringue.

Another little favourite of mine is The Rainbow Cantonese restaurant at the bottom of Kings Heath. No airs and graces just tasty Chinese food in a relaxed, friendly restaurant, just a good little neighbourhood place worth a visit if you’re in the area.

The food scene isn’t the only thing that’s changing in Kings Heath, with a couple of new openings adding to the legendary Hare & Hounds. There’s never been a better time to go drinking in Kings Heath.

One of those recent openings being The Juke, a cosy little bar on York Road offering a fantastic selection of real ales, lots of them from the expanding number of Birmingham breweries. They also have a classic style juke box, and often host food pop ups like the great folks from Indian grill Zindiya and Ramen hero’s Koba-Ko.

Another recent addition to the independent bars in Kings Heath is Hop & Scotch situated just off the high street, serving great real ale and craft beers from local and national breweries. With a bottle shop promised for early this year.

If you’re not keen on beer, and wine is more your thing, then Grace + James is for you. The bar has an ever-changing wine list that focuses on natural and organic wine and a small deli menu of olives, cheese and breads to accompany the wine. Grace+James is another fantastic addition to Kings Heath.

There’s far more food and drink related things to do and explore in Kings Heath, more than I can list here. We have done a podcast episode to accompany this, about everything we like about Kings Heath which you can listen to by clicking the play button at the top. Hopefully we’ve done enough to entice you all to visit Kings Heath and its amazing places to eat and drink, and maybe you will be more successful then I, in deciding the best place to eat in Kings Heath.

Websites

Bloom-

https://www.bloomkingsheath.com

Byzantium-

http://www.byzantiumtapas.co.uk

BlackLab=

https://black-lab.co.uk

Early Bird Bakery

https://theearlybirdbakery.co.uk

Fletchers bar & eatery

https://www.fletchersbarandeatery.co.uk

Grace + James