It’s that time of the year when you try to catch up with friends that you haven’t seen for a while. It’s also that annoying time when it can be difficult to book a table in a restaurant in the city.
Everybody is out in Birmingham. Mostly to make it to the overrated Christmas market or shop for the last bit and bobs before December 24.
I wasn’t avoiding the mass, but I am glad the first option of a restaurant we had in mind, never replied to my “book request”.
So, we headed to the Natural Bar and Kitchen, a vegetarian restaurant that is not exactly so far from the city centre buzz, but that is certainly a good choice when thinking about vegetarian food.
It was fairly easy to book a table for the busy Saturday before Christmas. I have already visited this restaurant before and I remember its excellent buffet choices. But I was also happy to see that they have a Christmas menu too.
The place is cosy and that day it was fairly empty. It’s a spacious and well-lighted space with big windows to practice some people’s watching if you fancy.
The music is quite pleasant (it was all about Christmas songs, as you can imagine) and the staff is also friendly.
My friends tried the food from the buffet, which is a mish-mash of wonderful meat-free and plant-based yummy food. Buffet restaurants are a hit in Brazil. But I think it would be great to have more options here in Birmingham too.
How does it work?
1- Grab a plate
2- Fill it with your choice of food
3- Weight and pay at the bar
4- Order your drinks when you pay
It’s quite straightforward, as you can see. And according to my friend, there is a famous onion bread to die for. But it’s also worth trying the menu as well.
The Christmas menu caught my eye. It’s always good for vegetarian restaurants to put together a festive menu as well.
I asked for the Xmas Open sandwich with cranberry sauce, homemade mayo, tofurky, crispy onions, cranberries and homemade stuffing in sourdough and to drink a bottle of cherry kombucha.
It was a quite big sandwich that could be easily shared with someone else. I am not very keen on stuffing, but the combo tofurky and cranberry worked quite well. It feels like Christmas.
Dessert | Medicine Bakery
For dessert, we have visited Medicine Bakery on New Street. I haven’t visited the place before, but I heard good things about it. To start with, this artisan bakery and café is located in a beautiful building that also works as a gallery.
The building used to be the Royal Society of Birmingham Artists.
It’s a gorgeous space to go for breakfast, lunch, brunch or dinner. The concept is bringing cultural and social events into a space where you can also eat ethical and artisan food.
The bakery is an inviting space where you can find vegan cakes, superfood bars, kruffins +cronuts, sourdoughs, brownies and lots of other craft baked delicious. It’s a little gem in the city centre, to be honest.
I just loved the idea of sitting down in a unique building with my espresso and a gorgeous key lime cronut. It’s a perfect spot to take your friends for some sugar-fixing and chat in the afternoon. Just lovely.
