A few months ago I put out a post on my blog about The Physician on the Calthorpe Estate within Edgbaston Village. It is now open for business.

The building was once known as the BMI building and used to house the vast ‘Sampson Gangee Library for the History of Medicine’. But its heritage goes further back and is steeped in history. It is believed it was commissioned in 1863 when the Calthorpe Estate expanded to accommodate a huge population growth from the turn of the 19th century. 

 The building oozes historical grandeur; it’s high ceilings and large sash windows create beautiful rooms of all shapes and sizes which lend themselves perfectly to becoming a beautiful pub.

There is now a huge reclaimed wooden bar at the heart of the building, housing 8 local cask ales, with plenty of room for a 50 strong wine list and array of spirits. 

The bar overlooks a large wooden floored room, perfect to house the hustle and bustle of drinkers in front of the open fire. Just right for Winter.

It’s Off this area that you will find smaller rooms to squirrel away in if you choose to have more intimacy or you can opt for the light and airy garden room that we have created overlooking the flag stone walled terrace garden to the rear of the pub. There are also 2 rooms that can be used for private dining, both comfortably seating 16.

Lisa Rogers is at the helm as the General Manager, hailing originally from Southampton, she has worked within pubs since the tender age of 18, spending over 20 something years behind the bar and the last 12 of those in London as a pub manager. She jumped at the chance to run the Physician as it will enable her to live out 3 of her loves, great wine, good food and a love of history, as well as bringing her to her boyfriend Noel’s hometown to be closer to friends and family.

‘’The locals seem to be delighted with the transformation, everybody is bowled over by how much the building has changed. We have received so many positive comments and are loving getting to know our neighbouring residents and business people, some of whom we have seen almost every day since we opened.

The loveliest moment so far has been our first day when I opened the door at 5 o’clock to find a queue of people waiting to get in. And once inside everyone was keen to get a full tour around the building, something we are still doing often.

We’ve seen a good number of dog walkers, taking advantage of our fire side seats in the bar and are inundated with business lunches which just shows what a thriving place Edgbaston Village is’’.

Brunning and Price prides itself on building local relationships with suppliers, it’s up to the local management team to decide the line up on the bar and much of this is driven by customer suggestion. ‘’The most popular beer so far for us has been Silhill Purestar which comes from around 10 miles down the road in Solihull.

The menu has a fairly good split across all the dishes as people experiment to find their favourites.’’

For Vegetarians the menu includes:

Spiced butternut squash and sage soup, deep fried Cornish Brie with pickled cranberries and candied pecan salad, 

Hereford hop, leek and balsamic onion Quiche with new potato salad, Crisp tarragon, polenta salad with roasted peppers, aubergine, and smoked paprika ailoli.

Cauliflower and Sweet Potato biryani with lentil curry sauce and red onion bhaji and Pumpkin, spinach and Worcester blue cheese pie with roasted buttered kale and port gravy.

There’s also a menu for Sunday roasts, but no mention of a veggie option. 

“Customers seem to enjoy seeing our vast selection of over 50 gins and 80 something whiskies, so once we have settled in a little we will begin to pull together a calendar of tasting sessions where customers can come along to meet the brewer or distiller. First of all though, we will concentrate on welcoming as many people as we can through the door to celebrate Christmas with us’’.

Looks an excellent addition to Birmingham’s and Edgbaston’s informal dining scene. With the added bonus of been in a stunning and grand building.

Hopefully the food quality matches the decor. 

Thanks for reading, 

Andy 😊

Brunning and Price are a group of 57 pub restaurants that were founded in the North West of England and North Wales, however, through popular demand and with the assistance of an A to Z we have now ventured further afield and have a substantial branch of the family in the South.

Each pub has its own style and flavour, though you’ll find good cask beers, freshly cooked food, decent and affordable wine and a good shelf of malt whiskies throughout. We like to think we run informal places for people who like to meet, eat, drink and talk in a relaxed friendly atmosphere.

http://www.brunningandprice.co.uk/physician/

http://www.brunningandprice.co.uk/physician/menus/daily-menu/

Web: http://www.brunningandprice.co.uk.

36 Harborne Road, Birmingham, B15 3DH.

0121-2725-900