Tag Archives: vegan friendly in Birmingham

The Warehouse Cafe, now with added Vegan friendly beer and wine. 

Posted in beer, Birmingham, Cafés and Restaurants, City Centre, Craft beer, Independent, Independent Birmingham, vegan, vegetarian, Veggie foodie, Wine by

  

  
The Warehouse Cafe has always had a special place in my heart. For many years not long after I first became Vegetarian (27 years ago) I used to frequent it often with veggie friends. The veggie burger was a huge favourite as was the potato wedges and desserts which were back then vegan friendly. There weren’t many places to go, in the city centre it was the one and only! Over the years it’s changed hands a few times but has always stayed similar and offered deliciosly good value vegetarian and vegan food. Now things have changed, but for the better. 

Vegan friendly beers and wine are now more popular than ever. Look in the supermarket or good wine shop and you’ll see more available than ever before. 

This summer marks three years since The Warehouse Cafe reopened the doors to Birmingham’s original Vegetarian restaurant and cafe. 

After a successful application for an alcohol license a new drinks menu will be introduced over the next few weeks. 

In order to stick to a completely Vegan friendly range and keep the environmental impact to a minimum the real ale and craft beer will be supplied by local Birmingham brewers Two Towers. 

The beers on offer at The Warehouse are Complete Muppetry, Electric Ale, Hockley Gold, Bhacker Adams, and a special craft beer Come on Feel the Noize- in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Birmingham band Slade. 

The wines will be supplied from independent merchants Underwood Wines who are based in nearby Stratford-upon-Avon. 

Try the drinks with dishes such as Digbeth Daal, The Warehouse Burger, Refried Bean Quesadilla, Halloumi Fish and Chips or ancient grain risotto. 

I’m looking forward to giving the beers a run for their money and walking down memory lane again as i always do when I visit. 

   
   
   
    
    
   
 http://www.thewarehousecafe.com

http://www.underwoodwines.co.uk

http://twotowersbrewery.co.uk/

Thanks for reading, 

Andy😊

Thanks to Darren at Two Towers for the beer images and info re beers. 

What is Vegan Friendly? 

It is during the filtering process of wine or beer that the non-vegan and vegetarian part usually occurs. For beer this part of the process is usually only reserved for cask ales, where Brewers use finings to clear away excess yeast suspended in the beer. Finings are also used in the production of wine. Animal derived products include most commonly islinglass. A form of collagen obtained from raw fish bladders. Finings don’t remain in the finished product, but by using finings that are not animal derived, such as Irish miss it adheres to the core principles of veganism and vegetarianism. 

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Winter menu review: An 1847 Christmas in Birmingham. 

Posted in Birmingham, Cafés and Restaurants, Christmas, City Centre, Colmore business district, Independent, Lunch deals, Organic, vegan, vegetarian, Veggie foodie by

  

What does Winter mean to you? A cosy fire, warming comfortable food, deep intense flavours, Christmas, Milky sunshine, snow?

 In 1847 (the year the vegetarian society which Bistro 1847 takes its name from was formed) Winter was very different, but had for some those comfy elements. For others poverty and cold filled the darkening destitute days with a penniless existence. There was fog in London, Famine in Ireland, times were hard and a Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens had been written four years before. 

For me, food is best comforting, warming seasonal and filled with the intensity of deep flavours and cheerfully rich colours that only a Winter time dish deserves. So you’ll find root vegetables, cabbage, red onion gravy, kale and hearty mash on the menu. 

Bistro 1847 are in full on expansion mode. Openings recently in Bristol and Brighton supplement the Manchester and Birmingham restaurants. Dishes served with contemporary flair and passion which just happen to be Vegetarian with good Vegan options and menu make 1847 unique in Birmingham. With a neighbourhood feel in the city and cocktail list its charming. 

I visited with my parents and brother to try the new Winter menu’s delights, one mild lunchtime. 

We enjoyed two courses, a main and a desert. 

   

Merguez and Mash: 

Spicy Puy lentil sausage, turnip and sage mash, red onion gravy.

A hearty vegan friendly main course, big flavoured, spicy, a deep intense gravy. It’s comfort food at its best. It’s simple in design, almost traditional, but those hearty slightly exotic flavours pack a punch that creates a harmonious wintry and Christmas memory lane delight of a main. 

To accompany it I enjoyed a glass of decent house red that worked, bringingout the deep flavours of the sausage and red onion gravy.


  

  Chocolate and Pear:

Soft ganache, port poached pear, gingerbread, mulled wine gel. (Vegan)

A gem of a pudding, and the best I’ve tasted at 1847. It felt luxurious and with a deep and full flavoured port poached pear which set off the soft, dark chocolatey ganache,  it was heavenly, creamy (but no cream) and made me think, can I have some more please? 

    ‘Fish and Chips’

Ginger ale battered Halloumi, triple cooked chips, savoury lemon curd, green pea and Basil. 

A Bistro 1847 signature dish that my brother lapped up. A variation on the norm due to the added ginger ale. Cheese heaven! 

  

My parents also had the Merguez and mash. They said it felt like winter on a plate. 

  
  A welcome to Winter

  
  Cheese board. 

My Dad enjoyed his British cheese plate for desert, which he said was a good size with the right amount of varied biscuits. Local to 1847 they come with grapes and homemade chutney. Nice cheeses. 

 

A trip to Bistro 1847 is a refreshing and inventive experience for Vegetarians and Vegans. When the classics are spun into another more modern realm of intricacy, simplicity and beauty then Winter feels more 2015 than 1847. Dishes are more precise, but not less indulgent and comforting for it. With the core elements of familiarity and comfort 1847 have taken the season and made it now, but with a certain doff of the cap to the past. It is on this level where it succeeds and in its discovery where appetites are more than satisfied. 

Thanks for reading 

Andy 😊

Disclosure: We paid for our own meal at Bistro 1847. My views are my own and honest of my experience of the dishes eaten. 

   
 

Click to access b-menu.pdf

Click to access b-menu-desersts.pdf

Bistro 1847, 26 Great Western Arcade, Birmingham B2 5HU.

http://by1847.com/

Two courses on the winter menu cost £19.50 and three cost £25.