Places to Eat in Brindleyplace, Birmingham

Food and bars in Brindley Place

Brindleyplace (you will see it written Brindley Place just as often) is the canalside quarter behind Broad Street, built around Oozells Square, the Ikon Gallery and the water in Ladywood, just west of the city centre. Most of the Brindleyplace restaurants and bars face the canal, and that is where we are: a Chinese restaurant and cocktail bar on The Waters Edge, open from midday every day. Whether you want a quick weekday lunch, dinner before the ICC, a long weekend brunch or a late drink, the food and the bar are under one roof.

On the canal, not near it

Plenty of restaurants claim a waterside spot. Ours actually is one: the terrace and front tables sit directly on the towpath at The Waters Edge, a two-minute walk from the central square and next door to the National Sea Life Centre. In summer the outdoor terrace seats go first, so book your table ahead if you want one, and say so on your booking note.

What makes the menu different

The kitchen cooks modern Chinese food built for sharing, with bold flavours and a dining experience that feels like an occasion. Dim sum is made in-house: XO prawn, scallop shui mai with tobiko, Shanghai pork and chive dumplings and pan-fried prawn dumplings. From the wok and the grill come slow-cooked aromatic crispy duck, firecracker squid, Zhengjiang spare ribs and black truffle roast duck. Vegetarian and vegan dishes run right through the menu rather than sitting in a corner of it, and dishes made from gluten-free ingredients are marked; for anything else, speak to your server on the day. Leave room for dessert: Thousand Layers of Delight with homemade vanilla bean custard, or mango pudding with tapioca pearls and mango sorbet. Menus change through the year to use the freshest seasonal produce, so there are usually seasonal dishes to try.

See the food menu

A proper lunch in Brindleyplace

If you work around the square, the weekday lunch menu is the one to know: £22.50 a head, Monday to Friday from 12pm to 4pm. Start with crispy chilli wings, a BBQ belly pork bao or the crispy lotus salad, then move on to Sanpei chicken, Mongolian lamb, chilli paneer or monkfish gochujang with rice or noodles. It is quick enough for an hour away from the desk and good enough for a client lunch.

See the lunch menu

Restaurants and bars on the water: cocktails at Lulu's

Lulu Wild is a cocktail bar as much as a restaurant. The classics are done properly (Pornstar Martini, Espresso Martini, Old Fashioned, Lychee Martini) alongside house creations like China Silk, Lucky Dragon and Fortune Cookie, some of them served with dry ice and a bit of theatre. On Friday and Saturday nights the bar pours until 2am, so you do not need to move on to find a late drink in Brindley Place.

The cocktail bar in Brindleyplace

Bottomless brunch on the canal

Friday to Sunday, from 12pm to 4pm, brunch here means two courses of Chinese plates and 90 minutes of unlimited Prosecco, Pornstar Martinis, Lychee Martinis and mocktails for £45 a head, with a Champagne upgrade if the occasion calls for it. Weekend tables are worth reserving early.

Bottomless brunch menu and prices

Working in Brindleyplace?

Team lunches, client dinners, celebratory dinners and leaving dos are our bread and butter, or rather our bao and dumplings. The signature set menus make ordering for a group painless, and for something more private there is The Nest for around 30 seated and The Hideout upstairs with its own bar for up to 80.

Private dining and group bookings

Getting to Brindleyplace

From New Street station it is about a ten-minute walk through Victoria Square and Centenary Square, then down to the canal. The tram stops on Broad Street, a few minutes away, and the Brindleyplace multi-storey car park on Brunswick Street is a two-minute walk. Once you are on the canal, follow the towpath to The Waters Edge and look for the neon.