For those who live in and around Moseley, you will no doubt have heard about the new refurbishment that has taken place in The Village.
I had seen plenty of posts about the opening night in October and reviews of meals enjoyed at The Village and was eager to come along and try it out for myself. And so, yesterday lunch time, we drove 25 minutes to the other side of Birmingham to have some lunch.When we arrived, we were happy to find the pub/restaurant had a large car park. Thankfully we had some change on us – it is £2 to park for 3 hours so do make sure you have some change on you as it has no card machine attached.
We were immediately impressed with the exterior of the venue, it was bright, modern and contemporary. I fell in love with the tiling and the use of white alongside the wooden decking, really gave it a bright, light, welcoming feel. Don’t worry about the cold autumnal nights either as there are outdoor heaters to keep you warm.
There is also a distinctive outdoor/indoor bar area which can be hired out for private events. I was obviously so busy nosying at this area, that I forgot to take a picture – oops.You can access the restaurant via steps or a ramp, so perfect for wheelchairs and pushchairs.The wow factor started outside and it continued as we ventured inside the restaurant.
High ceilings with beams and industrial style lighting, plush suede chairs in blue and dusky pink, green and white/cream walls, log burners and lots of greenery. This is a restaurant that gives you a luxury feel without over the top prices.
For those who like an intimate meal experience, the restaurant has a number of booths. We were happy to be shown to one for our lunch.
With the large windows, plenty of trees outside and greenery around the restaurant, you didn’t feel as if you were in Birmingham. Instead, for just that moment, you were somewhere leafy.We browsed the drinks menu and our very attentive and friendly waitress came over to take our order.Mr Trips went for a craft cola, whilst me and Jemima decided on mocktails.
Jemimas was a crafted mocktail by our waitress, who asked J what her favourite juice flavour was and went back to the bar to create one which was orange based and had two jelly sweets at the bottom which J was incredibly happy with.I opted for the Tropical Colada. “Like a Pina Colada but without the alcohol and chance of texting your ex”. Whoever came up with that in the drinks menu gets a big kudos from us. It made us giggle. The flavour was tasty and for £4.50, I was impressed.Once our drinks had arrived, we got to work on ordering our food. Jemimas meal deal (£5.50) included a starter of fresh crudités.
I ordered a small portion of Nachos for £6. Mr Trips ordered the Chicken Wings in a bbq cola sauce but sadly they had run out, so he joined me in having a portion of Nachos too. In hindsight after seeing how huge the portions are, we could have shared just one portion between us. That said, I ate all of mine and started on hubbys guacamole which was delicious, so maybe I couldn’t share. Ha!
The Nachos were cajun spiced with manchego and cheddar cheese, guacamole, sour cream, salsa and jalapeños. I did leave the jalapeños, but that’s because they are too spicy for me and I am a wimp when it comes to spice.The flavour of the food was perfect. It was so nice to eat homemade nachos, rather than a bag of nachos served on a plate with a handful of toppings. These nachos were fresh, full of flavour and a good sized portion of fresh, tasty toppings.
I decided on the Beer Battered Halloumi (£12.50) for my main meal. It came with the chunkiest chunky chips I think I have ever had (all cooked through and fluffy inside), crusted peas (light, and not mushy in any way), fresh lemon wedge and green olive tartare (which was divine). The beer battered halloumi was like heaven on a plate. It wasn’t too thick, it wasn’t chewy, it was just perfect. Exactly as halloumi should be. This is a dish I definitely recommend.
Mr Trips went for The Village Burger (£11) which consisted of an 8oz beef burger, cheese, bacon, brioche bun, burger sauce, lettuce, tomato, skinny fries and slaw. He told me it was really nice, the bun was slightly more cooked than he would usually like but the taste was great and he would have it again.
Jemima went with Fish and Chips which she chose to have served with rice and peas. The menu for children was varied and covered all tastes and dietary requirements. We were impressed to see options like chicken xim xim and falafels on the childrens menu too.
The variety on the adults menu was great too; Woodfired pizzas, King Prawn Xim Xim, Superfood Salad, Halloumi Burger, Steak…
For dessert we found (a tiny bit) of room in our second belly (everyone has one of those, aka a pudding tum, don’t they?).
Jemima and her Daddy both went for the Cinnamon Churros (£2 for children, £5.50 for adults). The adult portion was 5 churros tossed in cinnamon sugar, topped with mini marshmallows, chocolate sauce and ice cream.
I am told they were delicious, light and fluffy and incredibly moreish.
I chose a Pavlova for £5 which was light, tasty with a twist of poached peaches on top of the meringue nest, covered with chantilly cream and compote. It was so nice that Jemima also couldn’t resist trying it and soon had her spoon in it.
We were really impressed with our visit. The decor and ambience were great, food was tasty with huge portions, decent prices and we received fantastic customer service.
This is the venue to go to for date nights, catch ups with friends, work lunches, birthday get togethers, office nights out, family meals. Basically, it is such a versatile space, that it would suit anyone. Even dogs are welcome in the bar area – how great is that. And it is not often I want to include the toilets in my review, but even they had the wow factor.
The Village have a number of offers on, if you check out their website including;
Meat Free Mondays with 25% off of your bill if you do plant powered dining.
NHS 25% off, Monday to Wednesdays when showing your NHS work card.
2 for Tuesday Pizza! Woodfired no less.
Thurs Supper Club : 2 courses; 2 people and a bottle of wine for £40.
Kids Eat Free (under 11s) Mon – Wed 3:30pm – 6:30pm when a grown up spends £10.
Bottomless Brunch: Saturday full of food, friends and endless drinks. 2 hour sitting includes 2 courses of homemade breakfast/lunch options, alongside unlimited fizz, cocktails and gin. Booking essential. £25pp.
Disclaimer : We were kindly invited along to The Village. Thank you. All thoughts and opinions are entirely our own.