Purnell’s Bistro & Ginger’s Bar

I’m only reviewing the bar here as I’ve not eaten in the bistro.
Gingers is a nice spacious bar with plenty of standing room and they seem to have added some more seating over the last few months so getting a seat has been no problem the last couple of times I’ve been in (unless I just happened to have timed it well).
They have put a good amount of effort into making the cocktails interesting which has paid off, even the ones that are on the happy hour menu pack a good amount of flavour, they aren’t the second class citizens that they can be on some.
Prices, particularly during happy «hour» (which runs for a good chunk of the evening) are pretty reasonable considering the location.
Staff behind the bar are friendly, efficient and clearly know what they are doing.
All in all this is a good stop for any cocktail crawl in the area (or if that walk to the Jewellery quarter is just a bit far to do in one go), or just a nice place to get a good drink and have a natter I’ll hopefully be back soon to see how the food holds up.

Stunning meal & atmosphere was fantastic. It’s always a pleasure to take friends here with out fail they impressed us all. Staff food and again atmosphere is second to none.

I have been unable to try the bistro but I am a regular at the Ginger’s Bar. I do really enjoy the cocktails (especially when it is happy hour ;)) The staff are more than willing to suggest a cocktail according to your tastes, the last time I visited I was even given a free cocktail: D. The only thing that bugs me is that the seating area is rather small so it gets full really quickly.

The best burger in Birmingham! The burger on the bar menu is definitely the best you can get in Birmingham, with a glazed brioche bun and patty made of pork and beef. Also, the bar offers two for one cocktails are weekday evenings, which are excellent. The menu is extensive but the bar staff are always happy to recommend a particular favourite.

Amazing cocktails, pretty pricey. Good as a post work meeting place for a catch up as no tunes but perfect for chatting. Food really tasty and good value.

We had a voucher for lunch at Purnell’s Bistro.
We’ve been in and eaten bar food and had cocktails before but never eaten in the bistro proper.
So, at 1:30, we turned up to claim our table as arranged. A lovely waitress sat us down, brought prosecco (as per voucher) and menus.
The Bistro has a nice casual feel, just formal enough, classy but no need to dress up.
Service was nicely attentive, smiley and friendly.
The menu has some interesting choices. I settled on the ham hock starter and Belly pork (love well cooked belly pork). Bread was fresh and tasted great with the whipped butter.
The ham hock was delicious, served with a beautiful mint oil and and pea salad, mmmm. My friends had the confit duck and the smoked salmon. Both good but there’s no doubt in my mind, the ham hock is the dish to go for.
The belly pork was excellent, succulent without any overpowering fattyness (is that a real word?). The accompanying noodles, with soy and chillies were tasty and the chinese greens cooked to perfection. Friends had corn fed chicken (nicely cooked but just chicken) and the haddock fishcakes (terrific).
We did have a bit of a wait for our main courses. Other tables around us seemed to be being served quicker so we asked the waitress and dinner turned up. As the wait wasn’t too long we thought no more of it. However, when we asked for the bill, a very nice man came over to apologise for the delay. He was open and honest (a lost order ticket) and offered a round of drinks in compensation.
Sadly we didn’t have time to accept the offer but we were very impressed with the apology. It was refreshing for someone to admit that they hadn’t met their own standards and accept responsibility for that. Well done.
The cost of all this? less than £20 per head!
Pretty astonishing given the quality.
Will definitely be back.
Oh yes, the cocktails deserve a review of their own. Try an old fashioned plum daiquiri, you won’t regret it.

Lovely cocktails:)
Had such an amazing night last night at the Langleys No.8 gin tasting for the Unilocal May event! –Thank you Vicky!
It was such a great setting — Gingers Bar, just off Newhall street is the much more casual (though still very classy!) sister venue to Purnells restaurant round the corner.
The food here is delicious and they often do good lunchtime deals. At the moment I notice Sunday dinner of three course is £17.
The bar itself has some interesting looking cocktails — the Monkey nut is one that I will come back to try;) They do a happy hour between 5 – 8 so maybe that’s a good time to choose:)

I’m not a bar fan to be honest, however recently visited here for a hen do and was very impressed. The place is very well decorated, smelt great, bathrooms were extremely clean! Staff were very polite and friendly, in fact as we were all wearing ‘hen do’ sashes, the manager came over and said he’s happy to accommodate us if we had any requests and took some groups pictures for us.
The non-​alcoholic cocktail menu was great, they had quite a few options… loved tibbelts cup, you could taste all the different flavours. All of the drinks were well presented in cups varying all different shapes and sizes and even a jam jar in one case lol, all had a massive chunk of fruit on the top so was really interesting to look at.
Street parking is available, so definitely worth a visit if your in the area :-)

Having been a regular cocktail-​drinker at Gingers for some time now, I thought it was about time to sample the bistro’s menu.
With the choice of a full a la carte menu or the Prix Fixe menu (3 course for £20) I opted for the former due to a lack of selection on the later.
It was actually quite difficult to choose what to have. I don’t think I’d tried anything on the menu before and I was rather excited about sampling new delights and things out of my comfort zone.
For starters I selected Potato Rösti — Black Pudding — Poached Egg Yolk — Bacon Dressing, followed by a main of Honey Glazed Pork Belly — Smoked Bacon Mash — Creamed Cabbage — Glynn’s Sausage Roll. Although the food itself tasted amazing, I have to say I wasn’t that impressed with the portions and actually left feeling hungry.
I think for a special occasion Gingers is a fantastic location to take that special person. But if you’re after a hearty meal, unfortunately this isn’t it.

Purnell’s bistro keeps the same feel of elegance and class as its big brother but without the price tag. Soft lighting and clean lines throughout allow you to forget you’re just on Newhall Street and whisk you away into a moment all about food and company.
The seasonal menu changes regularly and on a Sunday you can pick up a three course Sunday roast (boldly claiming to have the best roast spuds in Birmingham — I’m yet to try them but will be sure to update my review when I do) for just shy of £20.
We ate off the seasonal menu and I started with the rabbit and chicken presse (I think that means thick cut pâté) followed by the fillet of sea bream served with a potato and gruyère gratin, butternut squash purée and roasted baby onions and leeks. The sea bream was cooked to perfection as was everything else. Not being used to this fine dining malarkey the portions seemed a little on the small side but were sufficiently filling for lunch.
The service was top notch, as was the presentation of the food. The only downer was that, when booking, I had mentioned to the member of staff on the phone that we were celebrating our anniversary and if they could do anything special for us that would be excellent. Not even a mention of happy anniversary from the gent that seated us. I would have thought that for an establishment that prides itself on its reputation that this wouldn’t have been too much to ask.
Needless to say I will be back to sample the Sunday roast and the apparently lovely cocktails from Gingers Bar.

Ok. so now I can officially update my review to include the Bistro! After the failed Valentines evening (see yesterdays review), it was the biggie on Sunday. The 6 year anniversary. Dan (the clever boy) had clearly thought ahead and bought a voucher for us to have dinner at Purnells Bistro. He had also booked (as a bit of a surprise) and mentioned it was a big day for us; so we were expecting great things.
We turned up promptly for our booking at 1:30pm. All was present and correct and once the voucher was handed over, there were no problems whatsoever. We were seated in the mini snug area (to the left hand side of the bar), which was perfectly intimate for the occasion.
After our jackets were taken, we were presented with two menus. As we had booked on a Sunday, we were offered a bonus! On Sunday’s the restaurant does a «special menu» (under £20 for 3 courses); but we were also offered the standard seasonal menu. If we had chosen to go for the Sunday menu, we could have 3 courses (despite our voucher being for two) but once I had seen the black pudding starter — it had to be the seasonal.
For the starter, I opted for the potato rosti served with a poached duck egg yolk, black pudding and a bacon dressing (I’ll be honest, it was the bacon dressing that did it for me). For the mains I decided on the belly pork with bacon mash (again, bacon mash). Once our order had been taken by the incredibly friendly and polite staff, we were bought our glass of Prosecco (as included in our voucher) and presented with a basket of home baked bread. The whipped butter on the table combined with the delicious bread really got our appetites started and we waited in anticipation for our main.
The venue itself is neat and classy and not at all pretentious. The staff were all really lovely and checked on us regularly (without being overbearing or rushing us). Once the first course had been bought over, it was on. I have no complaints whatsoever about my starter. The black pudding was cooked well, but not dry and the combination ingredients worked like a dream together.
My belly pork main was also lovely; but I was a bit disappointed that my «Glynn Purnell» special sausage roll was burned on the bottom. However the mash, meat (the crackling was particularly fine) and dressings were perfectly complimentary to the dish and it was enjoyed immensely.
The meal and location was lovely. I had two disappointments though… 1) the burned sausage roll and 2) the fact that although Dan was told on the phone they would do something special for us, it was never mentioned or delivered. It was a big day for us and something a little celebratory would have been the icing on the cake.
I would recommend a trip to Purnell’s Bistro. The main menu is quite pricey (my main would have been around £17.50), but head down on a Sunday for their roast and you will still get top quality food at a more affordable price.

Ginger’s looks good on paper. It should work. But somehow, it’s not quite as posh as it thinks it is. (Maybe it was the drunken, middle aged businessman singing at the top of his voice that made me think this). It just seems a little too contrived, and a bit bland and characterless. It’s ‘quite nice’, the drinks are good, the service discreet. To be fair, this place’s reputation is based on its cocktails, and I must confess, I haven’t had a cocktail there yet. Maybe that would blow me away and change my mind for me…

All evidence to the contrary in the last week but I’m not a cocktail person! OK, it’s not my thing but I absolutely appreciate the appeal of this place.
The décor is modern, nothing unique but definitely going for glam. I thought it would be bigger but apparently the dining part of this place is behind closed curtains, or so I’m told.
Since the invite was for cocktails, I got drawn in and spent many minutes deciding on one, as there were several people before me and cocktail making is painfully slow.
So, as I say, after much deliberation I chose one and promised myself I’d sip it really really slowly over an hour.
Then I finally got served and I was told they didnt have it.
So I had a beer

A stylish cocktail bar bang straight in the centre of town with loads of space to stretch out and non snooty friendly bar staff. I’m going back.

I used to walk past this place all the time and i’m sure previously it was a cupcake place and a sandwich place in another life. Having been yearning for a proper cocktail bar in Brum for ages I feel like this unassuming bar may be my new go to place.
Yes, I like novelty cocktails as well as classics with a twist and whilst the mix of the two in one bar hasn’t really been successfully managed here in Brum yet I feel like this is a good start.
As you approach Ginger’s it’s dark surrounds do make you question if it’s open until you see the people inside.
What i love about their cocktail menu is the section that whilst labelled ‘The Gentlemen’s Companion’, it isn’t about excluding the women but rather about making many men feel more comfortable with cocktails.
The key to any good cocktail aside from the skill and mixing but it’s also good quality alcohol and you get this here. On an aside what is not to love about a place that has a cocktail called The Wonder Stuff?

Although not recognised as the go-​to bar on the scene, this quirky little venue offers stylish surroundings that are perfect for a pre-​Saturday night out on the town.
We often choose to start our evening here as we can sit and enjoy a bottle of wine whilst actually being able to talk to each other. There is always music on in the background and a classy, elegant vibe from the moment you walk in.
Price wise, it’s not the cheapest of bars but when you go out on the weekend you kind of expect a bottle of wine to be around £15+ and beers from £3.50.
The bar staff are pretty easy on the eye which is always a benefit and they always seem to be on hand to chat too whilst you wait to get served.

This place is the definition of the word «smooth». It is easy to miss the unassuming entrance on Newhall Street, but once inside you will be transported to a sleek and chic world of mixology magic.
Ginger’s is clearly on a mission to bring back a bit of old-​school glamour to the burgeoning Birmingham cocktail scene. There isn’t a single sweetie inspired drink on the menu, instead it is packed full with innovative, and sometimes odd, concoctions for those who like their liquor to taste like liquor.
The Rattle Snake Margarita regularly sends me into raptures, as does the Scorched Lemon and Vanilla Margarita. My other half swears by the Penicillin — Monkey Shoulder with lemon, honey and ginger balanced by the merest hint of smoky Laphroaig. The Sunday Roast cocktail is sure to get people talking, trust me when I say that lamb, rosemary and roast potatoes really work in this rum-​based delight.
I took a group of out-​of-​town friends to Ginger’s, we happily spent drunken Saturday afternoon working through the extensive menu and soaking up the laidback ambience.
A drink will set you back around £7.00, but the newly introduced Liquid Economics means that most drinks are £4.50 between the hours of 4−8pm.