Vegan-friendly
Lacto
Western
Beer/Wine
British
Its 3rd location, opened Sept 2013. Modern vegetarian British food served with wide range of beers, wines and cocktails. In 2015 it dropped the "Bistro" from its name, now just 1847. Confirmed closed, Jun 2019 - reopened as Land.
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Great Western Arcade, Colmore Row, Birmingham, England, B2 5HU
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Last update on 16 Nov 2019 by KonradAdams
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Added by Janey.m on 28 Sep 2013
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27 Reviews
First Review by Janey.m
veganchinese
Points +24
Very nice - Edit
Thank you, we have really enjoyed our meal.
Read moreGuest
JamesHarrington
Points +11
Almost entirely bad - Edit
Apart from the service and the cleanliness of the toilets, the experience was a disaster. The food is unhealthy, there is too little of it and furthermore it just outright tastes like [censored]. I thoroughly DO NOT recommend this restaurant.
Read moreGuest
lizipfe
Points +272
So close but yet a little too far - Edit
My partner and I had three courses, the stand out was definitely the celeriac tagliatelle starter which i could have eaten a main size portion of! My main of swede rosti was a touch too oily and was a bit lacking, it needed something to take it to another level. My partner's main of slow cooked duck egg was rich and comforting but lacked colour (I say a meal isn't a meal unless there is something green on the plate). Desert (hay panacota) was just ok, not something I would rush back for though it was interesting choice of flavours. Service was ok and meals are explained but I was surprised how busy it was at 6pm on a Saturday and they could have done with an extra pair of hands. This place is so close to the mark in terms of Vege fine dining but with some elements of dishes not quite there yet. Note that if you have limited mobility and can't climb stairs well be sure to book a table downstairs.
Read morePros: Interesting flavours, Great vegan and gf options, Great choice of non alcoholic drinks
Cons: Not all plates seem complete, £5.20 for a bottle of water
Guest
hollyjf
Points +20
Superb fine vegan dining - Edit
Absolutely excellent food, great wine and a fabulous host. New favourite restaurant!
Read moreGuest
MayraVivoTorres
Points +128
Delicatessen - Edit
This is probably the most upmarket vegan food I have eaten in the country. Full of flavour and new ideas with superb presentation and service. I hear a change of name coming now that the chef is taking over ownership of this branch of 1847. Hopefully it will not be lost in HappyCow’s map since it is a little jewel.
Read morePros: Gourmet food , Presentation , Service
Cons: Some think portions are small, More vegan & gluten free combined options needed!, Small scale so sometimes dishes are missing
Guest
Delzina
Points +83
Delicious!! - Edit
The food is great!!! Really filling... the staff are so friendly and accommodating!! Wonderful place for a vegan night out!!
Read moreGuest
Alisonc
Points +735
Lovely intimate restaurant - Edit
Took some vege sceptics here and we all really enjoyed it. I had the porridge, Dahl and chocolate pudd with blood orange purée which was delicious. 2 courses £20 3 courses £26.
Read morePros: Vegan options , Nice atmosphere , Attentive staff
Guest
JosieKirbyMoore
Points +113
Fancy and tasty! - Edit
A lovely range of items on the menu in a petit and cosy modern setting, right in the city centre.
Read moreGuest
Edent
Points +557
Excellent Value For Money - Edit
Every mouthful was a treat. At £22 for two courses we thought it represented excellent value for money.
Read moreVegan beer was available, and reasonably priced. The cocktails were also quite delicious.
Service was friendly and attentive - although the restaurant was fairly quiet.
Pros: Delicious food, Range of vegan and vegetarian, Excellent price for the quality
Guest
EmmaWebb
Points +34
Mixed reviews - Edit
So I had been wanting to try 1847 for as long as I can remember but I was quite disappointed and probably won’t be going back.
Read moreWith regards to the food, I actually felt that some of the flavours didn’t merge together all to well - particularly in the crispy tofu. There was too much of the sauce underneath and it was overpowering. Otherwise the tofu was well executed. The tofu scallops were tasty too but could have benefitted from the incorporation of Nori somehow to give them a “fishier” taste.
As regards the layout I thought the restaurant looked great. The table arrangements were less than desirable as, when you are seated downstairs, you can end up sitting right next to the door or about two inches away from the next table. Otherwise it was cute and quaint but would benefit from bigger premises.
Service wasn’t great either. The waitress was good but waiter was loud, did hardly any work and was on his phone quite obviously for most of the time we were in there. It’s an hour and half turn around per table too. I appreciate that smaller restaurants value that but I felt very rushed to eat three courses and left feeling pretty uncomfortable from rushing my food. Maybe consider a half hour extension?!
All in all I’m glad I experienced it but when I have the options available that I do now, I think I’d go elsewhere if given the choice.
I’m not much of a complainer but honesty is the best policy I guess.
Pros: Tasty food, Nice decor , Good location
Cons: Tables too close together , Minor staffing issues , Not great value for money
Guest
thomquinoa
Points +202
Great restaurant, plenty of vegan options - Edit
This is a posh restaurant in old Victorian arcade, would be perfect for a date. Many vegan options. Great quality and taste. Often doing good deals for Birmingham Vegans and supporting Veganuary. Would love to see them go 100% vegan.
Read moreGuest
Broadside
Points +21
Grave disappointment - Edit
After reading good reviews I tried this eatery with my partner, and feel obliged to pass on a caution to others. We almost walked away after being confronted with a white box, which far from being elegant was cheap and unimaginative; like much of the food. Pre cocktails were awful: as though a child had made them. In its favour the falafels for starters were well flavoured and very nicely cooked. For mains the risotto was bland, and the deep fried haloumi was horrendous; a plate of fat soaked batter with a tasteless goo inside. The price was ridulous for such poorly executed cuisine. So overpriced that we botched felt slightly swindled, and for the first time ever in a restaurant I did not leave a tip. Such a shame, Birmingham has so few vege eateries that it cannot afford bad ones like this.
Read morePros: Falafels were well seasoned and nicely cooked.
Cons: The food, The drinks, The decoration and ambience
Guest
ChristianVegan
Points +209
Heavenly vegetarian bistro - Edit
First visit and it did not disappoint! Three courses of gourmet. Plenty of vegan choice.
Read morePros: no meat dishes, delicious food for every course, gourmet vegan
Cons: Expensive , Not a cosy place, quite plain and sterile
Guest
leebennett1983
Points +48
turned away despite empty - Edit
apparently they are fully booked on saturday at 4pm. yet having 8 tables empty downstairs. I will eat somewhere else and never go back. I know when a a vegan isnt wanted !!!!
Read morePros: none
Cons: turned away
Guest
CliffDeBurgh
Points +17
Party like it's 1847 - Edit
A terrific restaurant with high quality fine food. I've been there several times and always really enjoyed the food. Lots of creativity to produce very interesting and tasty dishes. There isn't another similar restaurant at this level in Birmingham that I'm aware of. I love it.
Read moreIt's expensive compared to other vegetarian restaurants but not compared to other meat serving fine dining restaurants in Birmingham. When you sign up to the mailing list you get emailed some really good offers throughout the year.
The one downside is the utterly forgettable name. The meaning behind the name is great but it's really difficult to recall. When my friends and I discuss it we pick any year we can think of, so it gets called 1999 or 1066 quite a lot.
Pros: High quality fine dining, Creative dishes, Unique dining experience for Birmingham
Cons: Price, The utterly forgettable name
Guest
JohnS
Points +52
fab - Edit
Excellent food excellent service.
Read moreGuest
Riotgoddess
Points +190
OK. - Edit
I really wanted to love this place as any new Veggie/Vegan restaurant in Brum is good news. Alas I came away feeling "meh, that was OK".
Read morePros: Vegan/Veggie place serving contemporary food. Sta
Cons: Atmosphere not great. Food felt "over thought out"
Guest
lilymayg
Points +43
Nice food- great vegan roast - Edit
It's more leaning towards fine dining food with all courses presented beautifully and slightly more expensive. Both my mum and I are vegan and went for the roast dinner- unfortunately it didn't come with red cabbage which it said it did on the menu. To be honest the portion size was big so it didn't matter. I had Yorkshire puddings for the first time since going vegan so was an absolute treat for me! The food tasted amazing and the pudding was delicious! The decor was lovely but we went on a Sunday for late lunch and it's only recently just opened on Sunday's so was just us in, I didn't mind because the music was playing and the waitress was respectful and didn't seem to be listening in at all. I would recommend this to anyone!
Read morePros: Sunday roast WITH Yorkshire puddings , Tasty
Cons: Quiet
Guest
Ffion89
Points +647
Beautiful food - to look at and to taste! - Edit
I visited 1847 recently with my mum (who's a meat eater), and we decided to go all out and treat ourselves to the seven course vegan tasting menu. It was early on a Monday evening when we visited, and we were the only ones in the restaurant until towards the end of our courses at about 7pm. The waitress paid us a lot of attention and was really lovely, but it did feel a bit awkward to have a conversation when it was so quiet.
Read moreIt was pricey, and each course is small, but by the end of the seven courses we were absolutely stuffed! The quality of the food and all the different tastes were amazing! The battered tofu was sublime as was the earl grey cake - I hate earl grey tea, so didn't think I would like it at all!
I would highly recommend this place for a quality treat, and I will definitely be returning when in Birmingham.
Pros: Quality food, Great vegan options, Flavours are amazing
Cons: Pricey, A bit too quiet
Guest
heywood100
Points +334
Not Really My Cup of Tea - Edit
I should be honest from the start - I'm a little biased against 'posh' restaurants like this one. When I go out for a meal, I usually want something fairly hearty and robust, rather than a few tastefully-presented morsels on oversized plates. This place seems to do that kind of 'fine dining' experience quite well, but spending so much money on so little food (especially when it's not massively out of the ordinary) is not really for me.
Read moreWith that said, the staff here were very friendly and helpful, and the food itself was tasty. There just isn't enough of it, and it didn't seem like anything I couldn't have put together a reasonable facsimile of by myself (potato pancakes, anyone?). I accept that I am a philistine though, sorry...
Guest
LouiseLovesMatcha
Points +63
Sublime Veggie Food - Edit
Exquisite vegetarian food, there are so few veggie restaurants in Central England and 5 of us drove long journeys in anticipation after reading an intriguing magazine feature on 1847. (Odd name, it's the year the Vegetarian Society was formed apparently). Carefully judged, imaginative and unusual dishes, nothing ordinary, everything special and beautifully presented, strewn with edible flowers and micro greens.. Smoked ice cream was unmissable.. Beer battered Halloumi with a tangy lemon curd was a treat, wafer thin fresh cucumber water served throughout lunch.. this is the best veggie restaurant I've found outside London, Edinburgh, Bristol and Brighton. A much needed, long awaited necessity, pleasure & luxury. Above all, this is food for everybody with imagination and a desire for innovation... No need to be vegetarian to eat food like this, everybody can eat there. Plenty to eat too, the perfect amount.
Read moreGreat service, stylish contemporary interior in pale, dove grey, cool music, unintrusive. Can't wait to return.
Visited 13th January 2015
Pros: Original, exquisite dishes, Friendly, efficient service, Stylish, contemporary feel
Cons: Coat stand needed ideally
Guest
Mupu
Points +17
Posh grub - Edit
Wow! I was very impressed with the Michelin restaurant style cuisine. Beautifully presented and a lot of flavours combining on the plate. Small portions though so you need to order quite a lot.
Read morePros: Great flavours, Interesting combinations, New ideas
Cons: small portions
Guest
Rosa Mundi
Points +265
Good main courses - Edit
I have been here 4 times but if today's visit had been my first it would have put me off.
Read moreI like a leisurely lunch but two and a half hours for two courses is too slow. Perhaps there were staff shortages.
The menu hasn't changed much in the months since I first visited so there is no real reason to go again as I have had all the main courses and there are no specials to ring the changes.
I like to support vegetarian restaurants but this one has to improve to persuade me to visit again.
Pros: Inventive tasty mains, City centre venue
Cons: Very slow service, Unchanging menu
Guest
CallumB
Points +78
Delicious, inventive food, but expensive - Edit
The restaurant is about one minute away from the Snow Hill Station car park, and so is easy to get to by car.
Read moreIt's very small, with about six small tables on the ground floor and the same again on the floor above.
Our food arrived quickly, for all three courses (but we were there at 6:30pm, so it wasn't busy), and the staff are friendly.
We had the sweet potato beignet and vegetable tempura to start, both of which were very nice, though the tempura was the better of the two. For mains, all three of us had the battered smoked tofu, which was pretty incredible - the tofu itself was quite dense and extremely flavourful, more like a sausage than tofu, and the surrounding sauces were interesting and complemented the flavour well (however the tofu might be a bit too strong for some - one of our group commented on this). I had a chocolate cake for dessert which was also very nice.
The downside is that the food is expensive, and the portions quite small (however though the tofu main looked like a small portion, it was very filling).
Definitely worth going to.
Pros: Delicious food, Nice atmosphere - informal, Friendly staff
Cons: Expensive, with small portions
Guest
Greysocialist
Points +370
Stylish and delicious - Edit
We enjoyed the £14 two-courses-with-wine lunch. Hard to choose from an imaginative menu. Great service, beautiful presentation - a special experience. And the location in the arcade gives a very nice atmosphere in which the bare board floor and simple table settings are appropriate. London prices? Maybe, but an oasis in Birmingham and it's so central! Just round the corner from New Street/Corporation Street and the Cathedral.
Read morePros: Location, Imaginative menu, Taste!
Guest
Bones
Points +92
Great food...but - Edit
Went a couple of weeks after the opening and it wasn't busy on a Wednesday night.
Read moreThe service and food was fantastic and the location ideal for us as it's close to Snow Hill station for easy travelling to and from Stourbridge.
My vegan meal was excellent, well presented and very filling, my partner went for a vegetarian option which she thought was great.
Unfortunately, my partner's plate was cold, so the food chilled quickly - however the staff are aware of this and are working on installing a hot-pass.
I would think that any new venue will have teething problems (excuse pun).
It's very pricey considering it's actually in Birmingham, the prices are more London..ouch.
We will definitely be going again, but not too often!
Recommended, though :-)
Pros: Great food, Great Service, Big portions
Cons: Expensive, Limited beers available, Quite stark and cold looking
Guest
Janey.m
Points +42
A city centre restaurant at last! - Edit
I was excited to hear about a new vegetarian / vegan restaurant opening in Birmingham this weekend, and booked a table on its second night of opening. I knew there was going to be a large party booked in upstairs, and thought things might not quite be up to scratch on the second night, but the menu looked too good to wait!
Read moreWe arrived nearly half an hour early, but we were made welcome and given a table straight away. Impressive range of beers and wines which are all vegan, as well as soft drinks.
Service was fantastic. Within 5 minutes of sitting down our order was taken and the prosecco was poured. The starters came promptly, and they were absolutely delicious. Really innovative mixture of flavours. We can also highly recommend the faux fish and chips. And the pudding! Oh, the joy of going to a restaurant and being able to have pudding! Unfortunately I was too full to finish my delicious cinnamony apply crumble, and had to be helped out - next time I'll be taking some Tupperware with me, as I'm now sadly musing what a great breakfast it would have been...
The Opening offer was 3 courses for £20 which is excellent value. Menus etc. are available on the website - for some odd reason the online Birmingham menu labels things 'dairy free' rather than vegan - they are vegan and we were pleased they had been labeled as such on the actual menu; it makes much more sense.
Bistro 1847 have really got it right. We were very impressed and will definitely be back.
Pros: the starters! Make sure you have one!, Fantastic service, Great drinks list
Guest
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