19 Vegetarian Dishes You Must Try In Birmingham

Put down that Porterhouse, pal.

1. Aukstazupa at Two Cats Roaming

Two Cats Kitchen / Via twocatskitchen.com

This soup, made with kefir (cultured milk and yoghurt) and served cold, is a visually stunning start to a meal.

Poured at the table, the bright pink beetroot gazpacho covers spears of spring onion, parsley leaves and slivers of boiled egg.

After winning fans as a roaming pop-up restaurant, Two Cats have now found a permanent home for their “New Baltic” cuisine in the Jewellery Quarter. Go say hi.

2. Poached eggs and avocado from Boo Boo Coffee

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Breathe it in. Poached eggs and avocado on a Thirteen Bakery's sourdough breakfast muffin.

The perfectly poached egg sits atop a massive slab of avocado and comes with a fresh leaves garnish salad. It’s one of their best sellers.

Drink with achingly cool East London coffee Allpress Espresso. Boo Boo are one of only two places in Brum that serve this sort of joe.

3. Sweetcorn cakes at Sabai Sabai

Sabai Saba

Sweet, spicy, lumpy and bumpy, these fritters (Tod Man Khao Pod) make an interesting veggie alternative to traditional Thai fishcakes.

Made with kaffir lime leaves and served with a sweet chilli dipping sauce, Sabai Sabai (in both Moseley and Harborne) serves a mouthwatering version of this classic Thai street food.

4. Beetroot and goat’s cheese meringue at Adam’s

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These delicate little amuse bouches fuse together two vibrant pink meringue buns with a creamy cheese.

Chef Adam Stokes (who can cater to vegetarians and vegans with prior notice) took Birmingham by storm when he launched his eponymous restaurant in 2013, winning a Michelin star just six months after opening.

Pay a visit to the little restaurant in Bennett’s Hill before it moves to its new home opposite Purecraft Bar and Kitchen in Waterloo Street.

5. Falafels at 1847

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Putting a new twist on that old veggie staple, the falafel, 1847 serves theirs with quinoa, burnt babaghanoush, yoghurt and watercress.

Named after the year the Vegetarian Society was formed, this restaurant brings meat-free fine dining to the gorgeous Great Western Arcade and was last year voted the best vegetarian restaurant outside London Cook Vegetarian magazine.

6. Picos de Europa blue cheese and spinach croquetas at Amantia

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The ultimate in veggie comfort food, Amantia’s croquetas are a moreish mouthful of crisp breadcrumbs coating a creamy filling.

They'll be serving them at the Birmingham Independent Food Fair, but if you're visiting their restaurant, wash them down with a G&T from the restaurant’s gin selection, served in a traditional large, balloon-shaped stemmed glass, the copa de balon. We’d recommend the Monkey 47 with Fever Tree tonic, blueberries and orange peel.

7. Chilli Non Carne at The Warehouse Café

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The Warehouse Café’s chilli non carne is a superb winter warmer, served with crisp tortilla chips, fluffy rice and cooling sour cream.

The Halloumi “Fish and Chips” with wasabi pea puree also comes highly recommended and we reckon the Potted Sea with samphire, capers, water chestnuts and seaweed sounds pretty scrumptious.

The Warehouse was Birmingham’s first vegetarian restaurant and has a loyal following. Look out for their special events including an upcoming raw food dinner.

8. Paprii Chaat at Deepalis

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These yummy little wafers are made with white flour and served with boiled potatoes, chickpeas, yoghurt, tamarind and mint chutney, then topped with chaat masala.

Deepalis is a veggie restaurant in the heart of the Jewellery Quarter (with another branch in Sparkbrook) that has a good selection of both north and south Indian dishes.

Don't fancy leaving home? Deliveroo deliver these little parcels of elysium.

9. Spanakopita at 4023

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The Greeks know a thing or two about meat-free feasting and this little Mediterranean cafe in Stephenson Street makes a mean spanakopita. Layers of filo pastry rubbed with liberal doses of butter come stacked with a filling of spinach, eggs and fresh herbs.

And if you get a taste for it you can stock up at All Greek Deli, next door, and make your own at home.

10. Arabian Buttered Eggs at Yorks Bakery and Cafe

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The entire city went potty over these eggs when they were first introduced to the menu and they have been firm favourites ever since.

And if, for any bizarre reason, they're not doing it for you, the avocado and feta smash on sourdough is a winner, too. Whisper it, but meat-eaters will also leave very happy.

11. Pani Puri at Jyoti’s

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Eight crispy puri stuffed with potatoes, chickpeas and onion surround a pot of sweet and sour tamarind sauce. Drop a couple of teaspoons of the tamarind into the top of your puri before devouring in one magnificent mouthful.

This unpretentious vegetarian restaurant in Stratford Road is a favourite of Jamie Oliver who reckons it’s an “incredible south Indian vegetarian extravaganza”.

12. Crispy arancini balls at Gas Street Social

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These wild mushroom and truffle-infused rice balls pack easily enough delicate flavour for you to flat ignore the garlicky mayo accompaniment. In fact, replace that with a Socialite cocktail, one of the city's most quaffable mixes.

13. Singapore carrot cake at Blue Ginger

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Known as Chai tow kway in South Asian cuisine, this savoury carrot cake is made with carrots, mooli, rice flour and spices.

At Blue Ginger in Kings Heath it’s one of the most popular dishes on the Monday night vegan menu and restaurateur Siew says the family recipe is a closely guarded secret. Don't worry, we'll find ways to make her talk...

14. Mezze at Al Bader

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Al Bader’s mezze platter is a vegetarian dream with homemade hummus, spicy falafels, stuffed vine leaves, olives and babaghanoush.

The highlight is a lip-smacking tabbouleh salad, heavy on the parsley with mint, lemon and plenty of olive oil.

Clad in mosaic tiling, you’ll find this Middle Eastern beauty among the Balti houses of Ladypool Road.

15. Goats cheese pizza by Baked in Brick

Sauce Shop @sauceshop

Delicious @bakedinbrick goats cheese pizza 😍😍 @Ineedcatering at The Arcadian for Birmingham Jazz Festival!

04:12 PM - 10 Jul 2015

These boys from Erdington take a traditional Neapolitan pizza base and smother it with goats cheese, tomato, sweet and sticky red onion chutney and rocket leaves. Delicious.

They serve their pizzas out of a mobile wood fired oven from a Mini with a BBQ beneath the bonnet. As you do.

Look out for them at Digbeth Dining Club, Brum Yum Yum and at Taste and Liquor’s street food markets in Southside and at The Coffin Works.

For meat eaters we can heartily recommend their ox cheek calzone.

16. Super Salad at Boston Tea Party

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Slowly expanding across Birmingham and about to move into Moseley, Boston Tea Party do a wicked-ace Super Salad packed with goodness: spinach, avocado, radish, mango, sprouting seeds, sugar snap peas and toasted nuts and seeds to name a few.

A homely place, bring a paper because you may struggle to leave.

17. Mac'n'Cheese at Purecraft Bar & Kitchen

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Whisper it, but winter is inbound. Purcraft's antidote is arguably the best Mac 'n' Cheese in the city, washed down with one of over 100 beers on offer. If it's your first visit (and that would be insanity) their IPA, Longhorn, is the best place to start, but ask about their selection of American beers to perfectly pair with your pasta.

Bacon is an option for those Mac 'n' Cheesers who can't live without it.

18. Kale and goats cheese salad at Ort Café

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The team at Ort have managed to turn a salad into a work of art with this dish of crunchy apple, yellow peppers, cherry tomatoes and pomegranate seeds.

Balsall Heath’s best kept secret, Ort in Moseley Road is a café and live music venue with a gallery, an exhibition space and a decent selection of meat-free food.

They do good veggie and vegan breakfasts, tikka paneer gyros, mango chutney and gorgonzola bagels and vegan BLT wraps.

19. Veggie Cubano at Press De Cuba

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Seen the movie Chef, where Jon Favreau goes on the road selling Cuban sandwiches known as Cubanos? Step forward Press De Cuba whose veggie version will touch your taste buds right down to their very roots. If taste buds have roots.

Made up of mojo mushroom, bell peppers, Swiss cheese and American mustard, there's a smoky, barbecuey feel from these toasted triumphs that you simply weren't aware could be achieved with veggie food.

I CHOOSE Birmingham, a free weekly guide to the best things to do and eat in Brum, emailed direct to your inbox. Subscribe free here. Special thanks to Mary Griffin for her suggestions.