Healthy Vegan - Birmingham: Brum Yum Yum Vegetarian Places and The Oasis

On a recent trip to the city of Birmingham for a short break, not only did we go sight seeing, checking out graffiti art, we also ate out which for me is a bit of a treat as we rarely eat out.

I have to say I thought there would be more exclusively vegetarian/and or vegan eateries in a city like Birmingham, but there were not as many in the city centre.  In fact I think Cardiff may be able to rival Birmingham with its vegetarian offerings, regardless it did not disappoint. 

I had booked a table at The Warehouse Cafe.  I n a previous life (work related) I had visited The Warehouse as it was and still is the home to Friends of the Earth and Black Environment Network.  

We both knew exactly what we wanted from the Warehouse Cafe menu.  We actually both chose exactly the same starter and the same main.

For starters we had broccoli balls in a vegan hollaindaise sauce served with salad.  

And for main we had Halloumi 'Fish' and chips.  The halloumi 'fish' were  in a mild wasabi breadcrumb batter.  It was served with some pickled gherkins, piccalilli and ketchup.  It was good and we were proper stuffed, that we had no room for dessert. 

After eating, my heart warmed as I reminisce about my own past vegetarian adventures and feeling proud of what I had achieved.  D touched my hand and I knew he was proud of me too. On days I do miss cooking fancy grub for crowds. 

Vegetarian breakfast: eggs, beans, mushrooms tomatoes, Quorn sausages, hash browns and toast at a  non-vegetarian cafe near where we were staying, It was generous and it was filling that it set us up well for the day as we went exploring the streets of Birmingham.  D was especially impressed. 

The next place we ate at was Natural Healthy Foods.   

The Food is buffet style served by weight, so you pile on what you want and pay by the weight.

 Some other Raw Desserts at Natural Healthy Foods Cafe

This is D's plate: sushi, broccoli. black bean chilli, beetroot  and raw veg and it cost over £12.00

This is my plate: some sushi, smoky chilli, lemon rice, dehydrated crackers and some dips. It cost just over £5.00

 Mango and Orange Raw Cheesecake that I shared with D. 

That evening, after going back to the hotel and changing. We went into China Town. 

Our next stop for food was Cafe Soya.  

Although not exclusively vegan or vegetarian, Cafe Soya has a fantastic selection of options. We don't really eat much in the way of Oriental cuisine, but we were both excited to find vegan prawns on the menu.  Its been  while since we had some, so we both knew exactly what mock 'meat' we wanted - prawns. 

I ordered Taro Bubble Tea to drink. It was delicious and the colour amazing. 

 My starter was Spicy peppercorn tofu in crisp light batter and it was delicious. 

D had Mock chicken skewers marinated garlic, coriander, chili, coconut and plum sauce, which he really enjoyed.  

We were both very impressed with our starters and really looking forward to the main

I had ordered Hot and spicy garlic and chili with mock prawns and fried rice.

D ordered Spicy Satay with broccoli and seasonal vegetables with mock prawns. Even though the portions were generous and we ate what we had, we felt the sauces were very similar. Ds was not Satay like and mine did not taste garlicky or overly spicy and that was the only let down.  I would still go again, after all there is nothing like Cafe Soya in the cities of Wales. 

The following day whilst checking out Graffiti Street Art in Digbeth, we stopped at the Cranked Cycle Cafe in the Custard Factory for coffee.

 I liked the packaging on this Spice Masala Chai. 

I was so excited to see The Vegan Grindhouse.  vegan food swap a few years back. 

The Vegan Grindhouse gourmet burger .

On our last day, we actually struggled to find somewhere for breakfast.  I ended up having a porridge with walnuts at Philpotts; and D had something to do with mushrooms.  

Other Vegetarian places to visit in the future. 
I know there were plenty of Indian vegetarian eateries in Birmingham such as Jyoti Vegetarian, but as a person of South Asian you may be able to appreciate why I chose not to eat there,
I have eaten at Part 1 of Birmingham Graffiti Art - see here. 
For Part 2 of Birmingham Graffiti Art - see here
See here for blog post on Birmingham Places