The 14 best coffee shops and cafés in Birmingham

Opened in 2009, Urban’s Church Street emporium set the blueprint for Birmingham coffee culture. Testament to its popularity, Urban opens seven days a week, and is frequented by everyone from office types having a morning meeting and on-the-hoof freelancers quietly working away to folks just wanting a glorious coffee and a slice of cake. Its two floors are a thriving hive of community; a snapshot of Brummie diversity.

How do you fancy your luck? One of the quirkier establishments in Digbeth’s Custard Factory, Chance and Counters is a treat for those who enjoy their board games with a lighter touch than chess. With over 500 games to choose from, visitors are spoiled for choice before they even glance over their menu of tasty finger food, milkshakes, wines and craft beer. Pride of place, though, are their hot drinks – expect with all the usual coffee suspects and a generous selection of teas, plus colourful lattes including raspberry ripple, ‘minty blue’ peppermint and ‘neon pink’ beetroot and orange.

Faculty by name and nature – you’ll find caffeine alchemy in Brum’s answer to a coffee classroom. Opened in 2014 by former Saint Kitchen owner Geoff Lam, Faculty is on a mission to provide great coffee and allow customers to understand more about it. There’s no room for sofas or comfy chairs – this is coffee-making laboratory, after all. An intimate room with a pop-up vibe, Faculty’s decor is stripped-back and industrial, with wooden fittings, exposed brick and pipework aplenty.

The overflowing front counter will catch your eye as you enter Saint Kitchen, taking centre stage amid a seating area that boasts stylish chairs and stone and wood fittings. The coffee is mighty fine, and barista Liam’s flat white is one of the best anywhere. There are also options on filter, as well as an ample choice of loose-leaf teas, and single-origin hot chocolate courtesy of Kokoa Collection. Food includes all-day breakfasts, paninis, noodles, soups and plenty of cake.

First existing (quietly) in the shadow of Birmingham’s Snow Hill business district, Café Artum has always stood out. With a bigger space as part of Hockley Social Club (brought to you by the renowned Digbeth Dining Club), its new digs find it in good creative company. Combining a love of music and coffee, Café Artum doubles as a record shop and bar as well as a venue; whether it’s soul DJs, vinyl or a humble Sunday roast you’re after, you’ve come to the right place. 

One of the first venues to open at lavish new city-centre complex The Grand, 200 Degrees is a haven of artisanal coffee and exquisite sandwiches. Despite the wealth of independent coffee shops in Birmingham, this one stands out for its emphasis on the food as well as the brews. Sandwiches are available from a regularly changing menu. Naturally, they roast their own house blend, an exotic combination of Vietnamese robusta and Colombian arabica beans.

This friendly, family-run chain has been growing exponentially up and down the M5 over the past few years. It’s a byword for consistency and familiarity. Arriving in Birmingham in 2013, this was a caffeinated shot in the arm of Corporation Street. If you’re not sucked in by the massive trays of home-baked cakes by the entrance, then BTP’s vast menu covers everything from all-day breakfasts to mains including burgers, salads, toasted sandwiches, soups and a very good kids’ menu.

Serving beans from London’s Workshop Coffee from a Victoria Arduino espresso machine, Under Pressure has a simple menu that’s reminiscent of places such as Prufrock. You can have espresso with or without smooth, steamed milk (say flat white and you will get just that), along with filter and brewed selections. The espresso is Workshop’s excellent Cult of Done blend – a clean, sweet and spicy brew – or, if you’re not in the mood for coffee, there’s also a selection of Canton Teas to choose from. Lil’s Parlour supplies amazing cakes, while the fantastic bread and pastries come courtesy of Thirteen Bakers.

An oasis of Middle Eastern hospitality in the bohemian suburb of Moseley, Damascena has won over Birmingham’s tastemakers and punters alike. Proof of its success came with a raft of awards and an announcement in late 2016 that they would be opening a new branch in the city centre. Coffee first came to us from the Middle East, and Damascena is the place to discover its roots. When it comes to lunch and dinner, classic shawarmas feature roast lamb or chicken wrapped up with garlic dressing and gherkins.

Moseley’s Cafephilia has a slower vibe than the rushed coffee ritual you’ll get in cafés in the city centre. Stylish and independent in ethos, the establishment takes its brewing very seriously indeed. But a good coffee shop is about the entire experience. And here you’re treated an eclectic menu stuffed with things like jerk chicken paninis, syrupy waffles and wonderfully indulgent milkshakes (plus all sorts of good vegan and gluten-free options).

Birmingham born and bred, this independent coffee shop is a local institution, having begun life in Kings Heath before opening a sister venue in the city centre. You’ll find a range of appetising comfort food here, from American-style pancakes with splashes of syrup, to a wonderfully satisfying falafel burger that even the meatiest of meat-eaters have been known to savour. Not only that, but the atmosphere is warm, welcoming and very much chilled out.

One of Birmingham’s favourite brunch abodes, Medicine has gained a cult following for its ample baked goods, grilled sourdough sandwiches and buddha bowls. Perhaps less famed is its knack for a cracking coffee. With all of the usual suspects on the menu, plus turmeric and matcha lattes, they also turn around a winsome affogato, an Italian coffee-based dessert of espresso doused atop of vanilla ice cream.

Anyone who claims New Street station is the busiest place in Birmingham hasn’t been to Yorks at the weekend. Here, hungry Brummies tuck into brunch in stripped-back, industrial surroundings well into the afternoon. Choose from a breakfast bar that includes homemade granola, bagels and as much freshly baked bread as you can get down you, and an extensive range of egg-based brekkies. Our pick is the measured heat of the shakshuka – baked eggs in sweet harissa peppers, tomatoes, coriander and lime yogurt.

What started out as a vegetable cooperative has in ten years transformed into Bournville’s foremost brekkie hub and organic deli. With the most important meal of the day served alongside an array of homemade, wholesome staples until closing, you’ll find young families, patent hangover-nursers and ladies lunching shoulder-to-shoulder at Leverton and Halls. If the pancakes with crispy bacon and lashings of maple syrup are too sweet for your palate, the vegetarian breakfast is a first-rate alternative.