Faculty Coffee and Tea in Birmingham

Regretted giving this place a second shot. Burnt coffee and a noisy atmosphere.

Very nice little cafe with staff who really know their coffee...

Cute cafe, sensational service, love spot to sit in located within an arcade. Green tea ✅ coffee ✅

Had found this place listed in lonely planet for one of the best coffees in b'ham. Lovely team, dog friendly. Had a few toasties/ sarnies ( big crusty bloomers). £20 for 2 sarnies , filter and latte. Seats for maybe 20 covers, and bench outside in the arcade.

absolutely fantastic spot for coffee and cakes!

Good coffee but expensive (£8 for flat white and almond croissant)

Best latte and v60 in town!!! The Cinnabon was fluffy and yummy I tried the croissant also it was perfect Any Saudi who tries their coffee will like it, I guarantee the exact same standards as the coffee we love

Had a 10 mins to kill so popped in for a coffee and cake. Saw on insta to ask for the special of the day, tiramisu. Luckily had some left, lovely! Coffee was very nice but quite small. Really friendly staff and a great spot. Will be back for more coffee and cake soon and sit in to watch people pass.

For exigent specialty coffee aficionados, this is your place.

Great coffee, super friendly and helpful staff, would definitely recommend it 👍

Person serving refused to give me sugar for my coffee. Suggesting once then, when pressed, just refusing. This on top of it sounding like there is a full on construction site the floor above. But that would have been tolerable of only I could have had a bit of sugar.

Amazing coffee, clean, and good service.

Mixed up order so was waiting 10 minutes for 1 coffee. Apologised but nothing offered to make up for bad experience

No filter coffee at 11:50 on Sunday. Why advertising something you are unable to offer?

Great coffee! The flavor is rich and smooth, and the atmosphere is cozy. Perfect place to relax or get some work done. Highly recommended!

Good coffee and friendly service in this café situated in the attractive old Piccadilly Arcade, conveniently close to New Street Station. When I visited, in the morning, there were no savoury items - disappointing at breakfast time.

Coffee is excellent! Well worth popping in - and try the chocolate fudge cake - gorgeous!

High quality coffee and good pour over selection.

While waiting for the train, I looked for a speciality coffee close to the station and found exactly the right one.

I suppose you could say I am a regular here - but the coffee is just so damn good. The cakes are also delicious and they have different choices all the time to try something new! Shout out to the staff for being lovely too

I love Piccadilli Arcade and FACULTY is a super little coffee house. Great friendly staff, table service with a smile. So I went for a Belgium bun and an Earl grey tea, just the business. Thank you very much.

Banana bread cookie super yummy!

Best coffee in the city, bar none.

The grilled cheese with sourdough bread was really good, the black coffee was good as well, and the desert surprised me with the delicious taste

Came in Just as Faculty Opened, The Staff were well prepared, the cafe was very clean and the latte I had was very nice and of high quality. I highly recommend anyone to visit if they are in the area and need a quick pick-me-up. 10/10

Great service and great location and the atmosphere is so refreshing. I got an iced latte and the coffee was brewed nicely with a sharp taste. The lady serving me was friendly and made me feel welcomed. I will be back now that I've just found out you sell doughnuts :)

Faculty Coffee is a fantastic spot. The coffee, brunch, and pastries are all delicious, showcasing great quality and flavor. The staff are incredibly kind, welcoming, and professional, making for a pleasant experience. The interior is stylish and inviting, perfect for a relaxing visit. Plus, its location next to the train station is very convenient. Highly recommended for a top-notch coffee experience!

Lovely cafe with delicious coffee. Staff always super friendly and great service. Some vegan sweet treats on offer (the peanut butter chocolate cookie is so good!) and a couple on the food menu too. Would recommend for great tasting coffee.

Had a delicious iced latte here and this drink was definitely a standout during my stay in the UK!

Excellent coffee, delicious cakes and great service.

The place is small but very nice The staff were friendly and the coffee was excellent

Quite a small place (not a bad thing). The hot chocolate didn’t taste very nice

Quality of the coffee is amazing! The vibe of the place is very cozy. Unfortunately, service was not the best. There was miscommunication and I received the wrong order, which is not a big deal, but the barista was very weird about it and very defensive with his language. Is their reputation less important than £3 cup of coffee?

Best coffee and cornichons in Brum

Such a great place!! Loved their vibe, lovely service and awesome coffee

Excellent coffee and food. Service is friendly. The only problem is that it's big enough that people feel that they can hog tables, sometimes without buying anything, for long periods of time which can make it difficult for paying customers to find a seat.

Tea was nice, leaf tea in a pot. You get a little egg timer with it to tell you when its brewed. Plenty to drink. The smore brownie was amazing.

Absolutely fantastic coffee. Thanks guys.

Never disappoints ! Consistently serving good coffee and some of the tastiest bakes in Birmingham

Disappointed. Eager to have a coffee as I came straight from the train station. Barista (not sure if the owner) seemed arrogant, pretentious, claiming to know it all. Message to staff; you're not in a 5 star hotel; and there's no need to act (fake). I don't need a lecture on coffee. Coffee was mediocre. I'm not sure how they're supposed to be the most talked about coffee place in Birmingham. Perhaps them organising a "no coffee festival" was an attempt to "mask" their shortfalls (cheap marketing ploy). I might give them another opportunity.

This café is my absolute happy place. I've been a customer for years and I still can't get enough. I get coffee here as often as I can and it never disappoints. It's genuinely the best coffee I've ever had. Trust the staff when they say you should try your coffee without sugar - you won't need it. The same goes for the cakes - they're always absolute perfection. As if that wasn't impressive enough already, the staff is super helpful and friendly, and they're all true experts. Don't miss this place if you're in Brum, it's one of the best places there. Only issue: you may become as addicted to it as me. ;-)

Love the coffee! The latte was rich, creamy, aromatic, great extraction! The place is quite small, but they provide a few long benches just in front of the cafe so you can sip your coffee while appreciating the beautiful arcade and the paintings on the ceilings. Once you get there, go straight to order and pay at the till which is the first station after you go through the door. Then choose your seat, and they’ll bring you the coffee.

Coffee is good and must try the cheesecake!

This is, hands down, the best coffee establishment I’ve ever had the pleasure of frequenting. Geoff, Lucy and the team are exceptional and offer the best customer service and coffee you will find in the UK, bar none. If you appreciate the purest form of speciality coffee, care for well sourced and quality food and baked good then this is the place.

Best coffee in Brum. Service always excellent. Great coffee and food.

Ordered a cappuccino got a latte….we don’t seem to know the difference anymore🥹

Had a filter coffee friendly service and amazing coffee. Would highly recommend if you want a flavoursome black filter.

I've been here a few times now, their latte and cakes are incredible! Coffee to rival any independent in London that I've been to, keep up the amazing work!

Amazing coffee and the nicest, most welcoming staff to go with it. A great little place to sit and watch the world go buy or to grab a coffee on the run.

One of the best coffee shop in Brum!

Not just great coffee, but awesome coffee. This place deserves Michelin stars because its "worth a special journey". I'm not in Birmingham very often (I live abroad now), but when I am, I always make a detour for Faculty Coffee. It's literally my favourite coffee shop in the world. But, a warning, I became a coffee snob after drinking here for the first time 😄 It will do the same to you!

Friendly staff that went above and beyond with their service, food and coffee was fantastic and were very helpful when selecting a bag of beans to take home.

Genuinely awful experience, I’ve never had staff be so rude to me. Do not come here. I wasn’t going to leave a review but after seeing similar posts on here I thought I should. I had a wrap with me which I bought before knowing we were going to this coffee shop. I bought a coffee and cake thinking they would be happy for me to quietly eat my wrap. Which they were not. And that’s fine I understand that completely. However, when I mentioned that the reason I assumed it was ok was because a person (who turned out to be staff) was eating McDonalds at the counter, I was met with rudeness. Staff laughed at me, saying “well he’s staff so he can”. I accept that’s their rule and I stopped eating it. I asked for a refund and they refused, despite me not touching the cake which was laid on the table by the lady literally 1 minute earlier, and hadn’t even been looked at, let alone touched. The fact I asked for a refund seemed to anger them even more. I asked if this is how they treat their customers, and I was told “yes when you act like an idiot”. Another customer; who was familiar with the staff, was joining in, making snide remarks with the staff, mocking me. It seemed like they wanted me to argue with them rather than diffuse things. The barista was then leaning on the counter, glaring at me. When I asked him why he was acting aggressively he denied doing anything. I didn’t realise leaning towards someone and glaring at them was a friendly behaviour. The coffee was actually good, which makes it even worse. I’ve seen quite a few people say they experienced rudeness too, which is why I posted. I understand it’s hard for staff when customers aren’t happy. But they presumed straight away when I mentioned the McDonalds that I was arguing to continue eating, which I wasn’t. I was trying to explain why I thought it was ok. But they were so rude it wound me up into a back and forth with them, which was completely unnecessary. Addition to respond to the message from the coffee shop 18/05/24: Yes I understand that eating outside food in other places can be an issue for some places, which I do acknowledge. Which is why when I was asked, I put the food away. I never intended to cause issue. However, the way in which your staff responded to me was unnecessarily forceful. I wasn’t swearing or shouting, and I remained seated the whole time. I was expressing an opinion which was that staff didn’t need to be so forceful about it. Rather than attempt to defuse and move on, your barista in particular continued to make snide remarks, whilst someone else calls me an idiot. Wasn’t this on the CCTV? Yes of course there are implications for small business with outside products being brought in. But it felt like you wanted to make an example. It’s not like I took KFC into Burger King, I had a non-branded wrap. I’m not saying it’s wrong, it’s your policy, the response just seemed a little over the top in the context of the situation. You didn’t offer for me to sit outside, my colleague suggested it and I said it was fine because I wouldn’t eat my wrap inside. I would’ve left but I was refused a refund. The reason things escalated was because your staff continued to make snide remarks and another customer, who I assume was familiar with the staff, was also being very antagonising and inflammatory. You haven’t mentioned any of this in your feedback which is disappointing. I’ve witnessed other customers get far more upset than I did and the staff handle it way more professionally. The barista’s behaviour was awful. Other customers have commented that they have experienced rudeness from your staff, not just me, and I have NEVER had any issue in any other coffee shop, and I get coffee regularly. I’m happy to accept I was more frustrated than I would’ve liked to have been, but that was a result of unnecessary provocation to an extent. It’s up to you if you want to address the issues with your staff or not. But they clearly need support to maintain professionalism.

Big fan of Faculty, always my first point of call when in Brum. The coffee is one of my favourites in the city, usually never deviate from a Flat White, but it always delivers. The food is solid as well, I especially love the bakes that switch up very frequently. Staff are great, it can be quite a busy establishment though so don't expect a full blown chin wag if they're at capacity. Only downside are the stools for me. Aesthetically great, but I never liked them in school and I still don't now. Must visit when in Birmingham.

Best coffee shop in Birmingham hands down. I usually come here for morning coffee on my way to work and haven't had a bad experience.

I don’t go to Birmingham often, but I do occasionally pass though it on the train. Which normally involves a change of train at New St. I make sure to leave time so I can get out of the station and go to Faculty. It is honestly a great coffee shop. Lovely atmosphere, friendly staff, with superb coffee. Also the hot chocolates, and baked goods at top notch. 100% recommend 👍

Always come here for my morning coffee when I am in the office. Always excellent coffee and service.

Wonderful shop, wonderful staff and amazing coffee. Can't recommend enough. They're all lovely! Food and cakes are phenomenal. Everyone should try here at least once when they're in the city.

Lovely independent cafe! Every time I’ve visited I’ve had a brilliant experience. Their peanut butter sandwich cookie in particular is absolutely stunning.

There’s not many places like faculty, if any at all. Coffee is always top shelf, the baked goods are ooft, and the service is impeccable. The only place we stop at if we’re in central Brum.

I have enjoyed a number of very different coffees here. Each delicious and each packed with a spectrum of flavour unique to its bean, roast and preparation.

I get my coffee from here every time I’m in Birmingham. Well made coffee. Service is great and staff are friendly. Nice chill vibes

Hands down best coffee I have had. Full of fruity flavour that you don’t normally get at other coffee shops

Perfect coffee and perfect food . Excellent

Visited here yesterday morning and the coffee was exceptional! One of the best coffees I have tasted in a while, smooth flavour, beautiful late art by the barrista. This is a small place, nice and cosy, with small places sometimes you can feel a bit rushed with staff hovering over the table for you to vacate the area, but with this place that was not the case at all, it was welcoming and I didnt for one moment feel rushed to leave, or rushed to make a decisions on which of the delicious bakes I wanted. Looking forward to my next visit :)

The best in Birmingham for coffee.

Great coffee here. Good selection too. They had coffee from SEY and Paris's Kawa. Meticulous when making your coffee.

Always happy that I can grab some Vegan treats in the morning & have some good coffee. The hazelnut cookie and peanut butter cookie was really good. Nice place recommended by the Coffee app. Always good recommendations via the app.

Cute local friendly place in the middle of town with a delightful section of vegan options.

Lovely cafe that does speciality coffee and even has a few to choose from when getting an espresso…go on, treat yourself to a nice coffee!

Lovely little coffee shop close to New Street station with amazing freshly cooked baked goods! Went for a basque cheesecake and a flat white!

Nice flat white and warm almond croissant

I love Faculty! One of my fave places for coffee in the city centre, amazing coffee and a great choice of different coffees and cakes/pastries. Really close to the station so a regular stop off for me, although I wouldn’t recommend going if you’re in a hurry for a train (good coffee takes time!! And there is often a little queue at certain times).

I was told it has the best coffee in Birmingham. I didn't believe it until I saw 2 other people I knew also visiting the coffee shop at the same time, and saying the same. Personally I don't drink coffee, but the hot chocolate was dark, bitter and delicious. Saw a bacon sandwich coming out of the kitchen and absolutely regretted not ordering one because it looked delicious (and was massive).

It was open at 7:30 am, great start. They offer different bean choices. Nice, fresh tasting coffee, well made. I had a sourdough breakfast toast which was nice, but a warm plate would have made a difference. The place is spotless. Decor is a blend of shabby and designer, but that’s not a bad thing. It was comfy, roomy enough and the service was good. Good coffee and breakfast for just over £8 feels good to me.

2 cups and 2 visits in, but some of the best coffee I’ve had. Will now be my go to place when heading into the city from New St Station! A place for people who like real coffee, not silly things with sugar.

Amazing place! Quiet and the quality of the coffee and the pastry was 10/10. And the staff super friendly too :)

Nice, little coffee shop with few seats (not that many). No WiFi.

I had to wait on a seat, a man would not take his dog off the chair, dog smells. Disappointed as its normally favourite coffee place in Birmingham.

Very nice place with delicious specialty coffee

The place is not very cute or cosy and the coffee was bitter and too pricey for the size of the cup, as you can't select a coffee size, however the saving grace was the cinnamon rolls

I made a quick trip to Faculty Coffee for the first time and I have to say, what a pleasant surprise. The flat white I ordered was made to perfection. What was even better though, was the incredible pastry selection - made fresh in-house. The pastry I ate was unlike anything I’ve ever had before. Incredible.

The best coffee I’ve had in a while and great friendly service. Should have asked what the beans were because it was that tasty, I need more. Also the vegan baked goods 👀😍 Thank you!

A simple little shop with delicious coffee and cakes to update: Last visit in 2018 and today I visited in 2024

Update: their chocolate chip cookies are TO DIE FOR! 😍 A cute little café inside Piccadilly Arcade The oat milk flat white and oat milk cortado were a little too strong for my taste, but both great The V60 and The grilled cheese were perfect!

It’s really good. Very smooth and nice coffee!

I politely asked the waiter to warm my coffee up as it was cold. He replied very rude with no manners

Great coffee and the almond croissant is amazing!

Best coffee I've ever had. No need for sugar. It's a hidden gem. This should be visited.

Incredible spot, beautiful coffee, amazing vegan cakes and dog friendly. Can't fault it

Good range of teas... Ambience could be better

Great coffee, but zero ability to listen to the customer. I asked if I could have olive oil or butter instead of jam on my toasts, and received a “no, we can’t modify the menu”. You would think such a tiny demand should not be a problem, well not the case here. You better like their toasts exactly as the offer them

Not a fan! The coffee was tart and fruity, it didn't taste like coffee at all. Maybe it's just my taste buds. Service was okay but I wouldn't describe the staff as friendly. Awfully small chairs for a lady of my size!! Very small cafe. The coffee was pretty but a really weird taste. I won't be returning :(

Tucked away from all the hussle bussle, top service. Bit crammed at times.

Excellent coffee served by people who really take an interest in their trade. Always happy to discuss the coffee and techniques used to make it

Really nice place just by Birmingham Central…great specialty coffee n bites!

Wow what a lovely little find on our way back to the tram. Made very welcome. Although it’s not that big it’s set out very well. Lovely usual cakes, all home made I would imagine. We had coffee and cake very reasonably priced. A lot of people were having lunch, which looked amazing with sour dough sandwiches. Staff very friendly and made us very welcome. Some people popped in and took drinks away to drink on the go. Wish them all the best as they haven’t been open very long but we will be back next time we are in Birmingham

Always have an ever changing choice for pour over coffee, and there sweets and pastries are always great, specially the almond croissant

There's a rule about good coffee: you have to do a good single espresso. Every other coffee is just milk, sugar and syrups so you barely taste the coffee. You cannot cheat with a single espresso and I am always prepared to pay and not have it if I feel sympathy for them. When I ordered they kept saying something about making a double but I getting a single. I didn't quite understood why they were saying this (I know now) but after confirming it was a single and had crema, I was fine with "whatever". Their espresso is very poor: no crema, just blakc in the middle. It's not even an espresso. It looks like a shot of turkish black coffee. This is the deadly sin. Still, I am ok with this and nearly always they want to hear more and I am very happy to share my passion for espressos. I lost count of the times I actually helped the barista get it right. It's (nearly) always quite a friendly experience. Their approach, instead, was to repeadely say that they cannot do it because of their method (yes, they kept agreeing wiht me) and that it was my fault for not wanting a double espresso. It's like asking for chicken and getting beef and then it's your fault for choosing chicken because they didn't have chicken and now you have to have beef. It was this surreal. That still was (borderline) ok. We could have just agreed to disagree. What is NOT OK is someone (the owner?) aggressively maneuvering the little space and people queuing, going behind the counter, grabbing 3 coins, dumping them in my hand and shout GO GO GO. Literally shouting. No exaggeration. I can assure you I kept it civil, even if progressively annoyed with their attitude of blaming me for why their "method" could not do single espressos. I don't remember ever being shouted at.

A cosy place and a professional speciality Coffe.