The Canal House in Birmingham - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

The food and set up for our engagement drinks was very nice. However after our booking finished we moved into the main bar area, many of us were standing and a woman who identified her self as the manager was very rude to us and said we could “get lost” when we asked if there was any seating areas available. It’s not that the answer was no to a seating area, more the tone and language used by a manager. We spent over £1,000 on our booking as well as additional drinks purchased by guests, despite a nice start to the day it was somewhat ruined by the manager at the venue.

Such a lovely place! We had a lovely time here 2 days in a row. The night before our wedding we had a meal and drinks which were delicious and the atmosphere is just so unique and relaxing. It's a beautiful place and so cosy. We loved all the plants and the rustic design of this gem next to the waterways in Birmingham The staff were lovely. As we went there after getting married too with our family they gave us their cookie dough mixer as a congratulatory gesture. 🥰 I highly recommend this place. 👍👍👍

Pre-booked a drinks area for 2.5 hours for 16 people, which became overcrowded with another party despite the reserved signs, who then argued about their right to stay as they were a bigger party. Mangement did handle it eventually after we asked them about it, but we felt uncomfortable about the whole situation meaning we ended up not eating there and decided to move on early. The venue/location is lovely, has a great outdoor space if the weather is good & had live music but sadly very overcrowded and uncomfortable.

Food was very good ,all staff were very nice and friendly. Definitely would recommend and will go back .

Good cocktails, but rather expensive

Really lovely atmoshere and food. Just had three starters between the two of us.

We had such a lovely evening. The food was delicious, the drinks felt indulgent with attention to detail and the service was probably the best we've ever experienced. Will definitely be back.

My family and I had a great evening, great live music and drinks and a special mention to bouncer Mo who went out of his way to be helpful to my Mom.

What a great place! Super friendly and competent service and a great atmosphere. Always my pleasure!

It was a sunny afternoon so quite busy. Upstairs was food only so just drinks you had to go downstairs.

I had a starter portion of squid served with a chilli sauce and lemon wedge. * the chef did remove the lemon pith so you do not squirt yourself in the eye. Drank a glass of New Zealand sauvignon blanc, twas good. Very nice staff, friendly and efficient. Note......twas is not an error

Fantastic place, staff were great, food was amazing and the cocktails are devine. I will definitely be going back there.

Lovely team working there and really yummy food… the cocktails were pretty great too

After we were welcomed. The details of the seating arrangements were explained very well. Live music playing in the background. We were shown outside and sat by the canal. We enjoyed delicious cocktails and some red wine. We had a snack of the best halloumi fries we’ve had so far! Yummy 😋 A wonderful place, vibrant and relaxing at the same time on a lovely Saturday afternoon.

We have eaten here may times for work meals - for 2 weeks before I was hassled daily to give a pre order which I did - we got to the restaurant 6 of us eating - they confirmed the numbers of starters and mains - after a long wait for drinks and starters they were fine but only 5 of the 6 mains came out - a Caesar salad was missing - and in the end we had to ask them to leave it due to the time - the meals were so slow one of us had to leave to get his car. Overall the service was slow and disappointing to not have all pre ordered meals ready and correct. Also since eating there one of us has been poorly with an upset tummy

Lovely evening in the sun with live music

I booked for a group of 11! We had a lovely meal and the service was excellent

Nice setting by the canal, but very overpriced.

Nice venue, friendly staff, good food and of course decent cocktails.

Lovely food, lovely waiters and good atmosphere

Lovely outside in the sun and they had music playing as part of the Birmingham Jazz and Blues festival which was great (and not so loud you couldn't talk!). Inside needs some work downstairs as nowhere to sit or even stand really and bar gets super crowded and slow service. Nice cocktail and would go back if sitting outside. Upstairs is food and looks a nice setting but haven't eaten there.

Skocking .. nonexistent staff engagement walked ... no body interested in us been there we walked right back out

Fabulous food, cocktails and service. The decor is really special too. Lovely atmosphere.

A great place to have a beer after spending the day at the Test Match at Edgbaston. Sitting outside with views of the canal (Brindley Place) are lovely - providing a very relaxed atmosphere. Well worth a visit when in the area.

Met daughter here for a ☕️, great service, then off to a concert at Birmingham Utilita Arena, really near.

Had a remarkable dinner with a vegan kofta kebab (insanely good), cheesecake and beer. Great offer of vegan options. Staff is very caring and the location is beautiful. Highly recommend.

An excellent place to visit. We dropped in as the garden area was in sunshine. Service was good even though they were fairly busy at the time. Food didn't take long to arrive and it was very tasty. I can recommend it!

My wife and I called in for just a drink after a pleasant canalside walk, as this used to be a normal pub. The staff were rude beyond belief, saying that we could have just a drink, but we would have to go out into the beer garden. ( I must point out that we were very respectably dressed.) The drinks were acceptable, but seriously overpriced. We will not be going there again, as there are far better pubs in the area without staff with attitude!

Good food and service, although felt very rushed by the waiter around 15 minutes before they needed our table back which was a shame.

Booked a table for Saturday afternoon which was easy to do. Starters were great and 4 of us had the chicken kebab’s which were amazing! Staff professional and efficient. Would definitely recommend

All 11 of us enjoyed our food. Empty plates all around even the kids. Live band and vocalists wer brilliant 👏🏾

Booked a table for 3 people for an occasion (drinks only) waited a while for someone to come and seat us and then someone came to the table and said its bar service only ok! And walked off. Well that's not what we wanted so we left.

Lovely location - bright and airy. Great in the summer months. Good quality food. On the more expensive side (compared to other chains) but do BLUE LIGHT discount (20%)! Attentiveness of staff could be improved - waited a long time for drinks/ the bill.

Want to personally give a glowing review to Charlotte. There was a mixup with my booking and we were shown a different area to what had been booked for us. So wasn't what I was expecting when I arrived, but Charlotte went out of her way to make sure myself and guests were looked after. A big thank you to her for all her efforts and going above any beyond. It was very much appreciated.

1st time visting this Botanist. Usually love this place. However we were sat opposite where food was being prepared and served. Quite appalled at the hygiene standards! The "chef" was scratching his beard and then touching food. Also using his mobile phone and then touching food- no washing hands observed at any time. Observed waiter helping with the delivery of orders using cell phone and then actually brushing crumbs off food and also touching food. No evidence of hand hygiene! Good job I wasn't a food inspector because they definitely would have failed an inspection.

Just fantastic from start to finish! Couldn't recommend this place any more if I tried! Thank you for a great experience - we will 100% return!

A good atmosphere and very friendly staff.Menu a bit limited and portion size quite small.The desert menu again was very limited and portion size small.Speed of service intermittent and service charge automatically added.

Excellent food and service will definitely be going back.

The location was amazing and perfect for a hot summer day, as this restaurant is canal side. The food we had was delicious, from the starters to the mains. Good evening out with the other half.

Nice bar but the botanist chain are becoming expensive

On a very hot evening there was no air-conditioning so we had to leave as we couldn't have dinner in such a hot room.

Nice restaurant/pub Good food and live music Saturdays. Unfortunately disabled toilets upstairs no lift from ground floor

Unfortunately there were a lot of drink and menu items not available. But the staff were friendly and apologetic, the restaurant had a good vibe and food we did have was lovely

The pizza was absolutely delicious, with the perfect balance of flavors and a crispy crust that was just right! It was definitely a treat for the taste buds, and I can't wait to have it again. The quality of the ingredients really shined through, making it a top-notch pizza experience. Highly recommend trying it out!

Booked a table for 2 on a Sunday evening July '24. Limited menu, but decided to go with their Sunday roast chicken option and pork option. Poor quality food, very small veg portions and came barely warm. Roast potatoes weren't bad, chicken was passable. Overall then very disappointing, will not be going back.

First time visit. Short walk from Brindley Place. Located right by the canal. Visited during the Birmingham Blues and Jazz festival week. Nils Soldberg Rhythm Boys were playing at The Botantist. Food and drinks can be ordered from the table. Bar and garden area downstairs. Alot of seating outside but was busy on a Sunday afternoon. Toilets were reasonably cleaned, quick service from the bar.

This was my favourite restaurant in Brum when it was The Canal House but how the mighty have fallen. Myself and my partner bobbed in for a slice of lunch only to find pretty much everything on the menu unavailable on the app. Instead we decided to order just a couple of drinks instead. 15 minutes went by, and no drinks. Went up to the bar for the barman to hand me the drinks that had been sitting on the side with waiting staff nowhere to be seen. Will not be returning to what used to be an absolute gem.

Our first visit and we weren't disappointed. Lovely place,great food and amazing,friendly staff. Added bonus having a live band playing outside too. We'll definitely be returning

Very nice looking place but the food was so dry I was disappointed because it looked so good but unfortunately it was not nice and I won’t be back for food

Not the best experience. A simple request like could we sit at the tables outside looking out over the canal was greeted with a convoluted excuse about not doing table service outside, albeit 4 foot away from the inside tables. We would have to then order from the bar and they couldn’t guarantee our safety in relation to food allergies. Isn’t the food all cooked in the same kitchen. Anyway, apart from the server was pleasant enough. Would I go again, probably not.

The booking was simple and straight forward. The staff were friendly. We booked a table at the bar for live music. Unfortunately, we could hear the music but couldn't see the performance from inside. Nevertheless, the drinks were delicious and the light snack were value for money.

Booked for a large group and we were tucked away in the back room which was really nice. Service was great even when it was busy and the food and cocktails were to die for

As you asked - Absolutely shocking ! Booked a table for 8.30 ( table not ready ) had a drink at bar and then after a wait asked again for the table and then shown to the table. Had to chase for everything but having arrived at 8.30 we hadnt had our main course at five past ten . We were repeatedly told from 9.30 that it was 5 or 10 minutes away but at 10.05 we had had enough! I refused to pay for the drinks and starter ( which to be fair was readily accepted) . You were obviously taking too many bookings for the staff you had in duty As i say shocking - embarrassing as I chose the restaurant for my two friends

Great atmosphere, fab food and our waiter, Dylan was fantastic, he answered every question, his service was great, his personality was dab. A thoroughly enjoyable evening for my birthday

Friendly staff, beautiful decor, food was really lovely and good value. Downstairs there was a good atmosphere for a Saturday night out

Firstly food is delicious , bottle of Prosecco £15 on Fridays throughout June fantastic value ! But address says Brindley Place and it definitely isn’t, spent around 25 minutes going round and round asking lots of people where it was to no avail even Google maps got confused ! Finally found it tucked away down a side street, not as inviting as my usual Botanist in Leeds, it felt shabby and lacked atmosphere it was 28 degrees outside and no aircon or even a fan in sight which didn’t help my sister who has a heart problem and angina, I specifically booked as it said Brindley Place and it was in celebration of my sisters 60th birthday , didn’t expect a lot but no effort was made at all not even a happy birthday which made me sad as I had put that on the online booking form, most places do a little something just a small gesture but nothing !

Venue was beautiful in a brilliant location, and the food was nice, although we went there for the hanging kebabs and they had no pork, halloumi or prawn at 12pm on a Thursday lunchtime so the choice was sparce. The chef (Tony?) then kindly offered to make us a halloumi skewer. Our server was lovely, but unfortunately the manager ruined our experience. We were a table of 4 trying to split a £200 bill 3 ways with a 20% discount off food and full price cocktails so it took us a minute to work out what each other had and do the maths. We were obviously taking longer than he would like (maybe 10 mins) and the manager could be overheard loudly berating us to the kitchen staff and our server as we were taking so long to pay the bill. How he's got to be a hospitality manager with that attitude is beyond me and we certainly weren't feeling generous enough to give a tip after that. We would have stayed for more drinks but after that we moved on! The alchemist made an extra £100 out of us on drinks plus a 10% tip as the vibe and service was much better 😉

I have come away with people I volunteer with and for. We were a large party but the staff looked after us beautifully. There were 21 of us! Food may have taken slightly longer to come out but it was worth the wait. I had a chicken caesar salad. It was delicious. Highly recommend this place.

12.40 for a vodka like soda, cheaper for a cocktail but they don't know how to make them

The food was excellent , the nonalcoholic drink’s refreshing but it was very busy and the service was slow.

Good food with options for people with specific dietary requirements. Definitely will return.

Outstanding food and service - Right in the middle of the Gas Street Basin in Birmingham. We went wide in the menu and ordered their signature duck as well as the salt & pepper calamari for starters. For main we went Korean fried chicken with chilled wheat noodles - delicious! We sampled the Asahi draft, the Chilean Sauvignon Blanc and the Famous Groose Espresso Martini. All great! 👍 The service was authentic, attentive and quick throughout the visit. Well done!

Excellent atmosphere with good food and attentive staff

Had a fabulous evening celebrating friends birthday, food and staff all great :)

We stopped for lunch at this large pub overlooking the canal. The food selection was good. We chose 3 bar snacks to share. They were good portions and were delicious. The service was good ,the prices reasonable and the location fabulous.

Food was amazing (hanging kebabs), we added on bottomless and our waitress was absolutely amazing with sorting us drinks. We actually looked for her when we were leaving to thank her but couldn't find her. Will definitely come back :)

Beautiful food, friendly and helpful staff. Beautiful decor. Good gluten free options.

Lovely food and Cocktails..just slow service for the Drinks. My friend and I shared the 3 Kebabs and asked to swap 1 portion of the fries for a portion of Rice but we're told no they couldn't do that . Can't see why that would cause such an issue.. I've been to lots of restaurants where they're always happy to accommodate changes to side orders ... So sorry that's why I haven't given full Stars ..would it really have been such an issue 😕

Great service! I will always recommend The Botanist anytime!

Really like this botanist. Great on a summer's day. Usually have love music on. Drunks are ok. Not great if you like ales hence 4*. Plenty of seating outside. Never really sat inside so can't comment. Toilets are clean. Staff are polite and you get served relatively quickly. Actually never been here when it's rained. The views are lovely as the bar is on the banks of the Worcester -Birmingham canal.

Service was excellent, and we were promptly seated in a nice spot, looking over the water, The menu looks great, but I was confused that none of the draught beers were in the menu. I ended up going to the bar to order a beer, of which they had some great imported lagers. The hanging meat was fun and very tasty. The building is fab, with an amazing paint job o. The outside and some lovely original features. Great outdoor seating, weather permitting. A lovely spot in the centre of the city

Unfortunately sharing a negative experience we had this week at the Botanist, Brindleyplace. Although the venue was lovely and the food selection was extensive, the service and quality of the food wasn’t the best. One of our orders was missing resulting in that persons food coming out 15 mins late and the plates were never cleared off the table after we had eaten. The bill cane around 30 mins after finished eating and the plates and scraps of food was still in front of us. We had waitresses sitting down and not doing anything and no one was switched, one of the waitresses gave us a desert menu after we had finished our starters not even acknowledging we had mains coming. The burgers and the meat from the hanging kebabs were bang average lacking flavour and extremely dry. Overall, really not impressed been here before for a cocktail making class and a meal at the colmore row botanist and had a way better experience there. Not impressed when we came to the new one for a graduation meal as thought it would be nicer and couldn’t have thought the opposite!!!!

Wow!!! We absolutely loved this place 💘 visited for the weekend and this was the highlight! Yummy yum..had the hanging kebabs.

Really pleased with service, the food and the environment we were in. Lovely restaurant. Friendly staff. Really lovely experience. I would definitely return.

The service was fine but the cost of the food was extortionate for what we had. £40 for a 3 sharing kebab was very over priced for what we got although I’m glad we didn’t just buy 3 separate. The noodles we purchased for the girls was very spicey despite us asking prior and being told they weren’t so they weren’t eaten. Overall a sad visit for what was supposed to be a nice occasion.

Food Great! Star knocked off as the server's knowledge of the wine was poor (asked which Rose was the driest and his recommendation was definitely NOT dry!! ) Another star knocked off as we were pushed off the table. Having spent a lot of money already, we might had stayed for another drink but felt very hustled to go so they could get another serving in. Not good customer service practice in my book.

The most confused menu I’ve ever read, seeking to be everything to everyone - Asian, Indian, Middle Eastern, European and English whilst being ‘on trend’ with Brazilian hanging kebab skewers. Failed on all fronts. Crispy Peking Duck was duck but certainly not crispy, someone forgot to dry hang, flatten and crispy cook it (pancakes were not cooked either #basics!). Who knew a Sea Bass fillet could be turned into shoe sole leather. Don’t get me started on the ‘crispy roast potatoes’ that arrived as Hasselback potatoes with in cooked skins 🤢. Obviously won’t be going back and highly recommend no one ever goes there until they at least employ catering students in the kitchen.

Lovely food, good service & great setting

1st time i`ve visited the Brindley place restaurant and i must say my partner and i were very disappointed It took over 40mins to receive our drinks and the servers appeared overwhelmed Where this is situated they should be more than able to cope with large crowds We really like the Botanist chain but wouldn`t rush back here

Food was decent but it felt like you were being rush all of the time, as they were clearly looking to turn the table over

Booked a table for lunch. Walked in via the upstairs entrance which was just WOW...but thats where the wow factor ended. We got seated downstairs which is very dark. Staff are obviously new an require more training. Service was very slow. We ordered the duck sharing starter which was delicious, sharing hanging kebabs for mains x3. Seemed to wait a long time for our main to arrive, Not sure if the skewers should of been hot or not as they arrived cold but was ok. Finished our drinks off outside as they had a singer on, It was packed out but a very good atmosphere in the sun. Probably won't eat here again but will be back for drinks next time we visit the area.

Beautiful place, good food, good service

Great location, delicious food (we had lunch) and good drinks

visited on a very busy sunny Saturday afternoon. The staff were very friendly especially the woman who was front of house, she was vibrant, very welcoming and didn’t let the obviously busy and stressful shift get to her. The food was great, I recommend the Camembert to start as it was divine, truly crafted with care, grace and beauty, a pure delight for the tastebuds. Our server was a seemingly young gentleman who was exactly that, a gentleman, checking constantly and made our visit a pleasant one. If you’re down Birmingham one afternoon and you fancy some food and some nice cocktails take a swim across the canal and visit the Botanist, you won’t be disappointed.

Me and my girlfriend have been speaking about going to the Botanist for months because we always look amazing from the Outside when walking a long the canals. When we arrived we had some drinks and ordered some amazing starters they arrived within minutes. The food was honestly really great. We were all speaking about how this is going to be our new local and how much better it was compared to the other pubs we normally go to. We later went upstairs to have mains and this is when everything got completely ruined. Is started off by one of the waitresses calling my friend drunk and slaming a bottle of wine on to the table and making her feel really bad. Yes we had some drinks but we were never rude. 3 out of the 6 of us have worked in customer before so we understand the challenges. Then my girlfriend is pescatarian so ordered the sharing kebab. Lamb, prawn and holloumi. When it arrived we soon realised that it was pork/chicken and not prawn only after my girlfriend took a bite into it. I called over the manager (tall guy with tattoos, wearing a green floral shirt) he immediately got defensive and told her that you could clearly see it was not prawn so it's her fault. It was a terrible way to deal with the situation. All we wanted was the actually prawn one that we ordered and he said it was her fault for biting in to it. He then said he would replace it and kept Implying that he never had to do this so we were lucky because he isn't sure whether the mistake was on his side or ours. We were to taken back and vouched we will never go here again. A really nice place but the management is in shambles.

Visited years when known as James Brindley. Met friends for lunch. Vibe was okay but food was a complete let down. Worst fish and chips we've ever had in a pub.

Lovely venue, fabulous food and excellent service.

Nice place to have a drink and a snack. Service is friendly, but it can sometimes take a little longer to receive the order at the table. But what is served is very tasty. Highly recommended.

Food was nice and the staff were very polite and attentive but the services was really slow which was odd because it looked like there was only one other table occupied in the restaurant

Stopped in here for a drink, overlooking the canal. Ended up having some sharing bowls and pudding. Thoroughly enjoyed our visit.

Everything was perfect, food was amazing!

The interior of the restaurant was lovely and the menu was a good size. Drinks are priced extortionately at £12 for a glass of wine. The man who was outside 22/06/2024 checking peoples bookings etc was very rude. Me and my partner had booked a table and we arrived and he shouted at us to ask if we had a reservation, we said that we did and I showed him my confirmation on my phone. He looked at me and said “what’s that” I explained to him that it was my reservation he was very rude. We also seen him be rude to another group he was gesturing them to go away as the bar was full they also had a reservation. He ruined our experience and he is the reason for our low score.

Lovely venue. Great food. Poor service. - which is a shame. Hopefully that will improve

Extremely rude and disgusting behaviour by the manager “John” attempting to move some beautiful ladies from an empty table after someone vacated it and tried to take it back. Understaffed as always and long waits at the bar. Beautiful setting but this is no way hospitality. Do better!!!!!!

Very suitable for gatherings, like returning to China

It was Fathers Day so busy but the wait for orders to be taken and the food coming out was ridiculous. Two meals arrived stone cold. The staff were lovely and took them off the bill. However, slow service, cold feed and overpriced food means I won't be returning.

Lovely staff but rubbish drink ordering system. Over an hour to our drinks.

Really lovely setting for father's day, however I imagine this was much nicer before it was taken over by the Botanist. No live music as was advertised, service slow, all food and hot drinks arrived cold. Staff were friendly.

Very busy Friday night. Bar staff very friendly and food good. Waiter not quite with it but amiable and was working hard. Finished meal and went downstairs for the live music. A very good evening.

Visited on Sunday 16th June 2024. Only had one drink each. Sorry the prices are way too much for beers you can get at half the price by walking a few minutes more.