The Canal House in Birmingham

Food and service were exceptional. Thank you for the little extras that made my graduation celebrations extra special! Special thank you to Dory and Amber who were so attentive when serving us and to Tony in the kitchen for our delicious food. Highly recommend 👍🏽

Was looking forward to a nice meal after a nice day in Birmingham, unfortunately that didn't happen, we waited over an hour and asked why our meals wasn't arriving, the waitress went to ask and she said sorry they have ran out of the food we ordered, well she shouted it ,we couldn't here her or ourselves speak for the loud entertainment.

The whole night was awful! We waited 90 minutes for food to be told that the food we had selected was unavailable. We ended up leaving without eating. Whilst we were waiting, the live music was so loud that my father in law had to turn off his hearing aids as the noise was unbearable for him. We complained about the noise along with multiple other tables in the restaurant and nothing was done about it. It was such a shame because we were celebrating a graduation. This is not what I would expect from such a big chain restaurant. Will not be returning

I went here on the 26th October with my family to celebrate my graduation, but it turned out to be a huge disappointment. First, we waited 15 minutes just for them to locate our reservation. After that, we ended up waiting over 90 minutes for our food, only to be told they had run out of what we ordered—and had almost no other options left on the menu so had to leave and go elsewhere. On top of that, the music was so loud we could barely hear each other, which made the atmosphere feel more like a nightclub than a restaurant. Overall, it was an incredibly frustrating experience, especially for a special occasion. I wouldn’t recommend here if you’re looking for good service or a relaxing dining experience.

Worse experience ever got there a bit early told there was no tables had to wait which is fair we went down stairs and lo and be hold empty tables eventually got a table ordered drinks then meal singer come on and was way to loud even had to turn my hearing aids of lol asked again hour and half later and told our food was not available we walked out drinks were free because of bad experience would not recommend this place to any all five of us were extremely disappointed

THE WORST EXPERIENCE .... EVER. Had a table booked for Saturday 26 Oct to celebrate our dear friend's birthday. Attended on time and was sat in the downstairs part of the restaurant. Shortly after the house entertainment part of the evening began. The volume of speakers used by the female singer and the accompaning organist was so loud the waitress struggled to take our orders. It was impossible to hold any civilized conversation. The obvious discomfort became quite frustrating indeed. We did ask multiple times to turn the volume down or be moved, however, our request fell on death ears (not pun intended). To add insult to injury after 1h and 10min we were still waiting for our meals. At the end we simply decided to leave. Unable to mark the quality of food as we had never received any. Similarily, not much to comment about your customer service as we could not hear each other. And the atmosphere, well, it was drowned out by the amplifier. The Botanist (at Gas Street Basin) .. shame on you. You not only pretty much ruined our friend's birthday celebration but you also failed to deliver what a decent catering establishment usually does, feed customers. It goes without saying that we will vote with our feet next time. On a way back some of us stopped for a sandwich and a cuppa at a local Pret.

--- I recently had the pleasure of being served by Hannah, and I can't say enough about how exceptional her service was. From the moment I walked in, she greeted me with a warm smile and made me feel right at home. Hannah has a rare talent for reading the room and understanding exactly what each guest needs. She was incredibly attentive, quick to offer drink recommendations that fit my tastes perfectly, and even created a custom cocktail that was absolutely delicious. Beyond her technical skills as a bartender, Hannah has an amazing personality that makes her stand out. She’s friendly, professional, and has a way of making everyone at the bar feel like they’re her top priority. Her genuine enthusiasm and dedication to making sure everyone has a great time created an inviting and enjoyable atmosphere. Hannah’s customer service goes above and beyond; she truly made my night memorable. I'll be returning soon, hoping to have her as my bartender again!

I was served by JOE N he was amazing had a great time came with my Nan and she really enjoyed her meal and I did too 😌

The pub itself was lovely, interesting decor with a good buzz. We booked a table at 1.00 on a Sat. The service and speed of food delivery was very poor. We finally made it out at 3.30pm - it took that long to get the food! Nobody checked in on us to explain there was a delay, management seemed non existent - nobody keeping an overview on people "waiting". When eventually requesting some update from staff on where our food was, a cynic might say the numerous staff around actively avoided eye contact. No request of would we like a second round of drinks, so we settled on a jug of water instead. It even took 30 mins to get desserts - which given they were simple ice cream and banoffee seems an extraordinary delay, again we had to chase where the food was - no proactivity. The food was good, when it finally came. Management needs to be far more engaged and pro-actively keep an eye on customers who are clearly waiting for a long time. Surely the ordering systems should be prompting when customers are waiting an inordinate amount of time? So in short food and ambience good, but service was poor, our meal was over £160 for 4 - it should have been better for that price.

I loved it and highly recommend :) everything is perfect

Stunning view. I just grab a beer with friends. Will come back to try their food. Friendly staff and amazing atmosphere. The price is expensive, around £4 for half pint beer but worth it. Highly suggest you to sit outdoor if weather is good.

Nice food and atmosphere, it was hard to get someone's attention at times to order more drinks and pay.

Beautiful view, absolutely love this place. Went there for drinks only.

Staff are lovely and efficient.hardly any waiting time for food.live music and a good vibe.food is good.

Just love this place, went early Saturday lunch time and was very quite and the food was amazing.

I went for the sirloin steak, fries, onion rings and peppercorn sauce. Steak was cooked as requested. Medium. It’s was quite gristly/fatty which was a bit disappointing for the price of £28, I would have expected better. Everything else was good though.

Food is cooked properly at a reasonable price. Staff are nice. The restaurant is nicely decorated and has a good atmosphere for dining and spending time with friends.

Singer on was brilliant Food lovely and the server was a great guy

I went here for an anniversary dinner, just wanted something casual but still had a nice atmosphere, this was the perfect place. We had booked in advance, and initially my partner and I were sat on a dim table (the only table without an overhead light it seems), right by the toilets. I understand that on a busy Saturday night someone has to sit there, but if we had not been allowed to move to the table behind we would have been quite disappointed. The server was lovely, very sociable, food was nice along with the drinks. We both had the original chicken hanging kebab, with a side of fries. For drinks my partner had an Asahi beer and I had a strawberry and elderflower cocktail which was also lovely. We were given an hour and a half slot which we thought we wouldn’t need the full length of, but it took an hour for the food to arrive, and the table who were sat 20 minutes after us who had ordered the same food, were also served before us. Also asked for a jug of water which we didn’t receive, but we realise it was a busy Saturday evening and we were fine without. Overall, experience was good, we would definitely return during a different time of day.

Lovely food and service. Highly recommended

Lovely Resturant very welcoming...staff worked so hard ....and very pleasant...food was lovely and hot ...great atmosphere...will be going back...cocktails prosecco was really tasty...thankyou all for makeing us feel so welcome...

Very nice restaurant for a quick lunch. Luke was very welcoming and friendly, the beer was perfect.

Fab lunch only thing is they were too busy to serve drinks at the bar they preferred us to have table service but we wanted to buy our own drinks . But it was still a fab lunch hanging kebabs delish..

It was nice meeting with colleagues. We only had drinks so I can't say anything about the food. The service at the bar was fast but we where there at like 6pm so not busy yet. The location looks very good and it worth some pictures.

Great location, staff nice , beautiful setting and decor but food all thought not v expensive, quite poor

Enjoyable time with a group of friends. Food was as you would expect from the chain. Service was fine but some items either didn't come or incorrect. The ladies toilets were horrendous and need to be checked and cleaned regularly!!!

Nice place for midday drink overlooking the canal.

Good food, drinks and beautiful live music on the weekends.

Very slow service 2.5 hrs. Food did not meet descriptions, missing many items. And over cooked. Had 4 guests and mains arrived separately, some cold.

Amazing place will be visiting again surely and the compliment on the food big time was my favourite thing and the place was quality and rustic look of the place was amazing sets the vibe of the whole place and definitely feel great as the atmosphere inside was nice and friendly staff. I can't fault it as it did tick all YESSSSSSS AND OH YEAHHHHHH just keeping it real so go ahead and do visit this place days weeks or months from now but do give it a try. GUYS KEEP UP THE ETHOS😉👍🏼

Loved the cocktails and the overall experience. Will return.

This was a great location for a team lunch. The menu was pretty limited if you wanted the lunch option, but the lunch size kebabs were actually pretty spot o n for about £9.50 including fries. I think with a soft drink and the automatically applied tip, we ended up paying less than £14.50 per person. I had the pork, and it was surprisingly flavourful. I'd order it again. I can't comment on the breadth of the menu. But it was definitely worth the trip. The service was good. The decor was nice. Good scheme all round.

Fantastic food & drinks. Excellent service. Will definitely be going back 😊

What a great evening, talked all the way home about it, the hanging Kebabs were amazing, the staff were very efficient and came back to check on us regularly. The restaurant itself was well laid out and I’d highly recommend it for a great night out.

Went in on Sunday afternoon, food was amazing and our waiter, Sam, was excellent and catered to all of our needs.

Came here on the 15th September in the evening as we were staying next door at the Premier Inn and decided to come here for dinner and drinks before a show at the Utilita Arena. Despite it being quite busy I cannot fault the service received. I'd like to recognise the staff who were working in the evening. The food was tasty and drink top notch as per other Botanists I've been to around the country! Thank you :)

Went a couple of days ago with my friends and I ordered the hanging kofta. Was a bit disappointed at the size of it compared to the prawn one or the size of the fish & chips. I was glad I had also ordered an extra pitta which unfortunately took forever to come. I ended up having to stop eating my dinner and wait for the kitchen to finally realise after the waiter told them that they had forgotten to serve it. The bowl containing the rice under the kofta was broken so after I poured the extra garlic oil on top, it made a right mess and ended up going all over the table. The staff was lovely and the decor was amazing but was very disappointed with the food. Such a shame!

Big service charge on bill. The desserts, one was wrong it was meant to be sticky toffee pudding not a brownie and the other the cookie dough with marshmallows wasn't as good as others I've had that were cheaper so I was disappointed with the size and overall dessert. The biscuits was just broken and chucked on but did nothing to improve the dessert. Ask miller's and carter's how to do cookie dough properly.

Nice venue, food was really good but was let down by the service

Bar service is a joke. Took 40 mins to get served on an afternoon. didn’t eat or stay long enough to comment on atmosphere

Visited as was going to see a concert nearby, good location. Unfortunately after buying a £40 bottle of white wine they had no wine glasses! And I had to drink out of a gin glass! This isn’t really acceptable for the price's charged, also asked for some water on the table and that never arrived. I had fish and chips and was nice.

Very picturesque. Went for a morning walk along here. Nice and quiet with sun coming up.

Utter chaos. A pleasant Saturday afternoon, long queues at down and upstairs bars. Inadequately staffed. Waited over 30 minutes at both bars before cutting my losses and getting a nice meal elsewhere

Visited on a Saturday afternoon for my Son's birthday and unfortunately this was spoilt by the extremely poor service we received. Couldn't fault the food - if a little overpriced. In a not particularly busy restaurant we were seated in an alcove at the back (red flag) and then we were basically ignored. The waitress (who confessed to being hungover from the night before - like we needed to know) eventually took our drinks and food order and went on her merry way. 50 mins later we were still waiting for drinks and our food arrives! We chased the drinks with the 'manager' who bought the food then got the drinks with no apology. Throughout the meal we had to ask for cutlery, sauces, napkins, plates and another round of drinks. Another waitress who took the drinks order was also rude. We were continually ignored. Having been in the room for 1 hour 40 minutes we had 1 drink! When we expressed our discontent with the 'manager' he was quite argumentative and said they were understaffed and some of the staff had been out the night before as someone was leaving - not our problem! He did take the drinks off the bill in the end and, through gritted teeth, apologised. Nice food spoilt by poor service. Won't be back and definitely won't be recommending! Do yourself a favour and go to Slug and Lettuce or Cosy Club instead!

Reservations are recommended if you want to eat. Very cozy place

Well organised posh pub in a great location with views over the canal and harbour. Specialising in good food and with a good range of beers and drinks. Seating inside and out, upstairs and downstairs.

Pleasant and atmospheric eatery with a very Victorian, lavish decor inside. Excellent food. Does get busy so advance booking advisable.

Excellent service, just let down by the lack of 'available' items on the menu. We were at our 3rd choice option before we could order.

Not the best experience. There was four of us, waited half an hour just to be served drinks and it was only 5.30pm. Food was very average and overpriced in my opinion. I had hanging chicken kebab so almost £17 for a skewer and a small bowl of rice that didn't taste like coconut at all just boring boiled rice. Wine was £27 a bottle and wasn't good , tasted like something you could get for about £4 at the supermarket. Then to cap it all almost a £12 service charge was slapped on the bill.. won't rush back, nice location though so maybe just drinks when the weather is good.

Arrived after a booking. We were seated. After 15 min wait waitress arrived to take our order informed us that items we wanted to order had run out. We decided to dine elsewhere.

abs fantastic food ,and staff were amazing highly recommend

Great food . Great customer service.

I attended The botanist I thought the scenery was great. I enjoyed the cocktails. My disappointment was the sharing kebabs I ordered, they were really salty which was really why I visited. I didn’t complain as i understand not all food I will enjoy. On top of that the server ignored me whilst attending my table when enquiring about other tables, which the server apologised on my second attempt at the question so she clearly heard me the first time. Secondly I was not told of a service charge in which I was not even aware The botanist has, and that I had even paid. So overall disappointing because of the ignorance of the server I would not have felt comfortable paying such a charge for that service.

The meal was great, and the service abit slow

A beautiful gastro pub in a great location and very attentive service

Nice place but a bit on the expensive side.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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!

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

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.

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.

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

Excellent food and service will definitely be going back.

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.

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

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

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!