The Hive Cafe & Bakery in Birmingham

Visited today with friends. They chose the place and I knew nothing of it beforehand. As a college I love what they do, as a cafe I struggled. 4 types of baguette, all veggie, two with pesto which I don’t like, one with hummus which I don’t like and one with halloumi, which I don’t like. The soup was spiced which ….. you guessed it…. I don’t like. Cakes looked nice but were all vegan or gluten free. I had two pastries in the end, which were nice enough. Just seemed very limited menu for a busy Saturday lunchtime. Love the building, the lack of music, it’s a nice environment, staff are friendly. I’d have love to have seen pizza or Mac n cheese, if it’s gotta be veggie. I accept I’m quite a fussy eater ….. but reviews are opinions and this is mine.

A group of us went for coffee in the morning. Only one person serving, nobody else in there. Coffee took over 20 mins to come. Coffee and hot chocolate were fine. We returned for lunch later on and there was hardly anything on the menu. Mainly sausage rolls or scotch eggs. I ordered dip but when the other meals arrived mine wasn't there. Eventually I was told that they didn't have any left. I had a refund. Staff were pleasant but we were very disappointed as the cafe had such great reviews.

Such good food - all home made and a really unique menu. Amazing freshly baked bread as well. Nice atmosphere, great service, friendly staff. A gem in the JQ.

Inventive vegetarian menu, friendly staff, quirky decor, dog friendly, and BLISS - no background music. I had a huge focaccia sandwich loaded with delicious goat cheese, home grown salad, sweet red pepper, gherkin and pickle. My husband had a generous serving of home made beetroot soup so thick you could stand up a spoon in it.

First I think this is a place that attracts groups of ladies with the occasional retired gents. Not so much a place for a professor and students. We had a reserved table but I didn’t realize it had a time limit - after 60 minutes we were told we needed to pay because another party was waiting for the table. I was entertaining two of my former students and we had hoped to catch up. That didn’t happen when we were told to move along. Second visit I took 2 business guests. Was I dressed badly? Or am I too young for the place? The hostess was rude. So I think this is a place to be seen but not for long. Enjoy the food and beverages but don’t linger. I can say the food is outstanding but there are other restaurants in the area that have excellent food - maybe not as creative as the food at Hive but I tend to favor restaurants that treat me well. As you might expect Hive prices are expensive.