The Hive Cafe and Bakery

+44 121 233 9145

43-47 Vittoria St, Birmingham B1 3PE United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Open Today: 07:30 AM - 03:30 PM

The Hive Cafe and Bakery Info

43-47 Vittoria St, Birmingham B1 3PE United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
+44 121 233 9145
[email protected]

Amenities

Service options

Takeaway
Dine-in

Highlights

Great tea selection

Accessibility

Wheelchair-accessible entrance
Wheelchair-accessible seating
Wheelchair-accessible toilet

Offerings

Coffee
Healthy options
Organic dishes
Small plates
Vegan options
Vegetarian options

Dining options

Breakfast
Brunch
Lunch
Dessert

Amenities

Toilets

Atmosphere

Casual
Cosy

Crowd

Groups

Planning

Payments

Credit cards
NFC mobile payments

Children

Good for kids

Pets

Dogs allowed inside

Best KPortal Reviews

Don't believe the buzz over the The Hive Cafe and Bakery! Food is almost inedible, prices are high for the amount and quality you receive, decor is depressing, and customer service is lacking. It's baffling why this place has so many positive reviews, and I hope sharing my negative experience here can spare another from it.

Both my friend and I love supporting small businesses that promote house-made, organic, farm-to-table food, so yesterday my friend and I went for lunch at The Hive Cafe and Bakery. The items described on their menu sounded delectable, but they were out of nearly every option. As a vegan with a dairy allergy, my choices are already limited, so I was delighted to hear their "Vegan Salad Mix" was still available. However, the man taking my order told me they were out of vegan butter and asked if they could replace it with real dairy butter. After telling him no and that I would prefer no butter with my salad in that case, he told me he HAD to give me butter with my order. My friend and I were perplexed by this. Why was butter such an integral part of a vegan dish?

We eventually agreed because there was no other options and went to sit down at a table while we waited a long time for our food to be brought out. The decor is rather sparse and void of color with stock images of farms and vegetables on the wall, along with dead plants and random trinkets clustered in corners. No music was playing and their wooden chairs were uncomfortable too, but we hoped the money they saved on creating an atmosphere was invested into quality ingredients. We were sorely disappointed by what the server set down in front of us.

Turns out the butter is just a tiny side component for the bread served with the vegan salad mix. There was no excuse why it couldn't be excluded from my order! The salad itself was barely the size of my fist and made predominantly of dry arugula and olives with a little hummus on the side. My friend, who after being told they were out of sandwiches, went with the staff-recommended corn on the cob, but her salad was identical to mine and even smaller in size while the corn was old and flavorless. We weren't given forks or even told by the server where to get them. Each plate was £8 each! We were still so hungry afterwards that we went to another cafe.

Maybe The Hive and Bakery Cafe is a popular place for the older crowd who don't mind pricey, bland food with butter on the side, but this place needs serious improvements to be worthy of the praise and ranking it has here.

EDIT: Thank you to the owner for taking time to reply and give more details. We applaud you and your mission but perhaps signage up front such as "Proud to employ students" could better set customer expectations walking in. Hopefully the experience and impression I've shared can provide more perspective to help The Hive and Bakery Cafe find success and continue to improve.

Seasonal food was beautifully prepared and presented. Staff warm, friendly and knowledgeable about their produce. Great choice of dishes and drinks. We ordered 4 small plates to share between 2 and left nicely full :)

A lovely spacious café with a creative menu and delicious food. The coffee was great too, and at a very good price. Friendly staff and a calming atmosphere. I would recommend!

The food is all lovely, the staff are pleasant. I'm docking service stars because a group beside me ordered some food and paid. Only after 3 of the group members had been brought the food and the 4th one was waiting were they told the 4th meal wasn't available. It should have been checked when the order was placed.

I've been a few times and you're generally served quickly. It's important to note that the toilets are kept clean and the tables are cleared quickly. The Hive is very well presented.

Delicious healthy and freshly made food. Friendly cheerful service. Very pleasant atmosphere. Great value. And you can buy amazing bread to take home. The Hive is my new favourite cafe! And the organisation has a great ethos too.

Absolutely blown away by the quality of food and service we experienced last Friday. We chose the German tofu sausage roll with sauerkraut, mustard and ale soaked pickles. £5.75 for really generous portions. Gorgeous cakes too. Only open when students are in so morning and early afternoon weekday servings, Monday - Friday. Well worth it and you're benefitting the community too ????????????????????

Preface: I got there just before closing (30 min) so the atmosphere can't really be an accurate score given they were getting ready to shut up shop.

The hive is delightfully quaint in feeling, whilst being huge in space. A rustic and open plan cafe come-coffee shop run/worked by some truly sweet beings.

The layout is accessible for mobility aids and is predominantly on one wide flat level with a large, low counter and an spacious seating area, a lift for aid users is available at the entrance.

Situated in the side streets of the jewellery quarter, this little haven is a home from home style eatery, a place to take a load off and support a community effort.

The hive hosts a multitude of workshops and social gatherings and their ethos seems to be firmly routed in the spreading, teaching and support of soulful skills, be that expression through the arts or sustainability through their grow/green projects and community involvement for self sustainability as a business.

Upon entering you are met with artistic expressions painted on the walls, past projects displayed in the books and crannies and information snippets on the walls.

The service was lovely, especially given they were in the process of packing down the kitchen when I arrived. Big smiles and joyful interactions were had.

Myself and my friend ordered a late and some pastries and sat to dry off a bit from out Birmingham exploration and be didn't once feel like a burden for showing up late.

We ate, drank and left 10 min before doors close so we weren't 'those customers' who hung around right till the doors closed.

I would love to go back and enjoy some of the projects or speak easies THEY host and I feel like it would be a great place to visit when bustling with other like-minded folk.

Clean, well priced, calm and chilled vibes. Lovely staff, accessible building with a fun and delightful atmosphere, even if we were the only ones there ????

Great value food, inc veggie and vegan and gluten free. Sponsored charity run training kitchen. Innovative salads and small dishes. Busy and friendly atmosphere and can visit exhibitions relating to The Jewellery Quarter. Staff are always friendly and helpful and the food is very good value.