Medicine Bakery — Restaurant in Birmingham

Have been frequenting for the last few years as always find their brunch menu to be really good and I live close by. However, every time I have visited within the past year I find myself more and more disappointed, and unfortunately the last two visits have been enough to decide to no longer visit again. I always visit on my own as a treat on a day off from work. The last couple of times I have been I have been squished on a table between large groups, or awkwardly placed on the end of a large table with another large group, so always feel awkward and uncomfortable from the get go. I usually visit mid week, around 1 or 2pm when there aren't a lot of guests inside, and instead of allowing everyone to have more space they decide to cram everyone in one section of the restaurant and close the other side early. Last visit I waited 15 minutes for someone to finally come and take a drinks order. Again, it was not busy inside of the restaurant and every other guest already had their food. When you look around you see most of the staff congregating and having a chat. No hello from the waiter, just asked what I wanted and then grabbed the menu and walked off. I asked for tap water to the table, never received it during the visit. Food came fast as always though there is a noticeable change in the past few years where prices have increased and serving sizes have become smaller. No one checks in during the meal, so if you'd like another drink or there is an issue with the food then you need to try and wave someone down. The prior time I asked for tap water and the waiter grabbed a glass that was piping hot from the potwash rather than a cooled one from the waiters station. On my last visit they did not provide any cutlery when I was seated like they usually do. The waitress noticed this when she dropped off my dish- no problem, things get missed but she had noticed and said she would bring some over. I waited over 5 minutes with my food sat in front of me before she finished her conversation with another member of staff and then remembered she needed to drop it off. When it was brought over, I noticed everyone had lovely marble looking pots and I was given a small, damaged cutlery pot that had clearly been dropped prior. During a prior visit, the group sat next to me were hitting a muffin with forks and laughing about how stale it was. They sat and waited for someone to come over but no one did. They had to flag someone down to tell them they wanted to cancel their order and leave. In fact, two groups total walked out during my limited time there. When I finished my meal during the last visit, my plan was to grab another coffee and do some work for half an hour whilst it was quieter. It was around 3:30pm, and I know they don't close until 5pm. Most guests had now left and the place was 3/4 empty so I assumed staying a bit longer would cause no harm. I finished the coffee I already had and sat and waited for a member of staff to approach. Whilst clearing the table next to me, the waiter stopped, printed my bill, dropped it on the table and then pulled out a card machine. No ask of how the meal was or if I would like anything else. I hadn't even asked for the bill. He hadn't even cleared my plate before chucking the bill on my table. I paid fast and was quick to leave, I have never felt so rushed and unwelcome in a venue before and was genuinely gobsmacked by how uninviting the staff have now become. I've visited before with friends and have never had a problem but it seems every time I visit on my own they're not interested in making sure you have a nice visit, like you're not important because youre sitting by yourself and the larger groups have priority. Unfortunately after that experience I will never be going back- such a shame as the chefs do a great job but the FoH staff let them...

I was hesitant to write a review but looking at a few of these reviews, it’s clear that mine wasn’t an isolated incident.

I can’t say it for all of the staff but atleast 3 of the staff/waiters have a bit of an attitude problem and just look like they would rather be elsewhere- I too wish they had been elsewhere so that I could have gotten some decent service.

I ordered the huevos rancheros and whilst the food was good, they had forgotten about the chorizo which I had also ordered.

We tried to get the attention of a waiter, got the attention of this female waiter and she just didn’t seem to care. So I waited 5 minutes and nothing. So we flagged down another waiter and he also didn’t seem too interested but said he would take the money for the chorizo off our bill but then 5 mins later out comes some chorizo which he said would be free - I said I didn’t mind and would be happy to pay for it. He also made a side comment about the chorizo “that’s what it looks like” which I interpreted as “your meal probably came with chorizo but you didn’t realise”. I’m sure I would have realised by the taste alone. But also I have photographic evidence that there is no chorizo on the food only pico de gallo with the tomatoes. I have attached a photo of the chorizo plate- the one they brought out afterwards.

It was my first time dining in there. I don’t think I’ll come back. I might give the mailbox one a try as the food was actually good.

Then, as we were leaving - the aforementioned female waitress looked at us with dead look on her face and did not smile or say goodbye.

I was left wondering why atleast 2 of the waiters are so sour faced? Is there something wrong with the management that they don’t like? Are they tired of working?

Finally, came to the bakery part of the restaurant and thought buying a treat would sweeten the experience a bit. However whilst I got a tart, the person who was managing the bakery and taking orders, also looked like she didn’t want to be there. When we asked her a few questions she was short with her replies, not even smiling and looked extremely bored.

Did the staff get a telling off or something?

Whatever it was, I won’t be coming back despite the food being good.

I left feeling confused and...

TLDR: I’d only recommend this place if you’re getting a pastry from the front. Long wait times (45+ mins) + no cooling system = not a great place to dine in.

Came here twice and had very different experiences.

When a friend and I grabbed a pastry from the front, we were served and seated right away, even moving to a booth when requested. The atmosphere was great and the interior is very aesthetic and appealing for social media. No complaints here.

When I came alone a few months later to order brunch, I had a 2/5 experience. First, it took around 5-10 minutes to be seated with no acknowledgment of the long wait time, even with several moments of eye contact with staff who didn’t seem very rushed, though this can be overlooked. Second, I waited over 45 minutes for my food (not a guess or overestimate) without acknowledgment of any sort. There was a period of around 15 minutes where nothing came out of the kitchen (I had a direct view of where the food exited).

During this wait time, it was increasingly apparent how uncomfortable the space was. There was no AC and the building has no windows to open. The only cooling system was a single fan, and with the many skylights, the restaurant felt like a greenhouse. Literally outside the restaurant was cooler than inside and that’s not an exaggeration.

The food itself was alright. I ordered the harissa benedict and the only qualm I have with it was that the eggs were almost hard boiled and not runny at all. There was a lot of chorizo on it and the mushrooms were great, however I don’t think I’d pay £14...