Praza Edgbaston — Restaurant in Birmingham

Upmarket Indian restaurant on Hagley Road in Edgbaston offering a very similar dining experience to Asha’s in the Jewellery Quarter or Praza’s sister restaurant Pushkar’s on Broad Street.

On arrival there is a car park at the rear of the building – there’s quite a narrow entrance exit so be careful and be aware that the lighting isn’t great and the parking bays aren’t clearly defined/difficult to see. There is an entrance from the car park but annoyingly it’s not in use. So you make your way to the front of the building.

Once inside you’re greeted by a bar and a comfortable and stylish waiting area.

Décor can be seen as glitzy or chintzy depending on your taste, but the room is simple and well laid-out. The copper accents are a nice touch. The restaurant is in a Grade II listed Georgian building and is a bit draughty as a result!

The menu is Asian cuisine predominantly from India and will be familiar to anyone who has been to the sister restaurant, Pushkars, on Broad Street. The dishes all seem to be quite rich and heavily spiced, of which I am a fan, but may not suit everyone’s palate. To get the best variety I’d recommend ordering one or two of the mains dishes as sides to vary the experience.

There are a couple of premium lagers on tap (Peroni and Cobra) and a nice selection of wines, cocktails and soft drinks.

Service is good, if not great. There are one or two very experienced waiters who I think may have previously been at Asha’s near the Jewellery Quarter and a few inexperienced slower staff.

Food is relatively expensive when compared to less upmarket Indian food establishments but probably at the right price point given the location, ambiance, level of service and quality of food. Starters £5-10, mains £10 -£15 with seafood mains at between £15-£20.

Other points to note - Some of the seating, especially in the main seating area is quite low and most(?) of the chairs have low backs so could be a source of discomfort for the taller or...

Myself and my partner visited this restaurant unaware that it had been renamed.we were greeted and queried the change of the name they confirmed they had the same owners yet when we asked for halal meat which they previously served they had told us they no longer did this but may have certain dishes which would be halal however we decided we were happy to have vegetarian dishes whilst they went to confirm which dishes were halal.whilst we were waiting for them to enquire the staff member had returned and commented on the dress code the restaurant had and advised due to this we would have to sit upstairs my partner had a hoody on his jacket and I queried the dress code as this was not mentioned to us on arrival. He said they had a no hoody policy I advised my partner was happy to jacket off however he then commented that my partner also had trainers on (which were dark and could have been mistaken for shoes) which he previously did not mention as an issue.we left the restaurant in disgust as there were other people in the restaurant who were not dressed smart and there was nothing to advise there was a dress code upon our arrival.we felt targeted by this particular member of staff who was an Asian male who I assume would have been the manager and felt they were clearly being dishonest as surely if it was the same owners the food would still be halal.considering how often we had visited the previous restaurant and the lovely service we received compared to this restaurant who was the complete opposite I would not recommend this restaurant!they clearly had an issue with us and never have we walked into a restaurant and been treated in the way we were at Praza!the front of the restaurant is situated at the back of the main road so they couldn't even use the excuse that someone wearing trainers would impact on other people who wanted to attend he restaurant as they wouldn't be able to see the restaurant from the main...

The food was tasty, and service started off well, but a major issue with the bill has put us off from returning or recommending this place.

We paid a deposit, and though two people didn’t attend, we were still charged £10 per head, which we accepted. However, they refused to remove a £49 service charge, insisting it wasn’t optional. We were told this should have been discussed when paying the deposit, but how could we know without receiving service yet?

Both the floor manager and another manager refused to remove the charge, claiming it was mentioned in the email confirmation, though it didn’t specify if it was mandatory. They also said since we had a private room, we would have to pay £99 for it if we didn’t pay the service charge, even though this wasn’t mentioned during booking. On top of that, they hinted we should pay £35 per person for the two adults who didn’t show up but said they were being generous by not charging us for that.

We paid £35 per person for a set menu, which included a small starter and dessert. The mains were served family-style with no set portions per person—11 adults shared just 2 bowls of rice. They claimed it was refillable, but clearly, they were cutting costs. Even the naan was randomly served, some of it dry and in small pieces.

Overall, there was poor communication, and it felt like they were just trying to squeeze extra money out of us. Clear pricing should be provided upfront. After all the uproar they removed the service charge then went on to say… They were attentive to our needs and constantly served and checked in on us, well is that not what you get anyway from a non buffet style restaurant? Please see attached pic stating it’s a free venue hire, no where mentions £99 room hire and nor did they mention on the phone when booking, stop making up rules as...