The Hive Café and Bakery — Restaurant in Birmingham

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...

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...

The Hive is awesome! They make everything fresh, and it’s all vegetarian with plenty of vegan options too. They even use ingredients from their own urban rooftop garden and micro-farm. You can really taste the difference with their super fresh and seasonal dishes.

I tried the Masala Scotch Egg with homemade salads and pickles, and wow – it was so good! The egg was perfectly cooked with just the right amount of spice, and the salads were fresh, colorful, and full of flavour. The team put a lot of thought into every dish, and since they change the menu seasonally, there’s always something new to try.

The staff are super warm and welcoming, and you can tell that they really enjoy what they do. If you’re into delicious, healthy food with a laid-back atmosphere, The Hive is the place to be. Definitely recommend...