The Shakespeare — Restaurant in Birmingham

📍Nicholson’s @ The Shakespeare Inn

Toad in the Hole (£10) - Outdoor-bred British pork sausages inside a Yorkshire pudding with creamy mashed potato, topped with a rich balsamic caramelised onion gravy. Served with steamed greens and glazed Chantenay carrots.

Verdict: Toad in the hole done right - a historic & phenomenal meal indeed!! 🐸 This dish has a unique taste that is enticing that I could barely restrain myself from diving right in 🤤 It was indeed a hefty meal for one person as the portion was enormous, but it was just stupendous that I was able to finish it all by my own 🤩 The Yorkshire pudding was a beaut from inside to out- the savoury baked pudding was slightly crispy on the outside while retaining its airiness and fluffy texture on the inside; the thick buttery and eggy dense centre which nestled 3 big scoops of creamy mashed potato and jumbo sausages, soaked up the piping hot balsamic caramelised onion gravy well. There was a nice juicy bite on the sausages, and I’ve to admit that the rich onion gravy was spot on, as it paired well with everything on the plate. The highlight was definitely the Yorkshire pudding as it was gently crispy and beguilingly fluffy while not carrying a hint of grease despite its mode of preparation 😍😍

The Shakespeare Inn has its own distinctive warmth, genuine service and vibrant atmosphere. I was lucky enough to stumble upon this characterful pub which serves Autumnal dishes with modern twists. Prepare your taste buds for seasonal delights you’ll only find here within their historic walls. A superb range of cask ales from specialist breweries, as well as delicious freshly cooked pub food available....

Popped in here on a Saturday afternoon for a few drinks with my daughter. It was quite busy with people standing at the bar and sitting at the tables. They have a great range of beers, ciders, ales and spirits. We did not order food so I can't comment . The bar staff were excellent and tried not to keep people waiting too long. I ordered a pint of Madri which was refreshingly cold, crisp and tasty, my daughter had half a Weston's cider which she equally enjoyed. This is a nice little city centre pub, can feel a bit claustrophobic when busy though, and whilst the atmosphere is pleasant, the toilets are a bit small and the gents were quite smelly. We wanted to take our drinks outside but we were politely told by one of the door staff we could only do that if we sat at one of the outside tables, which unfortunately were full - they won't allow you to stand and drink outside-which I find strange as I've walked past before and seen people doing this. So we went back inside to stand. Shortly after, one of the door staff came to tell us there was a table free, which I thought was lovely of him. Both the gents on the door were chatty and polite. Sitting outside was great, watching the busy street but, and this is no fault of the Shakespeare, we were approached 3 times by homeless people asking for money. That and the almost constant sound of street preachers and dodgy buskers really lets Birmingham City Centre down...

I have just realised that I sent this review to the wrong Shakespeare pub. I realise there was another pub with the same name, anyway. For my review of lower temple street site, I wrote. We all came here last week, Sunday 16th August after a day of shopping. We were only going to stay for a couple of pints and head home on the train. Very impressed with all the covid precautions as we walked in although bemused a little by the fact that it was card only and no cash, but it’s strange times. We were shown to our table and give a drinks menu. I thought I’d have a gin and looked through. Seeing that there were more gins than on the menu I asked for a recommendation and explained my tastes. I was given several options and went with monkey 47 and it was amazing such intense flavours. A great recommendation. My friend had Guinness and another Ubu. Both telling me that theirs drinks were also great pints. We stayed for 3 more rounds as it was such a great time with the staff. And some bar snacks that were such great value. We’ll be back next time we are in town. We are heading back this Friday to start our night out. See you...