#HBIB Review: Red Couch

Birmingham has always been lacking a really good halal full English option which led me to ask a few friends if they knew anywhere and Red Couch was discovered. It is away from the typical places you would go for some food in Birmingham all the way on Erdington High Street however it will be worth the trip I assure you.

Surprising enough the cafe has red couches hence the name but there is also typical cafe seating for those not lucky enough to grab a couch. There is enough seating for a group of friends and they do not mind you moving some tables around as was the case when I visited. The place was quite busy on a saturday morning however our order was taken pretty quickly which was a good thing as I was starving!

Menu: There is a good range of breakfast sizes depending on how hungry you are and to suit a range of budgets also. Within our group we opted for the Lite Bite (£3.25) and the Big Bite (£4.50) Options. The Lite Bite had sausage, a hash brown, an egg, mushrooms, beans and toast. The larger option was topped up with an extra egg, hash brown, toast and some turkey rashers which was much needed by myself! Drinks are extra and not part of the breakfast meal which is a bit of a shame I thought. We ordered some OJ, an Earl Grey and a Macchiato (whatever that is).

Food: I loved it, from the picture above you can see why! The eggs were cooked really well. I would have liked a bit more yolk but thats just personal preference. I enjoyed the sausage which was very well cooked and the turkey rashers were nice but I felt they could have been cooked a bit more. Hash browns were cooked in good oil and did not have that burnt taste which is what you get when the Oil has been overused. The only improvements I would suggest is a bit more beans and maybe for the turkey rashers to be cooked a bit more. They do serve lunch and other products however I only had the breakfast. Drinks were nice but very small portion of OJ which led to some of us having 2 glasses and a bit pricey also, maybe they could implement some meals with drinks included as part of the breakfast. 8/10

Service and Atmosphere: The food took a while to come out however this may be due to the fact there was a group of 6 of us which may have slowed the process down slightly as we waited approx 30 mins. Drinks were served immediately and someone was always at the bar to answer any further questions or get something else to add to the order. The atmosphere was quite chilled and it is a cafe after all so please do not come expecting fine dining as you will be disappointed. It was clean and well equipped with all the essentials for a good brekky.8/10

Overall: Despite the bad press Erdington sometimes gets this place is pretty good and staff and customers alike seemed very friendly. Good service followed by a very good breakfast in a clean cafe which is hard to come by in the Halal market in Birmingham. A bit on the expensive side for a big breakfast but very similar to many burger meals available however I will be back as the food was worth paying that bit more. This place is a solid 8/10, have a visit and let us know what you think.

Address:  234 High Street, Birmingham, West Midlands B23 6SN

Menu available here