sinead latham

If you are a native to our Independent City then you are familiar with the Bitters ‘n’ Twisted family and the multitude of venues; each offering a differing drinking and dining experience.

For the purpose of this review I was lucky enough to head to my favourite neighbouring venues Buffalo & Rye and Bodega.  

First stop is Buffalo & Rye. Come out of New Street Station, up Bennetts Hill (past Bodega) and step into a cosy dining space where all are welcome for drinks and eats. I love the feel of this place (we are eyeing it up as a possible venue for an engagement party!) Sit at one of the large communal tables or perhaps you like a higher view from the sidelines...Either way you are in for a treat.

This evening I was part of a small team of Brum Bloggers who were invited to try out the new lunchtime sandwich menu.

Sandwiches you say.

I did. But these are sandwiches on a whole new level.

If you are willing to spend £6 in Pret (or any other sandwich establishment) I challenge you to get to Buffalo and spend £6.95 (up to £7.95) for a fresh made hot sandwich, fries and a drink (eat in or take out)

We were really lucky and got to try every item on the new menu and I must admit I really struggled to pick a favourite. So my top 3 were:

The Hot Brown (smoked turkey, super crisp bacon, bechamel sauce all on top of toasted sourdough)

French Dip (salt beef, smoked cheddar, onions on the softest sub roll and an amazing dipping gravy)

St Louis Gerber (soft sub roll with garlic butter, smoked ham, super crunchy and vinegartastic gherkins covered in melted cheddar)

Along with the food we were also offered some great drinks to try. Now the problem for me is that I very rarely drink (borderline non drinker unless you are throwing a gin at me!) and anything Whiskey based is not my friend (terrible teenage flashbacks); so I didn’t try the Kool Aid Cooler (Absolut Mandarin, Peach liqueur and Strawberry Kool Aid) or Jim’s Cherry Cola (Jim Beam, Cherry Heering, lemon juice and cola syrup). However, my fellow diners were all very pleased with them and I have soft version of Jim which was the best cherry cola I have ever had, and a muted version of the Kool Aid Cooler which was good but not a favourite (I’ve just never loved Kool Aid).

Buffalo & Rye is a fab place for lunch or dinner and as an added bonus review I took some friends for lunch a couple of weeks after and we had more excellent meals and I can vouch for the goodness of the Oh My cocktail (Jinzu gin, lemon and apple juice, apple bitters) as an afternoon treat for yourself when the small people are full of crazy!

Let’s move 2 doors down the hill and into South American goodness that is Bodega. My humble opinion is the Bodega does THE BEST NACHOS in all of the land (I had to use shouty letters I feel that strongly about them) and so as with the previous week I knew we were in for a treat. This evening was all about the new menu launch with some updated items and new faces too. This evening started off with a Blueberry and Elderflower Margarita and this was delicious (and dangerous), whilst chatting with some new and familiar faces we scoffed down the nachos and drinks while we waited for the main event.

Who knew you needed Dr. Pepper pulled pork in your life?

I didn’t and you do.

The burritos as always were packed full of yum and the soft tacos have been updated to now include 4 to a serving so more value for money and easier to share (if you're a sharing kind of person). I tried the roasted veg option and didn’t feel like I was missing out on a protein (as the good old carnivore that I am)

More drinks were flowing and this time it was a Royal Sangria which was packed with sparkling wine, passion fruit, apple juice, mint and topped with soda and a new drink to me; a Mezcal gin and tonic which was infused with orange and lemongrass.

I should have loved this drink.

I really wanted to like this drink.

But sadly, Mezcal and me (as with the whiskey) are not meant to be friends.

Brum is about to get a Wahaca and Chilango to add to our South American offerings but personally they will have to go a long way to convince me anything else is better.

Final bit of info. Both are part of the Independent Birmingham family so if you have a card head to the website and see what offers they have on.