This Birmingham neighbourhood has been voted the best area of the city to live in 2025 by the Sunday Times

It’s official. Harborne is the best place to live in Birmingham this year - according to the new Times guide.

The Sunday Times' expert judges assess everything from house prices, schools, air quality, transport, to broadband speeds to culture, green spaces and the health of the high street to compile a definitive list.

They look for improving towns, villages or city centres, as well as attractive, well-designed homes and locations bursting with community spirit.

Harborne has long had a reputation as one of Birmingham's most appealing locations to live.

With a number of top schools, great bars and esteemed restaurants, the suburb is a must-visit destination in the city. The quaint and relaxed atmosphere of the city's south-west neighbourhood offers residents sanctuary away from the bustling city centre, while still being able to enjoy plenty of great independent businesses.

I recently paid a visit to the neighbourhood to find out why it’s one of the city’s best.

The neighbourhood has a thriving High Street with some of the city’s most popular restaurants to choose from. Just around the corner from Edgbaston, the suburb is also home to some of the most expensive properties in the city. The upmarket area is home to some of the most expensive properties in Brum. But it's become known for its thriving food scene.

placeholder image — Harborne high street | google

From the popular restaurant Tropea - voted Birmingham's best Italian - to the award-winning Harborne Kitchen, there's plenty of places to choose from across the suburb. It's also home to The Plough pub which has been an institution in Harborne for many years.

Beyond the high street, there's also the creative aspect of the suburb. There is a monthly market where local artisans sell their products, and it also has a youthful population and certainly rivals Moseley and Stirchley these days as the place to be for young adults that's outside central Birmingham thanks to its bars such as Harborne Stores and the Junction.

I had popped into Harborne Kitchen. I met with the restaurant's manager Jacob just before it opened for the lunchtume service. Jacob has been the manager at the restaurant for five years. Harborne Kitchen opened its doors around seven years ago and has become one of Birmingham's most esteemed independent businesses.

The fine-dining venue serves modern British cuisine and offers a more relaxed fine-dining experience. "The idea was for it to be relaxed with quality food and I think it has that blend of those things to suit the area which is particularly unique in Birmingham," Jamie told me.

Why has it been so successful over the years? "It's a bit more relaxed for a fine dining restaurant and we manage to set people at ease really well." Jacob says Harborne is a great place to work.

"It has a lot of good businesses and it has always been a more affluent area," he said.

"It's home to many doctors from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital as well as barristers and things like that. Many more restaurants are now popping up like Tropea down the road, and there's really great independent restaurants so for me that really makes it an appealing destination for people to travel to from the surrounding areas."

Located on Harborne's thriving high street, El Buen Gusto has been a welcome addition to the neighbourhood's brilliant food scene. Run by Amy and Miguel, this authentic Spanish restaurant is the only one in Harborne, giving customers a chance to experience the vibrant flavours of Spain. Their Paella is also very popular. El Buen Gusto has a 4.6 Google rating from just under 30 reviews. | El Buen Gusto

I popped into El Buen Gusto, a Spanish restaurant on the high street. It's run by Amy Morris and her partner Miguel. Amy previously ran the eatery when it was a Sicilian-inspired restaurant, but decided to change tack after taking over the lease with Miguel.

"Rudy's (pizzeria) opened next door, and they have a big space and they're Italian," she told me. "We had done well as a Sicilian place, because we opened during the pandemic it had become a community thing and with Rudy's it didn't help.

"After they opened it gave us that final push to change really, and my partner is Spanish. There is no Spanish place in Harborne so we thought we'd give it a go." Amy says Harborne has great schools and the locals are very friendly and many of the business owners get on which is part of the appeal.

"We're all very different," she said. "There's no direct competition so it's easy for us to all get on." Although, she says parking is one of the neighbourhood's big issues. There's also not a train station in the neighbourhood, and Amy says it could be busier if people had better access to public transport.

Harborne's food scene certainly makes it one of the most attractive places to go for foodies, and its array of stylish bars and lovely pubs such as The Plough make it a must visit.