I went for a pint and a pizza in a Birmingham Irish bar renowned for live music - it's not all about the craic

Nortons in Meriden Street, Digbeth, is a great addition to the plethora of places that help to characterise Birmingham’s Irish Quarter.

It might have opened at the worst possible time - just a couple of months before the coronavirus pandemic in 2019 - but it has survived that early nightmare and gone on to become a thriving Irish bar and music venue.

It features all manner of Irish artists and bands who are touring and also local bands who really know how to get a crowd going. On select Sundays you can also enjoy traditional Irish music sessions there.

There’s a front bar, which has more of a cosy feel than the cavernous venue to other side of the bar area, and it was here I went for visit, early on a Thursday evening.

Nortons has a wide variety of drinks on offer, from real ales and craft beers to the staple of any Irish pub - Guinness.It also has an interesting food offer in the shape of pizzas and a full Irish breakfast served all day on a Saturday.

Now, I’m quite an aficionado of an Irish breakfast - having sampled quite a few over the years. The Nortons Irish breakfast, which comes in full or half form (£10.95/£8.95) offers Irish sausages, thick butcher’s cut bacon, Clonakilty black and white pudding, poached eggs beans, hash brown, toast and soda bread.

Irish condiments also come in the shape of Chef sauce and you can wash your breakfast down with Barry’s Irish tea or a pint of Guinness. Breakfast aside, I visited when the weekday menu offers a range of pizzas and a variety of fries.

You can opt for a straightforward Classic Margherita at £10.45 up to a Cajun Chicken & Chorizo pizza at £12.95.Other options included Garlic Pizzee (£10.45), a pizza with a garlic base, mozzarella, cheddar, rocket and aioli, Vegetarian (£11.45) with mushroom, peppers and red onion, Pepperoni (£12.45) and Spicy Mexican (£12.95) with spicy beef, peppers, red onion and Cajun spice. I really liked the sound of the Irish Pepperoni (£12.95) which featured mozzarella, cheddar, pepperoni and Clonakilty white pudding.

I was visiting with my daughter and the plan was to share a pizza and some fries. Sadly the Irish Pepperoni was ruled out as she’s not a fan of white pudding - so we settled on a regular Pepperoni.

However, when my daughter went to order she was informed that it was a two-for-one pizza night - which operates from Wednesday to Friday. As such we ditched the skin-on fries in favour of two pizzas, plumping for a Cajun Chicken & Chorizo one too.

The pizzas were great. However I probably preferred the chicken and chorizo one - which offered a greater depth of flavour and more in the way of toppings. It also had a nice spicy kick.

The base for both pizzas was decent and both had a plentiful supply of cheese.To drink we had a pint of Guinness each, though my thing with pizza is to always have wine with one, so I opted for a glass of the Malbec, which was nice. Shiraz and Merlot by the glass were also available.

The Guinness was great but Nortons prides itself on its ‘creamy pints’ so I guess that should be expected. As far as fries go the options certainly sounded good. My plan had been to try the standard skin-on fries (£3.50) but other options include Loaded Fries (£4.50) - which come with nacho cheese, crispy onions, jalapeños, soured cream and chives.

You could also go for Cajun Fries for £4 or better still a true taste of Ireland with Irish Curry Chips, also £4. Curry chips are quite a thing the other side of the Irish Sea and the version available at Nortons features authentic Irish curry sauce.

All in all the visit to Nortons was a most enjoyable one. We were delighted to avail of the two-for-one pizza offer, which really was a pleasant surprise. We were tempted to stay for the quiz, which takes place every Thursday, but needed to be somewhere else.

I would like to go back to give it a go - I do enjoy a pub quiz - and will definitely be back for the breakfast one Saturday.To find out more about Nortons click here: Nortons Bar Digbeth