Birmingham cocktail bar Fox and Chance - what to expect at the new venue

A new cocktail bar has opened in the city centre and is taking inspiration from Birmingham’s industrial history.

Fox and Chance opened its doors in September and is located at 45 Pinfold Street - the former Private Shop unit.

The venue has been transformed into a stylish bar by Birmingham native Ryan Smith, who returned to his hometown to open Fox and Chance with his two friends Carolyn Thirsk and Blaise Bachelier.

What can we expect?

A sixteen-drink cocktail menu created by the owners with some classic cocktails including whiskies.

Ryan said the Fox and Chance will aim to deliver a menu which is modern and stays in touch with current trends while paying homage to the history of the cocktail bar industry.

Speaking to BirminghamWorld, Ryan said: “We use a lot of different techniques to make sure we get a lot of different flavours into our drinks where you might not find elsewhere.

“For example, we have the Mama Coco cocktail which is a tequila-based drink but it’s more than just a simple margarita. Most margarita drinks you seem to get are just different versions of margaritas, but we want to create a different tequila so we make our own lime syrup by using the peels of the lime, and then we have a liquor which we splash with coconut water – so it’s a super refreshing tequila style drink with some homemade elements in there.”

Craft beers, white and red wine as well as champagne and prosecco will also be available, as will a small snacks menu including olives, crisps and even buttered toast.

“If I smell toast after a few drinks on a night out I think ‘I’m having that’ - so we thought it would be a good addition to our late night snack menu,” Ryan said.

You can see the menu in full here.

Taking Inspiration from Birmingham’s history

The name of the bar comes from our city’s industrial history.

Charles Fox was one of the engineers of the Birmingham Railway Company and the resident engineer of the Birmingham to London railway.

He also worked on the opening of New Street Station which is close to the bar.

And the Chance Brothers and Company was a glassworks originally based in Smethwick – the company was a leading glass manufacturer and a pioneer of British glassmaking technology.

The menus available in the bar will also be printed on copies of old maps of Birmingham.

Plans for the future

“We would initially like to cement ourselves in Birmingham and make sure we have a good strong following and then help to take the city’s nightlife culture forward,” Ryan said.

Click here for bookings.

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