We tried a bottomless Britpop brunch in Birmingham & it was Blur-rilliant!

Bottomless brunches were a bit of a novelty before the pandemic. Then with the lockdowns and Covid restrictions, which led to hospitality venues being required to close earlier, they seem to have taken on a whole new life.

These days you don’t need to wait for Saturday night to let your hair down and boogie. You can go crazy on the dance floor all day - and Digbeth in Birmingham has some of the most popular boozy brunches in town. We were invited to try out one of the renowned brunches at Brummie retro hotspot The Night Owl on Lower Trinity Street.

This cool club is the only Northern soul and Motown Bar in the Midlands and it’s so popular it’s spread to London - it also hosts some of the best tribute bands around Brum. It’s really made a name for itself over the years - and its retro brunches are legendary - so our Britpop brunch certainly had a lot to live up to.

These events run from 1pm to 5pm. We’ve called it a bottomless brunch but, like similar bottomless brunches, there is a time limit on the number of drinks you can order freely. At The Night Owl it’s the first hour, so everyone arrived promptly at the door for 1pm kick off time.

We were warmly welcomed on arrival and led to our seats. There weren’t any massive queues or hanging around for this mid-sized venue - everything moved swiftly and efficiently - they certainly have had plenty of practice in hosting these!

After being led to our seats and getting our first round - with choice of drinks being prosecco, rum punch and Amstel lager - we relaxed in the undercover courtyard with the bar and dance floor in front of us and Dining by Dalton cooking up a street food storm in the corner outside.

The vibe was friendly and fun. There seemed to be plenty of regulars for this popular party which has been running since way before Covid. Me and my three pals were amused to find some familiar faces had joined us too. There were pop up cut outs of Jarvis Cocker from Pulp, Damon Albarn from Blur, Cerys Matthews from Catatonia - and Noel Gallagher from Oasis, who proved particularly popular on our table.

We had a bit of a sway to tunes including Wake Up Boo by the Boo Radleys and Wonderwall and before we knew it our food was ready. The choices, which we pre-ordered, were Brummie Salt Beef Cob, Minted Jersey Royals and Horseradish and Celeriac Slaw with organic British leaf salad or the vegan option of a vegan steak cob, with the same sides.

We all went for the beef and all agreed that it was knock out. The slow cooked beef was full of flavour and perfectly moist - and there was loads of it - falling from the sides of a deliciously crisp, tasty bread roll - which really was a joy to bite into. The horseradish and celeriac slaw added a spicy edge to the generous portion with plenty of potatoes which, I was pleased to discover, gave a pleasant hint of mint without the herb being too overpowering.

The afternoon flew by as we enjoyed a trip down memory lane with the old faves from the 90s continuing to sound out throughout the day, including Common People and Parklife. The stage was full of dancing with everyone enjoying an afternoon out.

The retro brunches at The Night Owl only run on certain dates. And if you haven’t managed to make one yet, you’ll have to wait until Saturday August 5 when there’s a Prince Brunch and there’s loads of other retro stuff happening. For all the info visit: The Night Owl instagram page