For some time now Bearwood (a suburb about 4 miles from the centre of Birmingham) has been a bit of a hot spot for local restaurants that have something different to offer. Like anywhere else within the West Midlands, it has its fair share of curry houses with a few Chineses, pizza takeaways and chip shops thrown in, but there are plenty more including a few decent Italians, an Austrian restaurant (currently closed sadly), a Persian and an Eastern European grill. In recent months a number of cafes have opened up mostly on the main high street (Bearwood Road) offering a range of offerings and it’s pleasing that these have been mostly independent outlets.
The other day I tried out the latest cafe opening called Why Not Coffee with a friend. Inside there’s a soft industrial decor with wooden tables, metal vintage milk churns and some leather armchairs. We wanted to sit somewhere comfortable and luckily there was a suitable spot for us There are also some big tables with high stools which would be great for a meeting or for home workers. They do provide free Wifi and every seating area has a power socket and USB charger, but I didn’t try these out on my visit. I’d have preferred a little more softness to the decor, as I find that works well in a cafe as it helps absorb some of the noise, but Why Not Coffee has a very clean look and a pleasant atmosphere. There is a spacious, clean and well equipped toilet at the back, but you do need to go up a few steps to get to it. Within the main cafe, I noticed a thoughtful box of things for children, including drawing materials and books.
Now neither of us are coffee drinkers, but we didn’t let the cafe name put us off. The tea was nicely presented with the milk in miniature metal milk churns. Like many cafes, there seems to be a desire to charge a similar price for tea to coffee, often without the justification in terms of quality or range. The tea was perfectly pleasant, but fairly ordinary, so it felt a bit pricey. We were provided with some extra hot water though when we asked, so that did help ease things along.
In the interests of research I tried out one the cakes. It was a difficult choice because there were quite a few tempting options available. My carrot cake was delicious and very moist. I thought the cakes were reasonably priced too. There are some lunch options available and the bread on display did look nice, so maybe I’ll try some on another visit.
Oh I’d like to give this one a try. I like the sound of those milk churns.
Those cakes sound good – I always judge a cafe by its cake selection as it’s much more important than the drinks to me.
I’d love to try out this place x the cakes sounds great xx