Café Rouge

Advantages: Really nice atmosphere, good food, good service
Disadvantages: Expensive and small portions

In Birmingham you have 2 choices if you want to sample the french delights Cafe Rouge has to offer. Recently, as the new Bullring shopping centre has been restyled and refurbished, a new Cafe Rouge has opened here. This is a great location and gives you the chance to see the bull ring by night and all lit up, which is quite pretty as far as Birmingham goes! The second older Cafe Rouge in Birmingham is located in Brindley Place, another prime location ...
...Broad Street boasts a long stretch of bars, clubs, restaurants and other venues, so is a good place to go if you want to go out after. In both places the food quality and service is very similar so don't let that be a determining factor when chosing which one to visit. The food is delicious and ranges from shank of lamb on mashed potato and peas to steak to the classic french onion soup and a range of salads. They also serve breakfast, which consists ... Read review

Advantages: Nice Decor, Good Menu, Great Staff, Decent Price
Disadvantages: Not Particularly Disabled Friendly In Winter, ASlightly Out Of The Way

...After a tough day's shopping with my beautiful girlfriend we found ourselves at Blue Rinse just by the Corn Exchange having entirely missed lunch due to the rigours of finding jumper dresses in this seasons new collections. After a couple of minutes discussion we decided that we would try Cafe Rouge, since I had been to the one in St John's Wood in London some years before and it was pretty good. We were greeted immediately by a smiling waitress who asked where we would like to sit and offered us the choice of a pair of tables. We chose one in a quiet little corner as she followed us down with the menus. She immediately informed us of the changes in the menu and the dishes that weren't available, rather than waiting for a semi-apologetic 16 year old who doesn't really care to come back after we ordered to tell us that they'd run... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Surprisingly good food
Disadvantages: Chain restaurant syndrome

...I was fairly dubious about dining in my local Café Rouge. On the whole, I cannot really say I am a fan of chain restaurants. I tend to find the menus fairly unimaginative, over priced and the service is usually indifferent. I therefore approached my first visit to Café Rouge with caution and scepticism. The situation was not helped by the fact that the bistro I wanted to visit for my birthday meal was fully booked - possibly because my fiancé (bless him) had left it too late to make the reservation. I therefore reluctantly decided to visit the favoured bistro on the day after my birthday, which left us with no reservation on the night of my actual birthday. After a quick and fruitless search around town for a menu that appealed, we eventually ended up deciding to try Café Rouge. We thought that the menu sounded rather good... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Central location
Disadvantages: Indifferent food, indifferent staff

...Let's get one thing straight from the start. I am not a picky eater. I will quite happily (well, obliviously) consume half-stale toast for breakfast, or an indifferent cheese sandwich for lunch. So when I go to a restaurant, and notice the food ain't great, you know there is a problem. Café Rouge is currently part of the Whitbread leisure group, if that means anything to you. In other words, it's a chain restaurant. To tell the truth, I didn't realise this at first because the place bends over backwards to appear as if it is a stand-alone concern. I understand there are 16 or so Café Rouge branches in London, but only one in Edinburgh, and my impressions may not be an experience echoed elsewhere. My office used to be just around the corner from Café Rouge in Edinburgh, and visited on many separate occasions, usually... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful