Eating out in Kings Norton, Birmingham

Mar 22 2009 by Zoe Chamberlain, Sunday Mercury

Tasty fare in setting brimful of history

A VISIT to Saint Nicolas Place – Birmingham’s largest collection of Tudor buildings – is like stepping back in time.

Anglo-Saxon in origin, Kings Norton, named Nortune in the Domesday Book, grew into a prosperous Medieval village.

There’s an old grammar school, a stunning 13th-century church and the Tudor Merchant’s House which boasts 500-year-old timbers, exposed wattle and daub.

There is even a Victorian public house – which is where we stopped for lunch.

Fondly remembered by locals as the Saracen’s Head Inn, it is now called the Saracen’s Head Cafe and it is surprisingly bright, airy and modern inside.

Most of the food is home-cooked and very reasonably priced, especially considering the impressive location.

I had a home-made vegetable lasagne which was served with a colourful, crunchy fresh salad (£5).

My husband Adam had a chicken salad sandwich and home-made mushroom soup (around £5), which came with a nice granary bloomer that we shared.

We polished off our meals with a chocolate brownie (£1.80), which was really nutty, and an apple muffin (£1.60) which was sticky on top and had a lovely spiced flavour.

The bill, including a couple of fresh orange juices, came to just over £15.

It’s well worth a visit, especially when you consider the buildings have remained virtually intact since the 15th century.

ZOE CHAMBERLAIN