Beautiful glass windows. A cozy warm feeling. Cafe Opus at Ikon is as memorable as the museum it is a part of. 

A quick word about the Ikon. A free museum/art gallery, Ikon is a wonderful initiative that should be appreciated and cherished. I often stroll into here just to browse through their lovely bookshop or view one of their exhibitions and of course occasionally sit back and have a cup of coffee and some cake at their cafe.

Cafe Opus has both inside and outside seating, and because British weather is highly unpredictable, the outside seating is made the most use of on sunny days. It faces a pretty little courtyard in Brindleyplace that is especially gorgeous during Spring with tress that line it in full bloom. The staff at the Ikon and Cafe Opus is friendly, chatty, and they are just overall feel-good people you'd like having a conversation with. 

The food is wholesome and while I stick to mostly having something cold or coffee and cake, Cafe Opus is a great place to simply sit, relax, and take in some cultural air.
Their ginger cake has been a favourite and their main menu is filled with British favourites to satisfy all tastes. 

Cafe Opus gets a big thumbs up from me for the casual laid-back arty ambiance that oozes out of it.

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Located in Birmingham restaurant cluster Brindleyplace, Cafe Opus promises to accommodate everyone with their modern British cuisine. But can it live up to the high quality food and experience delivered by sister restaurant Opus?

Atmosphere

There was a relaxed ambiance in Cafe Opus when we arrived, with a buzz of conversation adding to the welcoming, unfussy environment. Although we had booked a table, we weren’t shown where to sit but instead vaguely pointed in one direction before the waitress turned her back on us and continued what she had been doing.

We also didn’t know if it was table service or if we had to go up to the counter to order, and it was all quite unprofessional and a bit of a shaky start. Once we had ordered our food (and perhaps once the lunchtime rush had settled down slightly), the staff became more attentive and friendly.

Food

Cafe Opus offers an all-day menu, featuring brunch-style dishes and a small selection of seasonal light mains. Although the menu was quite limited, everything on offer was very tempting and I found myself switching between dishes before finally settling for the Poached Smoked Haddock, Chorizo and White Bean Cream.

The haddock had a wonderful smoky, salty flavour and was cooked perfectly. On first taste, the sauce lacked flavour and the beans were slightly undercooked. However, the flavours of the lightly spiced chorizo diffused into the sauce and complemented the haddock well. In the end, I was glad that the sauce itself was only delicately flavoured, as a richer one would have been too much together with the strong flavours of the chorizo and the haddock.

However as a dish it wasn’t complete and I was glad that I had ordered a side of mash to go with it. It was slightly disappointing that it hadn’t come with the dish originally, but at additional cost.

My friend ordered the Full English Breakfast - Suffolk pork sausages, back bacon, flat mushroom, egg, baked beans. She commented on how the dish wasn’t greasy at all and that every component was well cooked, making for a great Full English.

For dessert there was a selection of cakes on display, but we decided not to sample any of these as they looked quite plain and unappetising. Instead, we both ordered the Eton Mess off the menu. It was light, creamy and they’d achieved the perfect balance of cream, crunchy meringue and fresh berries. I couldn’t fault the dessert in any way, and it was a delicious end to our brilliant meal.

Drinks

Fitting the style of the venue there was a small selection of hot and soft drinks on offer, as well as a wine menu. We opted for soft drinks, but I personally felt that they were overpriced. Again the service was a bit shaky, and our waitress didn’t take our drink orders until after we’d ordered our food.

Pricing

Poached Smoked Haddock, Chorizo and White Bean Cream - £10.50

Full English Breakfast - £7.50 + £1 for two slices of toast

Heritage Mash Potatoes (side) - £1.95

Eton Mess - £4.50

Diet Coke - £2.50

Apple Juice - £2.50

Total (two diners) = £30.45

Overall

Given the informal, cafe-style setting I really hadn’t been expecting such well-executed, delicious food from this venue. Despite the service on this occasion, I’ll definitely visit again for a relaxed brunch or lunch.