1000 Trades Jewellery Quarter

Housed in a handsome nineteenth-century building, 1000 Trades wears Birmingham’s industrious past with pride.

Once a jewellery workshop and later a badge factory, today it is a modern pub that champions craft across three characterful floors, from the cellar to the skylight. The welcome is warm, the mood unforced, and the details delightful.

The kitchen keeps pace with a rotating cast of guest chefs and a menu that roams with confidence. Small plates nod to dim sum culture: duck spring rolls arrive with salted plum dipping sauce and pickles, while gyoza (either tofu and vegetables, chicken or bulgogi beef) meet a bright nuoc cham.

For heartier appetites, the kitchen leans into Southeast Asian comfort. Malaysian beef rendang, slow-cooked bavette in a deeply spiced sauce, is paired with steamed rice, sour mango and an Asian salad, while Thai green chicken curry comes fragrant and fresh with rice, cucumber salad and pickles. A cooling apple slaw and skin-on fries with sriracha mayo round things off with easy charm.

A soundtrack curated with Birmingham’s music community and local artwork on the walls makes this a true neighbourhood hub, as fitting for live music, comedy and celebrations as it is for a quiet afternoon’s work.